In 1878, Hodges was nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes to represent Maryland as an honorary commissioner at the Paris Exposition and was chosen by the Board of Trade of Baltimore to serve as a delegate at the France-American Commercial Treaty Conference.

[1][3] In 1885, Hodges ran as a Democrat for the Mayor of Baltimore, defeating Judge George William Brown.

[2] He actively campaigned against the Know Nothing party and was an advocate for Sunday street car service in Baltimore.

During his administration, several civil works projects began including improvements to Jones Falls, a new observatory at Federal Hill, and a one million dollar loan for Lake Clifton.

They had four children: Mary Ella, Ida Virginia, Lily Hanson and William Ringgold.