Gansler to Aid Justice Transition but Intends to Keep His Day Job
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Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has landed a role as an adviser to the transition for the Obama administration's Justice Department, but doesn't expect to play a longer-term role.
Gansler (D), who co-chaired President-elect Barack Obama's campaign in Maryland, was an assistant U.S. attorney in the 1990s and is close to Eric Holder, Obama's designee as attorney general. There has been speculation that Gansler could be lured to a Holder-led Justice Department or be a candidate for U.S. attorney for the Maryland district.
In an interview, Gansler said he intends to stay put.
"I loved my time at the Department of Justice, but I have no intent whatsoever of going to work in the Obama administration," Gansler said. "I'm ecstatic that he's president, don't get me wrong. I think it's a great thing for our country and the world."
Gansler said he is excited to serve as an adviser to Justice's transition, in part because he is eager to help Holder, his former boss in the U.S. attorney's office in the District. Holder appeared at Gansler's campaign kickoff for state's attorney in Montgomery County in 1998. Gansler held that job until his election in 2006 as Maryland's attorney general.
Gansler is widely believed to be interested in running for governor after Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) leaves office.
Also aiding in the Obama transition at Justice is Del. Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery), who worked for 13 years as a tax division lawyer at Justice before entering politics.
Feldman's name has also been circulating recently as a potential challenger in 2010 to Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) -- an ambition Feldman hasn't confirmed but didn't exactly rule out, either.
Other Maryland pols with Obama transition roles include Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D) and Thomas E. Perez, O'Malley's secretary of labor, licensing and regulation.
Perez, a former Justice lawyer and Montgomery County Council member, was noticeably absent Friday when O'Malley convened a Cabinet meeting in Ellicott City, part of the administration's monthly "capital for a day" series. The governor said Perez was immersed in his transition work.
