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Prince George's County Executive Aids Friends
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Johnson attributed the "tremendous progress" the county has made during his tenure to those he has hired.
"Over the years, I've probably hired a thousand or more people," he said, adding that the success of an organization depends on its employees. When he is hiring, he said, he looks beyond candidates' résumés and considers their values and character in making a determination.
"I know that the people that I've hired are mission-oriented and they can get the job done," Johnson said.
* * *
David M. Valderrama, a former Maryland legislator and longtime friend of Johnson's, has received four contracts to advise the county on school construction and economic issues, totaling $247,666 over four years, records show.
"If you were in Jack's shoes, would you award contracts to your enemies?" asked Valderrama, who said he was instrumental in delivering Johnson the Filipino vote in the 2002 election. "Politics is politics."
Valderrama said he met Johnson more than a decade ago when he was an orphan's court judge in the county and Johnson was deputy state's attorney. Over the years, the two became "very good friends," Valderrama said. Last month, Johnson co-hosted a fundraiser for Valderrama's daughter, Kris Valderrama, a Democrat who is running for state delegate from southern Prince George's.
For two years, beginning in May 2003, the county contracted with Valderrama's company, Valderrama's America, to act as liaison with the Board of Education on school construction projects. The contracts totaled $106,000.
Valderrama's America is a local cable news magazine and talk show run from a downstairs bedroom in Valderrama's two-story brick house overlooking the Potomac River in Fort Washington.
"When I was first approached about it, I had second thoughts," Valderrama recalled in an interview. "I had no experience in school construction; I'm the first to tell you that."
Nevertheless, Valderrama, 73, said he accepted the contracts because he knew he could write a report, which is what county officials wanted, he said.
"I'm out of politics; I don't have to lie," he said. "My job was to write a report."
