Governor S Office

LT. GOV. KATHLEEN Kennedy Townsend is riding high these days. Three years before the 2002 election, she's raising money with Kennedy-esque ease, and polls show her with a comfortable lead over her likely Democratic rivals.But before she starts selecting new drapes for the governor's office, Townsend should adopt a two-word mantra:"Mickey Steinberg."You remember him? Lt. Gov. Melvin A. Steinberg.Steinberg didn't make it to the governor's office, of course.But at this point in the 1994 election campaign, it looked as if he might.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening is entitled to "some privacy" and confidentiality in conducting state business and may shield certain telephone, calendar and scheduling records from public scrutiny, an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge has ruled.But, Judge Lawrence H. Rushworth wrote in an opinion filed yesterday, the governor does not have a blanket executive privilege.He ordered the governor's office to turn over records it believes are privileged, with justification, for him to review in private.

Months ago, Gov. Parris N. Glendening predicted that he would not face opposition in his bid to regain the Democratic nomination for governor. His remark seemed oddly confident at the time as discontent was mounting within his own party and some of his detractors were calling him a one-term governor.With the Sept. 15 primary election less than a month away, Glendening's prediction, while not entirely accurate, is being borne out. Harford County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann's campaign abruptly ended two weeks ago, leaving Glendening to face two marginal challengers.

A former Baltimore school board chairman who believes the governor has reneged on a $10 million promise to give some of the city's worst schools a financial boost plans to take his case to the Circuit Court today.Phillip H. Farfel will file a motion in Baltimore Circuit Court asking that the state be required to pay the schools the $10 million annually over the next four years."I have decided to stand up and file this motion and make sure that this money gets to the kids and make sure 35 local communities receive what they were committed to," said Farfel.

All news is good news, according to the press releases streaming out of the governor's office these days.Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend are daily reminding citizens just how much they have done over the past four years -- and how much more they could do if re-elected.The duo's official calendars, which had been light in recent weeks, are now studded with events all over the state -- including the "grand opening" of a driver-training track for the state's police officers, a celebration of Glendening's $118 million initiative for the developmentally disabled and the kick-off for "Reading Across Maryland," featuring the governor and dozens of his administration's top officials.

In the next two years, an estimated 14,000 police officers and recruits in Maryland will take refresher courses on how best to respond to domestic violence complaints, the governor's office said yesterday.Pub Date: 4/22/98

Gov. Parris N. Glendening is entitled to "some privacy" and confidentiality in conducting state business and may shield certain telephone, calendar and scheduling records from public scrutiny, an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge has ruled.But, Judge Lawrence H. Rushworth wrote in an opinion filed yesterday, the governor does not have a blanket executive privilege.He ordered the governor's office to turn over records it believes are privileged, with justification, for him to review in private.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening is entitled to "some privacy" and confidentiality in conducting state business and may shield certain telephone, calendar and scheduling records from public scrutiny, an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge has ruled.But, Judge Lawrence H. Rushworth wrote in an opinion filed yesterday, the governor does not have a blanket executive privilege.He ordered the governor's office to turn over records it believes are privileged, with justification, for him to review in private.

HALFWAY THROUGH the 1997 General Assembly session, this much is clear: The influence and importance of House Speaker Casper R. Taylor and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller are on the rise; the influence of Gov. Parris N. Glendening is in decline.Witness the negotiations over a major boost in school aid by the state's Big Seven local executives. Did they sit down with the governor to work something out? No. They huddled with Messrs. Taylor and Miller on coming up with a consensus plan.

BOSTON -- William Weld adorned the governor's office with a portrait of a predecessor, the always raffish and occasionally felonious James Michael Curley. Paul Cellucci, who acquired the office when Mr. Weld resigned in boredom to accept nomination as ambassador to Mexico, replaced Curley's portrait with that of John Volpe, the state's second Italian-American governor (the first was Foster Furcolo). Volpe came close to being the first Italian-American president.Nixon's manIn 1968, Richard Nixon narrowed his vice presidential choice to two governors, Maryland's Spiro Agnew and Volpe.

Someone from Allegany County wrote in with a detailed suggestion for reducing the number of trips corrections employees take to transfer files from one prison to another. "It may not save much, but every little bit helps," the person wrote. Someone in Harford County advocated going to a four-day workweek for all state employees. Someone in Baltimore pitched an early retirement plan for state workers. And, not to traffic in regional stereotypes, but someone from Montgomery County insisted on higher income tax rates before the state cuts a penny from the social safety net. Those are a handful of the nearly 600 pages of responses Gov. Martin O'Malley had received in his suggestion box for ways to save the state government money as of late last week.

