Comptroller

She says they go through the bureau of treasury management.  I don't understand why they would bypass the BOE though.    I'm in the comptroller's office.  They're saying they have no records pertaining to Grant Capital Management because those contracts do not go before the Board of Estimates. Ugh.  

When it was announced that yet another group would be taking on management of the Baltimore Grand Prix, one of the company's funders stepped into the spotlight. Columbia-based financier J.P. Grant III has stayed out of the public eye since the storm of a no-bid city schools contract blew over in 2000. But all the while, his company Grant Capital Management was accumulating city contracts. In 2003, the city granted his company a "master lease," an agreement that speeds up the contracting process, but also made it more difficult for The Sun to track.

After 28 years of electing Hyman Pressman as comptroller, Baltimore city voters now find themselves having to take a fresh look at an office many of them have taken for granted. Until age and declining health slowed him down, Pressman's antics gave the post of comptroller a colorful flavor. His retirement, however, is a good opportunity to re-examine the office and its important role in city government. And in an otherwise rather lackluster election year, the controller's race is one of the few contests that is actually generating some excitement.

She says they go through the bureau of treasury management.  I don't understand why they would bypass the BOE though.    I'm in the comptroller's office.  They're saying they have no records pertaining to Grant Capital Management because those contracts do not go before the Board of Estimates. Ugh.  

Democrat Louis L. Goldstein, a Maryland institution, has been comptroller since 1958. This longevity gives the revenue office stability and expertise. Mr. Goldstein runs an efficient shop and has kept a close eye on tax receipts, pension-fund investments and Board of Public Works activity. Republican nominee Larry M. Epstein is a spirited challenger but hasn't found any major chinks in Mr. Goldstein's formidable armor. We endorse Comptroller Goldstein's bid for a ninth term.

The last two comptrollers elected by Baltimoreans provided persuasive ammunition for people who argued the city would be better off without the position. But the office was a good idea in 1857 when Mayor Thomas Swann first created the comptroller's post, and it's a good idea now.The comptroller reviews every contract and lease that comes before the Board of Estimates and chairs city pension boards. That person must guard against questionable spending or investments that might otherwise be based on political favoritism.

With the retirement of Hyman Pressman this year, the Democratic primary for comptroller became one of the city's most hotly contested elections. The winner of that race, Jacqueline McLean, is a businesswoman and two-term City Council member from the 2nd District who is well qualified to perform the independent oversight role which the job demands. We do not hesitate to endorse her over her Republican opponent, Marshall W. Jones Jr., a local funeral director.

It's been a long time since someone who deserved the confidence of the people was elected city comptroller. Hyman Pressman was popular. But before the self-proclaimed "watchdog" ended his 28 years in that post, he was sick and not even going through the motions of fulfilling his responsibilities. Even before Mr. Pressman's health failed, serious questions were raised about his performance.During the 1987 election, challenger Thomas J.S. Waxter Jr. chided Mr. Pressman for not being vigilant enough to prevent the embezzlement of $1.1 million in city funds by John D. Callan, deputy director of the Neighborhood Progress Administration.

Rockville lawyer James B. Moorhead kicked off his campaign for Maryland comptroller yesterday with a broadside attack on Louis L. Goldstein, the nine-term incumbent he will face in the September Democratic primary.Resurrecting old news accounts of Mr. Goldstein's lucrative real estate deals, Mr. Moorhead charged that the comptroller has "used his office to enrich himself, making millions of dollars since he was elected in 1958."Mr. Moorhead, 40, a former federal prosecutor and first-time office-seeker, then called on Mr. Goldstein to place his personal financial holdings in a blind trust to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

WTTR 1470-AM will broadcast Maryland State Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein's weekly radio program at 10:05 a.m. Sunday.This week's "Maryland Report Magazine" will focus on the role of Maryland women in their fight for the right to vote. The program marks the 75th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting to women the right to vote.The 15-minute program will concentrate on Margaret Brent, a 17th-century lawyer who asked the Maryland General Assembly for the voting franchise; Anna Ella Carroll, an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln; Etta Maddox, one of the first women to take the bar exam; and Mary Elizabeth Walters Risteau, the first woman elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.

A contract to run a second year of the Baltimore Grand Prix under new management passed a divided Board of Estimates on Wednesday by a 3-2 vote. City Council PresidentBernard C. "Jack" Youngand Comptroller Joan M. Pratt opposed the deal. MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakeand her two appointees on the board voted in favor. Pratt argued that she hadn't been provided enough time to review the contract and that race officials hadn't properly answered her questions. "Given the past experience of this event and looking forward, I am more in tune that this event be successful for the city and that the citizens not be burdened with additional expenses.

