Vowing to leave his mark on Maryland's government, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. begins making appointments this month to some of the state's 600 boards and commissions.
All but finished naming his Cabinet secretaries and top staff, Ehrlich faces the more daunting task of forming a bureaucracy in his own image -- potentially angering some Democrats who are trying to maintain their grip on power.
"We won, we get to appoint our own people," said Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele. "That is how this works."
Maryland has more boards and commissions than the federal government, and the state's governors have traditionally rewarded political supporters by appointing them to the panels -- some voluntary, some paid.
The appointment process is a shadow of what it was during the heyday of machine politics and patronage jobs, but Ehrlich is discovering it still isn't easy, especially with divided government.
For them to take effect, the Democratic-controlled Senate must confirm the governor's appointments to boards and commissions, 5,000 people in all.
The most coveted positions are filled with friends, relatives and political supporters of some of the state's most powerful Democrats. Some of these Democrats intend to fight to keep their influence in the process.
"It's a whirlwind," said Lawrence J. Hogan Jr., Ehrlich's appointments secretary.
Case in point: Veteran GOP fund-raiser Richard E. Hug was spotted last week near the governor's office carrying an inch-thick folder titled "Appointments" and "Larry Hogan."
Hug, who led Ehrlich's campaign fund-raising effort, said he has been contacting the rest of the 50-person finance committee to see whether they -- or anyone they know -- would like to be appointed to a board or commission.
"We are trying to search for well- qualified people," said Hug, who sources say is interested in being appointed to the University System of Maryland's Board of Regents.
While Hug is trying to match GOP donors with appointments, the chairman of the Senate Executive Nominations Committee is preparing for bare-knuckle politics. Sen. Philip C. Jimeno has asked his staff to research the process for blocking a governor's nominee.
"It's been almost 40 years since we have had shared-power relationships," said the Anne Arundel County Democrat. "It's always been Democrats, so we thought we should go back and look at what happens if we don't vote to confirm someone."