Sarah Palin chose a slow news day before a holiday to shake up the political world, saying she will step down as governor of Alaska but leaving open the question of her political future. "We've got to put first things first. I love my job, and I love Alaska. I am doing what's best for Alaska," Palin said Friday at a televised news conference in her hometown of Wasilla. Palin said she hoped people would not be disappointed by the decision, which she said she had contemplated for some time.

CHICAGO - President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday that an investigation by his office has found that his staff had no inappropriate conversations with Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich over who would succeed Obama in the Senate. But Obama said the review of his staff's contacts would not be made public until next week at the request of federal prosecutors, who are investigating Blagojevich for allegedly putting Obama's vacated Senate seat up for sale. "I had no contact with the governor's office, and I had no contact with anybody in the governor's office," Obama said at a news conference called to introduce his energy and environment team.

The governor's office is offering $30,000 in state grants to individuals and organizations looking to stage film festivals in Maryland. "Interest in film festivals is a great way to boost tourism, as well as showcase Maryland's very talented filmmakers," Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement. "We hope that these funds will help leverage private sector support for the film industry, and encourage new festivals throughout the state." The grants available range from $1,000 to $5,000. Proposals will be evaluated based on such criteria as the quality, quantity and diversity of the programming, the anticipated attendance, and community involvement and support.

Gov. Martin O'Malley sat in the audience last week as the portrait of his once and perhaps future adversary, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., was unveiled. Some have said these two young lions of Maryland politics are antagonistic twins destined for more rounds of political combat. However, their wives, Kendel Ehrlich and Katie Curran O'Malley - as if signaling some kind of sartorial truce - came to the event in essentially the same dress. The emcee, Edward T. Norris, is a convicted felon and talk-show host who, before his conviction, had been head of the Baltimore police for Mr. O'Malley and then superintendent of the state police for Mr. Ehrlich.

If Anthony Brown ever gets his fill of politics, he might consider a second career as a tuxedo model. The lieutenant governor has already appeared, decked out in a snazzy penguin suit, in a magazine ad for Kustom Looks Clothier. Makes sense, since the Landover haberdashery bills itself as "The Official Clothier for Prominent Professionals." Except for that bit in Maryland law that prohibits state officials from using the "prestige" of their office for private gain. Brown spokeswoman Nancy Lineman said the lieutenant governor's office only recently became aware of the ad, which has run several times in Prince George's Suite magazine.

The state troopers who drive Martin O'Malley around can be trusted to know where they're going, but not to flip on the windshield wipers when it rains. So it seems from the specs for a new SUV the state is thinking about buying. In a bid solicitation for a 2008 Chevy Suburban 3LT for the governor's office, the state says it can do without the optional OnStar navigation system (which, incidentally, is free for the first year). But bring on the "Rainsense" wipers and heated wiper fluid.

As he gets ready for life as an ex-governor, Bob Ehrlich might be wondering what the hardest adjustment will be. William Donald Schaefer asked one of his predecessors that very question, as his own days as governor were growing short. Marvin Mandel didn't have to think about it: "Learning how to drive again." This from a governor whose transition - from Government House to Big House - was more precipitous and painful than most. "It's not that you don't know how to drive a car. It's that you don't know how to get to where you're going," Mandel told me the other day. "When you don't drive, you're sitting in the back seat.

Slot machines have been real moneymakers - for the politicians who support them. Contributions have cascaded into Annapolis in such munificent amounts that more than a few pro-slots office-holders would probably be sorry ever to see an actual bill legalizing them enacted. Common Cause estimates that between 1999 and 2004, gambling and horse racing interests contributed $700,000 to Maryland politicians. In 2004 alone, they spent $2.3 million on lobbying fees in Annapolis. But that's not all. There are other ways for money to be spent, and that's important in light of the news that the governor's press secretary received two subpoenas from federal prosecutors over the influence of gambling interests.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A provincial governor and close friend of President Hamid Karzai was killed along with two staff members by a suicide bomber as they drove away from the governor's office yesterday, government officials said. The governor, Muhammad Hakim Taniwal of Paktia province, southeast of the capital, is the highest-ranking official to be killed since the Taliban began a campaign of suicide bombings last year, especially singling out senior government officials. At least two other governors and the chairman of the upper house of parliament have narrowly escaped death in similar attacks.