Probe of Ehrlich personnel moves

Personnel probe draft report

Steffen role is focus of hearing

Joseph F. Steffen Jr., discounted by the Ehrlich administration as a rogue employee who operated on his own to target workers for firing, was assigned to a large state agency by the governor's chief of staff and reported to him directly, state Human Resources Secretary Christopher J. McCabe testified yesterday.

Democrats, Post named in Steffen Web scandal

On the eve of a meeting of a special committee investigating Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s personnel practices, the state Senate minority leader said yesterday that a former Maryland Democratic Party operative may be the elusive MD4BUSH, and may have colluded with a journalist to post Internet messages to help the governor's political rivals.

Democrats want to hear from Steffen

Democratic lawmakers reviewing Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s personnel practices said yesterday that they want to hear more from Joseph F. Steffen Jr., the former Ehrlich aide who said last weekend he was instructed by top administration officials to target low-level state employees for firing.

Steffen defends role in targeting state workers

Joseph F. Steffen Jr., the aide to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. who was banished after discussing rumors about Mayor Martin O'Malley on the Internet, said he was sent into state agencies to identify employees who should be fired not because of their party affiliation but because they were not performing up to par.

Legal counsel in Ehrlich probe down to 5 finalists

The special committee investigating Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s hiring and firing practices will select its outside counsel today from five finalists, three of whom practice in Baltimore and two in Washington.

Personnel panel members fight over procedural rules

The special committee reviewing Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s personnel practices sparred last night before adopting procedural rules - a five-hour meeting that was the latest chapter in a continuing struggle between the group's Democrats and Republicans.

Ehrlich counsel calls for GOP right to hire lawyer in personnel probe

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s legal counsel requested yesterday that Republicans on a special committee reviewing the administration's personnel practices have the right to hire their own attorney.

Personnel review panel to have subpoena right

In a day marked by partisan feuding and a sweeping dismissal of GOP concerns, General Assembly leaders voted yesterday to give subpoena power to a special committee examining the governor's personnel practices.

Michael Olesker: Firing probe starts calmly; let's see if that lasts

Annapolis - Del. Adrienne Jones, lugging a bulging briefcase, heads for the door with a guy trying to cut her off. She won't make it, not with that briefcase slowing her down. She's trying to vacate the premises after yesterday's first session of the Special Committee on State Employee Rights and Protections. They're the legislators trying to find whether the Ehrlich administration has been taking away people's state jobs just because they have the wrong political leanings.

Ehrlich proposes study on personnel law

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. suggested yesterday that the General Assembly abandon its probe into his administration's firing practices and instead work with him on a bipartisan study of state personnel law.

Firing inquiry won't be partisan, say legislators

Legislative leaders repudiated criticism yesterday of their committee to investigate Ehrlich administration personnel practices, saying that the probe is not a partisan exercise but an attempt to ensure the quality of the state work force.

Democrat wants Finney to skip inquiry

In the continuing verbal tussle over an impending legislative investigation into Ehrlich administration personnel practices, a Montgomery County delegate demanded yesterday that the governor's chief counsel recuse himself from the proceedings.

Steele complains of bias in firings-probe panel

Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele said yesterday that if legislators the governor considers biased serve on a panel investigating his firing practices, the administration won't cooperate with the panel.

Ehrlich aide wants Frosh to quit panel

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s chief legal counsel demanded Sen. Brian E. Frosh resign from a panel investigating administration personnel practices, accusing the Montgomery County Democrat of misstatements and partisan motivations.

Busch names six delegates to panel in hiring investigation

House Speaker Michael E. Busch named the six delegates yesterday who will serve on a committee investigating the Ehrlich administration's personnel practices.

Panel is created to study Ehrlich personnel moves

Legislative leaders created a committee yesterday to examine Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s personnel practices, saying they need to investigate allegations that the administration fired longtime bureaucrats solely because of their political affiliation.

Hiring probe is put on hold

Despite legislators' promise of hearings this spring, an investigation into Ehrlich administration personnel practices will likely not occur for several months, leaving in the lurch former state employees who have come forward seeking answers for why they were fired.

General Assembly

GOP accuses Democrats of politicizing hiring, firing

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Republican legislators fought back yesterday against charges that the administration has politicized state hiring and firing, saying it is the Democrats who are guilty of abusing the patronage system.

Probe of Md. hiring urged

The fired personnel chief for the state transportation department urged Maryland lawmakers yesterday to investigate the Ehrlich administration's hiring practices, saying political staffers have established a parallel hiring system that dispenses jobs and salary increases to favored appointees while wrecking morale of career employees.

Ehrlich denies wholesale firings of Democrats

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. dismissed yesterday mounting allegations that his administration has employed a roving band of loyalists to purge state agencies of Democrats deep in the bureaucracy, saying Democrats are upset that a personnel system they created is in the hands of the opposing party.

General Assembly

Firings decried as partisan politics

Democratic lawmakers said yesterday that the $100,000 settlement paid to a well-known elected official who claimed he was fired from a state job because of party affiliation is part of a broader strategy by the Ehrlich administration that they hope to illuminate.

Democrat fired from state job is paid $100,000 to end suit

The Ehrlich administration has paid $100,000 to a fired state employee and well-known Democratic elected leader who had been in his job for five months, leaving unresolved who ordered his termination and why.

Governor creates jobs for his allies

Though he ran on a campaign to streamline state government after years of Democratic excess, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has quietly created new high-paying positions and layers of bureaucracy that, in many cases, reward legislative allies, campaign workers and others who helped him get elected, state payroll records show.