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Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley and his wife, Catherine, today walk outside City Hall, where the couple denounced rumors of infidelity spread by an aide to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (Sun photo by Christopher T. Assaf / February 9, 2005) |
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- 1982: Worked for National Conservative Political Action Committee.
- 1985: Worked on unsuccessful lieutenant governor's campaign of Richard Viguerie, a conservative, in Va.
- 1992: Ran to become Republican delegate to national convention. Would have represented Pat Buchanan.
- 1995-2003: Worked in Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s 2nd District congressional office in Lutherville. Was district representative/legislative assistant, paid $46,600 a year.
- Jan. 15, 2003: Appointed as an executive aide in the governor's office. State officials said he never officially worked for either the Human Resources or Juvenile Services department but could have been detailed to those agencies.
- June 2, 2004: Moved to Maryland Insurance Administration. Earned $72,453 as director of communications. Steffen's career in politics
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Joseph F. Steffen Jr. left Reisterstown's Franklin High School and quickly found a home in the rough-and-tumble world of politics, working mostly behind the scenes as a self-described "Prince of Darkness" on behalf of favorite Republicans - including, for more than a decade, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
Now, the 45-year-old political operative finds himself squarely in the limelight amid questions about the closeness of his relationship with Maryland's governor, having left his state job after spreading rumors over the Internet about his boss' likely rival in 2006, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
As the Ehrlich administration distanced itself from Steffen's rumor-mongering, a picture emerged yesterday of a committed conservative crusader whose tireless work pleased his bosses while enraging their opponents.
Adding to the intrigue is the mysterious figure that Steffen cut. Former colleagues said he preferred to wear dark clothing and work behind closed doors, with the lights off. Away from work, he writes horror and science fiction stories.
"He's a character," said Ehrlich, who employed Steffen while he was a U.S. congressman from 1995 to 2003 and then in various state jobs since assuming Maryland's governorship.
Ehrlich said at a news conference yesterday that Steffen dealt with complicated constituent issues while working in his congressional district office. When he became governor, Ehrlich said, Steffen helped look at the operations of state agencies.
Charles Black, a veteran Republican political strategist who informally advises President Bush, recalled Steffen as a "bright, energetic" worker for the National Conservative Political Action Committee and Richard Viguerie's failed 1985 run for lieutenant governor of Virginia.
"He got the reputation of being a great organizer, which means being on the phone constantly and driving around the state," Black said. "I had a good impression of him based on what other people told me."
On the other hand
Candidates against whom Steffen operated gave a different view. They recall campaigns marked by such tactics as the spreading of false rumors.
"He was widely regarded as the dirty trick operator of the Ehrlich campaign," said Gerry L. Brewster, who lost to Ehrlich during the 1994 campaign for Congress. "He was basically their hatchet man."
Connie Galiazzo DeJuliis, a former state delegate who unsuccessfully opposed Ehrlich during his 1996 bid for re-election to Congress, described Steffen as Ehrlich's Lee Atwater, the late Republican strategist known for his tough tactics.
"He's the guy who does the stuff so Bob can pretend to be above the fray," said DeJuliis, who blamed Steffen for a leafletting campaign that raised concerns about her commitment to family values and other issues important to voters.
Attempts to reach Steffen at his Rosedale home and by phone for comment yesterday were unsuccessful. He said Tuesday night that he made the Internet postings on his own, that no one in the Ehrlich administration asked him to do so.
"It was all me," he said.
Steffen is unquestionably a committed conservative. He sought unsuccessfully to represent Patrick J. Buchanan at the 1992 Republican convention. Viguerie, the candidate Steffen helped to run for lieutenant governor of Virginia, founded Conservative Digest magazine and runs a direct mail company supporting New Right causes.
On an Internet posting late last year, Steffen praised the impact of Viguerie's campaign on Republican politics.
"Boy did we shake the establishment to its rafters!" he wrote on www.conservativehq.com last October. "Richard set the standard for fundraising, no doubt, and helped create a legion of young conservative[s]. For this, the nation should be grateful."
'I opted out'
Steffen's O'Malley postings were made on the conservative Web site www.FreeRepublic.com under the handle "ncpac." A posting Tuesday night under that name read: "If I were to hide, that would only hurt a Governor I've known and admired for a long time. ... Given the volatility of the situation - and knowing the blowback potential on the Governor - I opted out rather than letting him bleed further at the hands of O'Malley."
Now, the 45-year-old political operative finds himself squarely in the limelight amid questions about the closeness of his relationship with Maryland's governor, having left his state job after spreading rumors over the Internet about his boss' likely rival in 2006, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
As the Ehrlich administration distanced itself from Steffen's rumor-mongering, a picture emerged yesterday of a committed conservative crusader whose tireless work pleased his bosses while enraging their opponents.
Adding to the intrigue is the mysterious figure that Steffen cut. Former colleagues said he preferred to wear dark clothing and work behind closed doors, with the lights off. Away from work, he writes horror and science fiction stories.
"He's a character," said Ehrlich, who employed Steffen while he was a U.S. congressman from 1995 to 2003 and then in various state jobs since assuming Maryland's governorship.
Ehrlich said at a news conference yesterday that Steffen dealt with complicated constituent issues while working in his congressional district office. When he became governor, Ehrlich said, Steffen helped look at the operations of state agencies.
Charles Black, a veteran Republican political strategist who informally advises President Bush, recalled Steffen as a "bright, energetic" worker for the National Conservative Political Action Committee and Richard Viguerie's failed 1985 run for lieutenant governor of Virginia.
"He got the reputation of being a great organizer, which means being on the phone constantly and driving around the state," Black said. "I had a good impression of him based on what other people told me."
"He was widely regarded as the dirty trick operator of the Ehrlich campaign," said Gerry L. Brewster, who lost to Ehrlich during the 1994 campaign for Congress. "He was basically their hatchet man."
Connie Galiazzo DeJuliis, a former state delegate who unsuccessfully opposed Ehrlich during his 1996 bid for re-election to Congress, described Steffen as Ehrlich's Lee Atwater, the late Republican strategist known for his tough tactics.
"He's the guy who does the stuff so Bob can pretend to be above the fray," said DeJuliis, who blamed Steffen for a leafletting campaign that raised concerns about her commitment to family values and other issues important to voters.
Attempts to reach Steffen at his Rosedale home and by phone for comment yesterday were unsuccessful. He said Tuesday night that he made the Internet postings on his own, that no one in the Ehrlich administration asked him to do so.
"It was all me," he said.
Steffen is unquestionably a committed conservative. He sought unsuccessfully to represent Patrick J. Buchanan at the 1992 Republican convention. Viguerie, the candidate Steffen helped to run for lieutenant governor of Virginia, founded Conservative Digest magazine and runs a direct mail company supporting New Right causes.
On an Internet posting late last year, Steffen praised the impact of Viguerie's campaign on Republican politics.
"Boy did we shake the establishment to its rafters!" he wrote on www.conservativehq.com last October. "Richard set the standard for fundraising, no doubt, and helped create a legion of young conservative[s]. For this, the nation should be grateful."
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