Despite legislators' promise of hearings this spring, an investigation into
Ehrlich administration personnel practices will likely not occur for several
months, leaving in the lurch former state employees who have come forward
seeking answers for why they were fired.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller originally suggested that the General Assembly begin a probe immediately after the legislative session ended in April, to examine accusations that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s administration was rooting out midlevel bureaucrats who were insufficiently loyal to the governor.
But Miller now says the inquiry won't start until the fall, after an assistant attorney general assigned to the legislature mops up post-session work.
Aides to Ehrlich, a Republican, suspect lawmakers are purposely dragging their feet, fearful that an inquiry would expose requests from Democratic legislators to protect jobs held by friends and relatives.
Not all legislators support the delay. Leaders in the House of Delegates say they are ready to start hearings immediately and have begun interviewing former state employees who have complained, some privately and some publicly, that they were abruptly fired despite strong performance records.
Del. Adrienne A. Jones, the speaker pro tem and a Baltimore County Democrat assigned to head the House investigation, said she has met with several former workers and is scheduling meetings with others. She started getting calls during the legislative session, she said, and wanted to take action, even if the formal hearings haven't been scheduled, so the former employees don't feel abandoned.
"I didn't want them to think I didn't care. That's why I went ahead on my own," Jones said. "I think I owe that to them - there's a credibility factor there."
Darcy Massof, an attorney representing several former state employees, said her clients grew excited during the session at the prospect of the hearings and are counting on the legislature to uncover the reasons they were fired. "I would think they would have liked to see them initiated by now and will be unhappy if they continue getting delayed," Massof said. "Things get delayed, and then they never happen."
Questions about Ehrlich's personnel practices grew to a fever pitch in February, with the disclosure that a longtime aide, Joseph F. Steffen Jr., had been spreading rumors on the Internet about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's private life. The mayor has denied the rumors; Steffen was fired.
Workers came forward, saying Steffen was part of a band of Ehrlich loyalists dispatched to several agencies to root out relatively low-level employees and replace them with staffers more loyal to the governor. Ehrlich has denied replacing employees for political reasons and says his hiring practices have been less political than those of past governors.
Miller insisted that he believes the hearings are important but that the details will take time to work out. "It's going to take place. It's just a question of when," Miller said.
Paul E. Schurick, Ehrlich's communications director, said it sounds like Democrats are making excuses because they're afraid of what will become public during an investigation into political influence in hiring practices. The governor has said he would cooperate fully with the investigation and in doing so would disclose Democratic elected officials who have lobbied the administration to hire or retain their friends.
"This reluctance shows how ridiculous and political the complaints have been since the beginning," Schurick said. "Now they realize that they've painted themselves into a corner."
Resolving key questions such as the timing, format and scope of the investigation would have to be worked out by the General Assembly's Legislative Policy Committee, a group that also can authorize subpoena powers. It is scheduled to meet June 14.
Del. Peter Franchot, a Montgomery County Democrat and one of the administration's sharpest critics, wanted the House to adopt a resolution during the session authorizing a committee with subpoena power and a professional investigator, rather than waiting for the committee to act.
Now the House is forced to wait for Miller's approval, leaving former employees to wonder whether their complaints will be investigated, Franchot said.
"Mike Miller is all talk and no action," Franchot said. "He says he wants an investigation, but I'm very skeptical that an investigation will occur, and at the end of the day, Bob Ehrlich has him in his back pocket."
Sen. Brian E. Frosh, the chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, said he is confident the hearings will take place and that the investigative committee will have subpoena power. He said he thinks the investigation should start by looking into Steffen's activities.
"There are many people, career civil servants who were fired and taken out of their offices by policemen, and their pictures posted at the bottom of the building with instructions they're not to be allowed to re-enter," Frosh said. "People who've gotten excellent reviews, never been criticized for their performance or disciplined for anything are treated like criminals. Obviously, Mr. Steffen is a jumping-off point, but there are plenty of others."
Busch backs inquiry
House Speaker Michael E. Busch endorsed the hearings during the session and said last week that they need to take place. "There has to be some investigation," Busch said. "The governor indicated he supported it. The Senate president identified it as a good idea. Ask the Senate president [when the hearings will start.] The House is ready to go."
Jones said it's too soon to say whether the accusations by employees amount to a systemic problem.
"I have to go through several different agencies to see if there was a pattern," Jones said. "Some of them were unique circumstances ... and there are some issues we may be able to help them with in terms of pension issues and so on."
Counting on legislature
One of the former employees who spoke to Jones, Wanda Maynor-Kearse, said she was fired from her job as superintendent of educational services for the Department of Juvenile Services in February. She said she had consistently gotten glowing performance evaluations and encouragement about her work from supervisors.
She said she has spoken with a lawyer but is counting on the legislature to get answers about why she and other holdovers from Democratic administrations were fired.
