State workers often get caught in the political cross hairs.
Not only are they stereotyped as lazy or incompetent, but because they are paid by taxpayers, their fates become the subject of public debate. When O'Malley sought suggestions from the public for how to cut the budget, respondents repeatedly called for pay cuts or layoffs for state employees.
One respondent wrote: "Lay off the Lieutenant Gov. Don't know him, probably a nice guy, but what does he do? Lay off 1,000 of the employees who make over $100K. Lay off 20 percent of all state employees."
Even after O'Malley's cost-cutting, some political observers say the state work force is still too bloated. They note that Maryland lost 50,000 private-sector jobs in the last year, while state government added about 1,000, according to labor statistics.
"You could probably cut the state work force by 15 percent and no one would even notice," said Christopher Summers, president of the conservative-leaning Maryland Public Policy Institute.
O'Malley contends Maryland's work force is leaner than other states' - it ranks 28th out of 50 with 161 state employees per 10,000 residents - and that his administration has been working to make agencies more efficient. He also said he has endeavored to limit the number of layoffs, not wanting to add to the unemployment rolls.
Meanwhile, state workers will "mumble and grumble," said Gist, a union representative who participated in negotiations with the O'Malley administration. "But there's not much they can do about it."
He clearly loves his job, transporting kids who became wards of the state to their proms, stowing McDonald's coupons in the glove compartment of his state vehicle to ensure his charges have been fed, and making home visits to foster homes.
"You have to have a certain kind of psychological equipment to even do this job because you're not in it for the money," he said. "I've always been keen on trying to help people, and I try to assist these kids so that one day they can be functional members of society, so that they can be taxpayers and make their contribution."
