The Maryland Democratic Party has fired another shot at Team Ehrlich, this time taking aim at the Republican former governor's use of his current employer's resources.
In a letter today to the state election board, party Chairwoman Susan Turnbull writes that "the Baltimore law offices of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice ... (are) serving as the de facto campaign headquarters" for Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
Yet, Turnbull notes, "Bob Ehrlich for Maryland Committee has not reported receipt of any in-kind contribution from the law firm."
I have emailed the letter to Ehrlich's aides and am waiting to hear back from them.
Ehrlich says he will soon announce whether he plans to rematch Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, in the November election. But the Maryland Democratic Party isn't waiting for Ehrlich to become offical. Today's letter is just the latest in several recent attacks, which range from a creating a parody Ehrlich Web site to asking the Federal Communications Commission to investigate whether Ehrlich violated "payola pundit" rules in a Fox broadcast where he discussed slots.
The campaign complaint centers on Ehrlich spokesman Henry Fawell.
Ehrlich, a founding partner of Womble's Baltimore office, brought Fawell and other top aides to work with him at the firm. Turnbull's letter complains that Fawell, a press secretary while Ehrlich was governor from 2003 to 2007, has continued to serve as Ehrlich's spokesman even when on the clock at Womble.