Did we miss the press release announcing that Peter Franchot had joined the tea party? The comptroller certainly sounded like he'd gone over to the side of anti-government activism Monday when he cast the lone vote against a proposal at the Maryland Capital Debt Affordability Committee to accelerate some of the state's planned borrowing in hopes of spurring the economy through infrastructure spending. The Montgomery County Democrat opined that attempting to create jobs through such public works was "failed policy," adding, "Let the private sector create jobs.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake , Democrat Alfred V. Griffin III, Republican Catalina Byrd , Unaffiliated Charlene Tamara Gaskins, Unaffiliated Craig Williams, Unaffiliated Steven H Smith, Republican City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young , Democrat David Anthony Wiggins, Republican Lorenzo Gaztanaga, Libertarian Comptroller Joan M. Pratt , Democrat ...

State Comptroller Peter Franchot criticized Baltimore County leaders Wednesday for failing to use $7 million in school construction funds to air-condition schools. Franchot, who welcomed a group of Middleborough Elementary children and their parents to Annapolis to testify before the Board of Public Works, asked the board to force the county to spend at least half of the money, which has come from the state alcohol tax, on air-conditioning. But Gov. Martin O'Malley and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, the other board members, said that while they were sympathetic to the pleas from children and parents, they would not interfere with local decisions on school construction spending.

Roy Neeper was honored at the Sept. 6 Harford County Council meeting for his selection by the Cultural Arts Commission as the latest Harford County Living Treasure. As a youth he picked tomatoes for Street Cannery, shoveled coal for McComas Brothers, and held other interesting jobs. While a senior at Bel Air High School, he drove a school bus, was president of the senior class of 1954, and played football for the legendary Al Cesky. Upon returning from military service, he worked for Commercial and Savings Bank for 24 years as vice president and comptroller.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold said Friday what has long been rumored in local political circles: He's considering a run for governor or comptroller in 2014. "I'm going to keep all those options open," said Leopold, a Republican who is term-limited. "The record that I've established of strong fiscal discipline, I think, would resonate not only in Anne Arundel County but elsewhere. " Leopold, 68, served 20 years in the House of Delegates before he was elected county executive in 2006.

In a surprising political stalemate, a sharply divided Baltimore City Council failed yesterday to select a successor to indicted former Comptroller Jacqueline F. McLean.Three times, the council attempted to agree on a candidate to finish the term of Mrs. McLean, who retired earlier this week.And three times, the all-Democratic 19-member group could not come up with the necessary majority of 10 votes -- despite pleas for the two council members vying for the job.The impasse leaves the city's third-most-powerful office in the hands of Deputy Comptroller Shirley Williams since there are no plans to hold another meeting.

From time to time, voters decide that the best cure for government's ills is to throw the rascals out. Many politicians have weathered episodes of anti-incumbency, but few have been as successful at rising above it all as Maryland's Comptroller of the Treasury, Louis L. Goldstein. After nine terms -- 36 years -- in the office, Mr. Goldstein is now asking Democratic voters to nominate him for one more term. They should.Mr. Goldstein is 81, and some suggest his legendary energy is lagging a bit. But there is no evidence that he does not remain in firm control of his office, or that his vigilance in his various duties has slipped.

For voting information, the Baltimore City Elections Board can be contacted at (410) 396-5550 or http://www.baltimorecity.gov/Government/BoardsandCommissions/ElectionsBoard.aspx Baltimore Democrats and Republicans on Tuesday will choose their nominees for mayor, City Council president and City Council. Here are the candidates: Mayor Democratic Conaway, Frank M. Landers, Joseph T. "Jody" III Pugh, Catherine E. Rawlings-Blake, Stephanie Rolley, Otis Wilson, Wilton Republican Griffin, Alfred V. III Harding, Vicki Ann President of the City Council Democratic Hector, Leon Winthly Sr. Kiefaber, Tom Smith, Charles U. Smith, Renold B. Young, Bernard C. "Jack" Republican Girard, Armand F. Wiggins,David Anthony Comptroller Democratic Pratt, Joan M. City Council District 1 Democratic Kahler, Jason Kraft, James B. Luce, Helene J. City Council District 2 Democratic Daniels Obiora, Sharita M. Gross, Cynthia A. Guyton, Emmett Hamilton, Anthony Scott, Brandon M. Simpson, Jamaal D. Republican Maynard-Tucker, Shereese City Council District 3 Democratic Bivens, Jerome A. Curran, Robert W. Vanhook, George M. Sr. Republican Collins, Gary M. City Council...

He was 49 and on his way to political greatness. She was 22 and picketing City Hall mostly for the fun of it. It took hot pants to bring them together. Paired with white go-go boots and Jeanne Bell's lithe young physique, the red short-shorts caught the eye of William Donald Schaefer as he strode past protesters outside City Hall. He looked her up and down, said he'd like her on his mayoral campaign, gave her his phone number with instructions to call, and walked off. "Who was he?"