By Eric Rich
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Douglas F. Gansler, Montgomery County's longtime prosecutor, pledged an "all-out assault" on those who pollute the Chesapeake Bay as he was sworn into office yesterday as Maryland's first new attorney general in two decades.

In the Senate's marbled chamber in Annapolis, where the outgoing Republican governor administered the oath of office, Gansler, a Democrat, ticked off a list of the estuary's environmental woes. He cited swimming bans at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis and declining oyster harvests, saying, "Some fish don't even know if they're boys or girls anymore -- it's gotten that bad.

"We're going to wage an all-out assault on those who pollute our air and water," Gansler said.

The pledges echoed campaign promises that helped carry Gansler to a comfortable victory in November in his bid to fill the seat left vacant by J. Joseph Curran Jr., a fellow Democrat who, after two decades as the state's chief legal officer, decided not to run for another term.

Gansler, 44, had been Montgomery state's attorney since 1998. He drew attention last year by winning convictions against John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, the snipers who terrorized the region in 2002.

Despite the dire proclamations about the health of the bay, yesterday's ceremony in many respects had the feeling of a family affair. Gansler spoke of his wife, Laura, and their two sons, who, he jokingly said, did not understand the concept of spending $2 million to win a job that pays $125,000 a year.

The ceremony was emceed by Gansler's father, an undersecretary of defense in the Clinton administration, who shares his son's gift for ease with public speaking.

"Tell a joke," Gansler called out to his father as the crowd waited for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to arrive.

Jacques S. Gansler did not exactly tell a joke, but laughter rippled across the chamber as he spoke of his efforts years ago at the Pentagon to start meetings on time. The elder Gansler spoke of close media scrutiny -- "abuse from the press," he called it -- and said public service is often not rewarding.

"I'm so pleased that my son's willing to take that kind of responsibility on," he said.

Ehrlich, who leaves office this month, arrived a moment later to administer the oath to Gansler. Afterward, Gansler and the governor shared a hug and patted each other on the back.

In his address, Gansler said he was "very, very, very honored" that Ehrlich participated in the ceremony. "I look forward to being your lawyer for the next two weeks," Gansler told the governor.

Gansler also paid tribute to Curran, whom he described as a "wonderful person" of uncommon popularity. "Nobody can serve 48 years in public service and be beloved as he is," Gansler told Curran.

Curran, who praised Gansler, said that he is not sure what he will do next but that he has been approached about leading the Injured Workers' Insurance Fund, a quasi-state agency whose director stepped down last week. "As one door shuts, another one opens," Curran said.

With its staff of 420 lawyers, the attorney general's office acts as the legal counsel to many institutions of state government. It also represents the government in all cases in state and federal appellate courts. In addition, it has the power to prosecute a range of criminal activity, including white-collar crimes, health-care fraud and multi-jurisdictional crimes.

Gansler has promised to take an "activist approach" to the job. In addition to standard fare such as consumer protection and antitrust matters, he said in an interview that he plans to push legislators to enact a racketeering law that would give state prosecutors powers similar to those that federal prosecutors have used to fight gangs.

He said he will also establish an antigang task force that could work with local state's attorneys on those cases, which generally involve multiple defendants and are resource-intensive.

On the environment, Gansler singled out coal-burning power plants, saying that they tend to be in less-affluent areas and are responsible for respiratory ailments that disproportionately affect African Americans.

In an approach that underscores his pledge to use the power of his office in innovative ways, Gansler said the prevalence of those ailments should be viewed as a civil rights issue, one that could presumably be addressed in court.

Gansler, whose election has also been seen as emblematic of the diffusion of political power once centralized in Baltimore, said he will move one division of the office, fewer than 20 lawyers, to a location not yet selected in the Washington suburbs.