Md. Board Official Subject of 2 Probes
By Matthew Mosk and Eric Rich
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, March 17, 2006
These are the many affiliations of David H. Nevins:
He chairs the board that runs Maryland's public universities. He owns a consulting firm with several clients that do business with the academic institutions he oversees.
Twice during his tenure, he has been named to top executive positions in private industry, both times joining companies that were doing extensive business with the universities. And throughout, he has raised thousands of dollars for political friends on both sides of the aisle -- fundraising totals that appear to put him in excess of the legal giving limits in Maryland, records show.
"He's wearing so many hats, it's gotten hard to keep track," said Del. Frank S. Turner (D-Howard), who oversees the university system's budget.
This week, a group of his fellow regents were in Annapolis conducting the first of two ethics probes focusing on Nevins, an ally of two governors who for 30 years has been a consummate insider in Maryland's cliquish political culture.
Nevins said he is ably juggling his university system post while also doing work for some of the state's largest corporations. And he is doing so, he said, without those various interests colliding. The fundraising totals, he said, are not accurately recorded.
"I am neither embarrassed nor defensive about any of [it]," he said in an e-mail response to questions. "I would never do anything to bring harm or damage to my colleagues on the Board, for whom I have the most respect, or to the University System, for which I fight everyday."
He said that the inquires are without merit and that he expects they will go nowhere. "I believe I have done nothing wrong, but look forward to the conclusions of the groups officially charged with conducting those reviews," he said.
Board members said that they still have confidence in Nevins but acknowledged concern this week that another ethics scandal could tarnish the reputation of a board that has seen two of its previous three chairmen leave service under a cloud.
In 2004, former chairman Nathan A. Chapman Jr. was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for defrauding the state pension fund and other offenses. Chapman's predecessor, Lance Billingsley, took heat in 1999 and eventually resigned after he was paid to help clients gain access to then-Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D).
The General Assembly passed a law in response to Billingsley's activities stating that regents "shall not, for compensation, assist or represent any party in any matter before the General Assembly."
Some top lawmakers said Nevins flirted with that prohibition last month when he attended a series of meetings with them on behalf of Constellation Energy Group, the state's largest power company.
"When I read that statute, I had no doubt he had crossed a line," said House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D), who was visited by Nevins and other Constellation officials.
Nevins called the sessions "meet and greet" affairs. But concerns raised by Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) prompted both an inquiry by the university board's audit committee and a broader probe by the State Ethics Commission.
"I think these are questions that should be asked, and they're ones that we are asking now," said board member Patricia S. Florestano. "Right now, I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. But if it turns out there is a problem, then we may have to move in another direction."
Nevins's work history also has attracted the attention of the ethics commission. In 2001, while a regent, Nevins was hired to be president of a Comcast subsidiary, Comcast SportsNet. Last year, after becoming chairman, he took a new post as an executive vice president at Constellation.
Because both companies do business with the state's universities, Maryland's ethics law normally doesn't permit such affiliations unless they are in place before the official's Senate confirmation. Nevins said he satisfied that requirement by disclosing upfront that both companies were clients of his consulting firm. Constellation and Comcast have said there is nothing inappropriate about Nevins's employment.
It will be up to the ethics commission to determine whether the salaried executive jobs brought enough added responsibilities to constitute a change. Charles O. Monk Jr., a former commission chairman, believes there is enough of a question that Nevins should have at least consulted the commission before accepting the new jobs.
When Nevins initially disclosed his client list after being nominated for the board, the ethics commission advised him that if his current consulting relationships were allowed to continue, the exemption would "not apply to new types of activities" he performs on behalf of private employers, according to a March 10, 2000, memo, obtained by The Washington Post through a public records request.
Robert Hahn, who serves as counsel to the commission, would not comment on Nevins's case but said that in instances where "there is a significant change in jobs, and the new job creates a potential conflict, the commission would have a problem, and the commission would say, 'You need to resign.' "
In addition to his jobs with Comcast and Constellation, Nevins's firm has represented Concentra Integrated Services, a health-care management firm that was one of several vendors on contracts with one university worth more than $22 million over several years, according to state records. Nevins listed Concentra as a client for the first time in his 2002 disclosure filings.
Nevins said he has always disclosed the relationships and recused himself from deliberations and votes when conflicts arose.
"When there are questions regarding any potential conflict, or appearance, we have procedures in place to review relevant activities and make decisions to protect the public interest," he said.
On top of recent ethics questions, Nevins has also been fending off a report in the Baltimore Sun that he has run afoul of state election laws.
Over the years, Nevins has helped raise thousands of dollars for Maryland politicians. The state has a $10,000 cap on contributions in an election cycle, but reports show that Nevins has given $14,250 to candidates since the last election and that his consulting firm has contributed another $11,025.
Nevins said the figures are a mistake; some of the giving was done by his wife but not recorded that way.
Among past and present regents, there is disagreement about what should happen next. Much hinges on the outcome of the internal review being conducted by a panel of three regents, they said.
Bruce Marcus, a former board member, said he would be concerned if the review turns up any ethical breach.
"I don't know what David did or didn't do," Marcus said. "But from my perspective, maintenance of public confidence in the integrity of the system is absolutely paramount. That transcends the interests of any individual. So if the issue became a debate about any one person, that person has to get out of the way. The greater good has to be served."
Board member Richard E. Hug did not see matters heading that way.
"I'm not concerned about them," Hug said of the various allegations. "I don't know all the facts, but I talked to him about it. I take the man at his word. His commitment to this board is beyond question."
View all comments that have been posted about this article.