Gifts for Governor Include Books, Knickknacks, Spitzers' Produce

By John Wagner
Sunday, May 11, 2008

One perk of being governor: You get lots of free stuff.

During his first year on the job, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) netted numerous books, T-shirts, baseball caps, candy and assorted trinkets and treasures, according to a recently filed disclosure form. The latter category included a University of Maryland hood ornament, a ceremonial outfit from Liberia, a silk Korean scarf and a slot-machine magnet, valued at $1.

Some of the 116 gifts listed were thank-yous from people the governor visited or hosted in Annapolis. Others appear to be more random gestures of goodwill. The majority were either accepted on behalf of the state or donated to charity.

Some of the givers have very familiar names. In early December, O'Malley accepted a gift from then-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) and first lady Silda Wall Spitzer. That was about three months before news broke of Spitzer's involvement with a high-priced prostitution ring. The gift: "Jar of produce from their garden." Value: "Unknown."

O'Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said the Spitzers' produce probably was a holiday gift sent to other governors as well. Maine Gov. John E. Baldacci (D) had sent a "box of potatoes" a few weeks before.

O'Malley's library grew by no fewer than 40 books in 2007, and some givers appear to have been trying to send a message.

In July, Timothy F. Maloney, a former Maryland delegate and informal O'Malley adviser, gave the governor a copy of "Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America 1789-1989," by Michael Beschloss. O'Malley was then crafting a package of tax increases and budget cuts designed to fix Maryland's long-term finances.

David M. Traversi, a self-described "best-selling author, speaker and executive coach" sent O'Malley a copy of his book, "The Source of Leadership: Eight Drivers of the High-Impact Leader," in September. The same month, Dr. Brad Sachs, a Columbia-based psychologist, gave O'Malley "three books on raising adolescents," valued at $44. The governor has four children, the eldest in high school.

O'Malley's list includes several gifts intended for other members of his family.

Last May, after being admitted to a hospital upon feeling faint, first lady Catherine Curran O'Malley received several gifts. Harford County Executive David R. Craig (R) sent a fruit basket, valued at $75.

Among those sending flower arrangements was Comptroller Peter Franchot (D), who publicly sparred with O'Malley and other leading Democrats later in the year. Franchot, incidentally, reported receiving no gifts on his disclosure form.

O'Malley Optimistic Despite Education Funding Shortfall

During a pair of radio interviews last week in the Washington area, Gov. Martin O'Malley was peppered with questions about why state school construction dollars for Montgomery County had fallen short of $55 million, a goal to which the governor agreed during last fall's special session.

O'Malley cited the rough economy but also sought to put in perspective the $46.3 million figure recommended for Montgomery next year by a state panel.

Appearing on WAMU (88.5 FM), O'Malley said Montgomery was going to receive $98 million for school construction during the first two years of his administration, compared with $19 million during the term of former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).

"That's a 500 percent increase," O'Malley said.

Maryland Superdelegates Back Obama

In the wake of Sen. Barack Obama's convincing win in North Carolina and better-than-expected showing in Indiana, undeclared Democratic superdelegates have been breaking his way.

A pair of Maryland supers got out ahead of the pack earlier in the week with endorsements of the Illinois senator.

Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Michael Cryor and the state party's vice chairwoman, Lauren Glover, announced their support for Obama at a news conference on the eve of last week's primaries.

"I have been inspired by what he represents," Cryor said of Obama.

Obama soundly defeated Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in Maryland's presidential primary in February, 60 percent to 37 percent.

But Cryor's choice put him at odds with Gov. Martin O'Malley, an early Clinton supporter who recruited Cryor as chairman of the state party after his election in November 2006. Cryor has served as an adviser to O'Malley since early in his tenure as mayor of Baltimore, which began in 1999. "The governor and I are good friends . . . but this decision was mine," Cryor told reporters.

On Friday, another Maryland superdelegate, John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, also declared for Obama.