Posted on 05/23/2005 7:57:52 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
ANNAPOLIS, Md.- A former aide of Gov. Robert Ehrlich asked last year about removing Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's sister-in-law from her state job, according to e-mails obtained by The Washington Post .
The aide, Joseph Steffen, was dismissed by Ehrlich for spreading rumors about O'Malley.
E-mails from Steffen's computer show that in July he asked an Ehrlich appointments official about who had authority over Melinda O'Malley's job as a lawyer representing the Maryland Insurance Administration.
O'Malley, who was on maternity leave at the time, told The Post that she was "kind of stunned" when she learned about the e-mail: "It was scary to think that two weeks after giving birth, someone was looking into firing me."
An aide to the mayor said the correspondence was the latest evidence of an orchestrated dirty-tricks campaign by Ehrlich supporters against a likely 2006 rival for the governor's mansion.
"It appears that no relative of the mayor's is safe from all the governor's men, not even a new mother on maternity leave," spokesman Steve Kearney said.
But an Ehrlich spokeswoman said Melinda O'Malley remains in her job 10 months later and accused the mayor of continuing to "whine" about an old story.
"I can't speak to what plans Joe Steffen had in mind for Melinda O'Malley, but given she's still employed by the state, it was not the plan of the administration," spokeswoman Shareese DeLeaver said.
Steffen is one of several Ehrlich associates whom Democratic lawmakers have accused of systematically rooting through the state bureaucracy to find workers to fire following Ehrlich's arrival in office in 2003. Ehrlich aides have disputed that and accused Democrats and the news media of inflating Steffen's role.
Melinda O'Malley began work as an assistant attorney general assigned to the Maryland Insurance Administration in November 2002, before her marriage to Peter O'Malley, the mayor's brother and one of his political advisers.
Steffen was new to the insurance administration in July 2004, arriving there after working in several other posts for Ehrlich.
In a July 29 e-mail to Diane Baker, an Ehrlich appointments official, Steffen asked whether it was possible "to move some (attorney general's) folks, if we'd like."
Most state lawyers are technically employed by the attorney general's office and dispatched to represent various agencies.
"I'll find out about that and call you," Baker wrote back.
The following day, she wrote Steffen again, telling him that some of the positions were considered part of the attorney general's staff and others fell under a different classification.
"Any telling which category Melinda O'Malley falls under?" Steffen wrote the next morning. "She is Peter's wife and is currently out on maternity leave."
Steffen referred questions to his attorney, who didn't return a message left at his office.
Kevin Enright, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, said neither the insurance administration nor the governor's office actually has the power to move her. Lawyers assigned to that office "serve at the pleasure and direction of the attorney general," Enright said.
Last week, O'Malley accused Ehrlich aides of smearing him after the Public Service Commission released five-year-old e-mails written by his brother-in-law, J. Joseph "Max" Curran III, a member of the commission.
Curran referred to rumors of marital infidelity and expressed concern that his sister, Catherine Curran O'Malley, had discussed them publicly.
MD4Bush Ping!
My question is, why do the O'Malley's keep propagating these nasty rumors about themselves - like the alleges Martin O'Malley affairs that they keep trying to blame on Erlich?
Thanks for the ping.
Apparently, it's worse.
"It appears that no relative of the mayor's is safe from all the governor's men, not even a new mother on maternity leave," spokesman Steve Kearney said.
O'Malley's father-in-law is the elected Attorney General of Maryland. O'Malley's wife is an appointed judge in Baltimore. O'Malley's sister-in-law works a government job, as did, apparently, her brother.
There is no democrat venom reserved for Tom DeLay for hiring is family to work on his election campaign - the outcome of which would impact their collective finances. What do you suppose this family, more heavily involved in government positions of trust, has to gain personally? Why no moral outrage from the democrat "values" crowd?
"Well, you know, we need to have our people in there." First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Thanks for the ping!. Wow, this all just gets curiouser and curioser...
RE: An aide to the mayor said the correspondence was the latest evidence of an orchestrated dirty-tricks campaign by Ehrlich supporters against a likely 2006 rival for the governor's mansion.
I view it the other way around. I think that Erlich was (and is) rightfully suspicious of a network of moles who were / are doing very dirty deeds. Some of the deeds may be out and out illegal.
How many relatives of Mayor Barry O'Malley are on the public dole ?
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