Schaefer Apologizes to Ehrlich Aide

Krum's father, a teacher in Baltimore County, acknowledged as much, saying: "It's not a wonderful apology, but for this man, it's about the best we can hope for. It would have been nice had he apologized right away. He said he did, but of course he didn't, and that's what made us upset."

He said that because Schaefer is from an older generation, "I guess it's some measure of vindication that he did apologize. So I think that's a good thing, and he's learning from his mistakes."

Thomas F. Schaller, a political science professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, said the flap was unlikely to hurt Schaefer with longtime supporters, but it could erode support from a younger generation of voters.

"A lot of people just let Schaefer be Schaefer, but perhaps he's gone a little too far this time," he said. "His antics are wearing thinner with each passing episode, and it's clear that it took his staff to intervene with a pooper-scoop behind his mess."

A few hours before the apology was delivered, Schaefer was confronted by a gaggle of reporters and cameras about his treatment of the young aide. He was unapologetic when told by reporters that some people who had viewed their interaction on television thought it was inappropriate.

"Well, isn't that too bad!" Schaefer said sarcastically.

The comptroller was visibly agitated by the questions. He berated the media for trying to make "something very small into something big" and seemed to blame news reports for embarrassing Krum.

"She's been embarrassed to death over this. She doesn't deserve this," he said. "It's just too bad she's being subjected to this."

In the course of the interview, Schaefer ignored an attempt by an aide to cut him off and gave conflicting statements about whether he had apologized to the woman.

At one point, he said, "I did nothing that I should apologize for."

He went on to say: "If she interpreted it as an embarrassment, it was an embarrassment to her. She's 23 or 24 years old. Had nobody ever looked at her before? As I understand it, I can't identify her, she's a pretty little young lady."

When pressed again to elaborate on what had happened after their public interaction, he said: "I went in to see her. She said, 'Yes, you embarrassed me.' I said, 'I'm sorry, I wouldn't embarrass you for anything in the world.' ''

Ehrlich has said little publicly about the episode.

His spokeswoman, Shareese DeLeaver, said yesterday that after the incident, Ehrlich personally assured the woman "that she works in a respectful and business environment."