"If they find that they really got rid of all of us because we're Democrats or whatever it was, somebody who has outstanding evaluations and has made such a difference, I just think there must be something that can be done," Maynor-Kearse said.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller originally suggested that the General Assembly begin a probe immediately after the legislative session ended in April, to examine accusations that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s administration was rooting out midlevel bureaucrats who were insufficiently loyal to the governor.
But Miller now says the inquiry won't start until the fall, after an assistant attorney general assigned to the legislature mops up post-session work.
Aides to Ehrlich, a Republican, suspect lawmakers are purposely dragging their feet, fearful that an inquiry would expose requests from Democratic legislators to protect jobs held by friends and relatives.
Not all legislators support the delay. Leaders in the House of Delegates say they are ready to start hearings immediately and have begun interviewing former state employees who have complained, some privately and some publicly, that they were abruptly fired despite strong performance records.
Del. Adrienne A. Jones, the speaker pro tem and a Baltimore County Democrat assigned to head the House investigation, said she has met with several former workers and is scheduling meetings with others. She started getting calls during the legislative session, she said, and wanted to take action, even if the formal hearings haven't been scheduled, so the former employees don't feel abandoned.
"I didn't want them to think I didn't care. That's why I went ahead on my own," Jones said. "I think I owe that to them - there's a credibility factor there."
Darcy Massof, an attorney representing several former state employees, said her clients grew excited during the session at the prospect of the hearings and are counting on the legislature to uncover the reasons they were fired. "I would think they would have liked to see them initiated by now and will be unhappy if they continue getting delayed," Massof said. "Things get delayed, and then they never happen."
Questions about Ehrlich's personnel practices grew to a fever pitch in February, with the disclosure that a longtime aide, Joseph F. Steffen Jr., had been spreading rumors on the Internet about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's private life. The mayor has denied the rumors; Steffen was fired.
Workers came forward, saying Steffen was part of a band of Ehrlich loyalists dispatched to several agencies to root out relatively low-level employees and replace them with staffers more loyal to the governor. Ehrlich has denied replacing employees for political reasons and says his hiring practices have been less political than those of past governors.
Miller insisted that he believes the hearings are important but that the details will take time to work out. "It's going to take place. It's just a question of when," Miller said.
Paul E. Schurick, Ehrlich's communications director, said it sounds like Democrats are making excuses because they're afraid of what will become public during an investigation into political influence in hiring practices. The governor has said he would cooperate fully with the investigation and in doing so would disclose Democratic elected officials who have lobbied the administration to hire or retain their friends.
"This reluctance shows how ridiculous and political the complaints have been since the beginning," Schurick said. "Now they realize that they've painted themselves into a corner."
Resolving key questions such as the timing, format and scope of the investigation would have to be worked out by the General Assembly's Legislative Policy Committee, a group that also can authorize subpoena powers. It is scheduled to meet June 14.
Del. Peter Franchot, a Montgomery County Democrat and one of the administration's sharpest critics, wanted the House to adopt a resolution during the session authorizing a committee with subpoena power and a professional investigator, rather than waiting for the committee to act.
Now the House is forced to wait for Miller's approval, leaving former employees to wonder whether their complaints will be investigated, Franchot said.
"Mike Miller is all talk and no action," Franchot said. "He says he wants an investigation, but I'm very skeptical that an investigation will occur, and at the end of the day, Bob Ehrlich has him in his back pocket."
Sen. Brian E. Frosh, the chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, said he is confident the hearings will take place and that the investigative committee will have subpoena power. He said he thinks the investigation should start by looking into Steffen's activities.
"There are many people, career civil servants who were fired and taken out of their offices by policemen, and their pictures posted at the bottom of the building with instructions they're not to be allowed to re-enter," Frosh said. "People who've gotten excellent reviews, never been criticized for their performance or disciplined for anything are treated like criminals. Obviously, Mr. Steffen is a jumping-off point, but there are plenty of others."
Busch backs inquiry
House Speaker Michael E. Busch endorsed the hearings during the session and said last week that they need to take place. "There has to be some investigation," Busch said. "The governor indicated he supported it. The Senate president identified it as a good idea. Ask the Senate president [when the hearings will start.] The House is ready to go."
Jones said it's too soon to say whether the accusations by employees amount to a systemic problem.
"I have to go through several different agencies to see if there was a pattern," Jones said. "Some of them were unique circumstances ... and there are some issues we may be able to help them with in terms of pension issues and so on."
Counting on legislature
One of the former employees who spoke to Jones, Wanda Maynor-Kearse, said she was fired from her job as superintendent of educational services for the Department of Juvenile Services in February. She said she had consistently gotten glowing performance evaluations and encouragement about her work from supervisors.
She said she has spoken with a lawyer but is counting on the legislature to get answers about why she and other holdovers from Democratic administrations were fired.
"If they find that they really got rid of all of us because we're Democrats or whatever it was, somebody who has outstanding evaluations and has made such a difference, I just think there must be something that can be done," Maynor-Kearse said.
