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http://www.governor.maryland.gov/ltgovernorbio.html

Bio
"Lieutenant Governor,
Michael S. Steele
State of Maryland
In January 2003, Michael Steele earned a place in history when he became the first African American elected to statewide office, and the first-ever Republican Lieutenant Governor in Maryland.

As Lieutenant Governor, Michael Steele serves as a partner, advisor and principal representative for Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Mr. Steele works with the state's congressional delegation, state and local elected officials to promote and implement the administration's policies and initiatives.

His top priorities include improving the quality of Maryland's public education system, where he currently chairs the Governor's Commission on Quality Education; reforming the state's Minority Business Enterprise program; expanding economic development and international trade; and fostering cooperation between government and community-based organizations to help those in need.

Michael Steele rose through the political ranks in Prince George's County to become the first African American County Republican Party Chairman. In 1995, Mr. Steele was selected Maryland State Republican Man of the Year. In December 2000, Mr. Steele became the first-ever African American to be elected chairman of a state Republican Party. Mr. Steele also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Republican National Committee.

In 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Mr. Steele to serve on the Board of Visitors of the United States Naval Academy. Mr. Steele served as a Commissioner on the National Federal Election Reform Commission, chaired by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, after the 2000 Presidential Election. Other affiliations include serving on the NAACP's 2001 Blue Ribbon Panel on Election Reform and the Board of Directors of The Hospice of the National Capital Area. Mr. Steele is a member of the Prince George's County Chapter of the NAACP.

Mr. Steele was born on October 19, 1958 at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County. He graduated from Archbishop Carroll High School, earned his bachelor's degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University in 1981 and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1991. Mr. Steele also spent three years as a seminarian in the Order of St. Augustine in preparation for the priesthood.

Mr. Steele is a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Landover Hills, Maryland where, in 1998, was recognized as the Man of the Year. He attends mass regularly with his wife Andrea and their two sons, Michael and Drew."

I'm adding the following to this thread on the oft chance the two Schumer super sleuths will become household names.

"September 22, 2005
Schumer Staffers Get Free Vacation For Privacy Violation

Senator Chuck Schumer, who runs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, has long decried the potential for identity theft and the loss of privacy in the marketplace. In April of this year, Schumer introduced legislation to create an entire new bureaucracy for "data merchants", the Schumer-Nelson ID Theft Prevention Bill. What penalties does the Schumer-Nelson bill prescribe for violations? A thousand dollars per violation, for starters, and repeated violations probably would get escalated.

So what did Schumer and the DSCC do with two staffers that got caught with Lt. Governor Michael Steele's (R-MD) credit report? Apparently gave them a two-month vacation with pay, according to the New York Post:

Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Schumer-headed Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said two staffers were instantly suspended — with pay — in July after admitting they obtained the credit report of Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who is running for Senate.
Sources familiar with the situation said the committee's head of research, Katie Barge, and a deputy, Lauren Weiner, got the credit report by using Steele's Social Security number, which they say they obtained from public documents.

Records obtained by The Post show the two continued to be paid by the Democratic committee at least through Aug. 31.

Katie Barge has quite a resumé as a researcher. She worked in that capacity for Media Matters, and before that for the John Edwards presidential campaign. In fact, she did opposition research for Edwards according to Common Dreams, which touted her as a key player to David Brock at Media Matters.

It seems that Ms. Barge got hired by the DSCC for exactly the purpose for which she got suspended. It seems telling that the Senator who wants to impose a new licensing and compliance bureaucracy on so-called data merchants hires people like Barge and then expresses outrage when they perform the tasks that made her such an attractive candidate for their position.

The DSCC's suspension with pay -- such a painful scolding! -- earns Schumer the Captain Louis Renault Award, a recognition of hypocrisy so transparent that its existence serves only to entertain us. When Schumer starts treating his staff the way he proposes that the government treat the taxpayer, we'll alert the usual suspects."

Posted by Captain Ed at September 22, 2005 09:26 AM
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/005493.php