Del. Leslie Hutchinson, who decided not to run for re-election after a long saga of unpaid bills and traffic court convictions, is back on the public payroll.
Ms. Hutchinson, 33, an Essex Democrat, now is earning $40,700 a year -- $11,860 more than legislators make -- as a community outreach worker for the state Department of Human Resources. She was appointed in mid-October, after writing to Gov. William Donald Schaefer last summer seeking work. That led to her resume being circulated to state agencies and an interview with DHR secretary Luther Starnes.
Mr. Starnes interviewed Ms. Hutchinson for the position after "it was made clear to him that she was looking," department spokeswoman Helen Syablya said. "Luther was very interested in her. He thought she was a real asset."
The spokeswoman said Ms. Hutchinson's main duties are to contact community groups, churches and agencies dealing with poor people to alert them that they are entitled to an earned income credit of up to $2,000 on their taxes if they file for it. That's a priority, because tax forms go out the end of December, she said. Ms. Hutchinson also works in mentoring foster children and recruitment of community resources to help the poor.
"She's extremely well-connected in Baltimore County and the state," Ms. Syablya said.
"The governor and I had developed a special relationship," Ms. Hutchinson said. "I was one of the few legislators invited to his 70th birthday party and to the breakfast on opening day at Camden Yards."
Despite that, she said, "I didn't expect to get a job."
The job was not created for her, she said. "I found a position that fit."
When Ms. Hutchinson announced in May she would not run for re-election, she said she had to concentrate on rearing her son, completing a college degree and finding work.
Seeking re-election on top of all that would not be justified, she said then. "I don't think it's fair to my constituents to do this on their clock," she said.
She said yesterday she sees no problem in getting a state job through political connections. "I think it's fair," she said. "The majority of what happened to me happened to me personally. I am a competent legislator, a competent employee and I work hard."
The salary is needed, she said, to support her and her son, and for bills left over from her legal problems.
"You bet I need this job," Ms. Hutchinson said. "I love this job."
Del. Martha S. Klima, a Towson Republican, criticized the hiring.
"Typical," she said. "Leslie decided not to run. She needed an income and the state was there to pick her up. I'm tired of government being run like that."
At 29 in 1990, Ms. Hutchinson became the youngest woman ever elected to the House and the third generation of her family to hold elective public office. Her grandfather, Preston A. Hutchinson, served in the House and her uncle, Donald P. Hutchinson, was a state legislator and two-term Baltimore County executive. Her father, David Hutchinson, also was involved in politics, although behind the scenes.
Ms. Hutchinson quickly ran into trouble after taking office. She stopped making payments on her 1989 Cavalier convertible and drove the car without insurance or proper registration for months at a time. She didn't pay her 1991 state income taxes, failed to appear in traffic court seven times, was caught using Donald Hutchinson's 1970 House of Delegates license plates on her car and had her driver's license suspended four times. She also left a string of Annapolis hoteliers, dry cleaners and landlords petitioning the state government to pay her overdue personal bills.
In December 1992, she was forced out of her last job -- working for the county Police Department -- after an internal investigation revealed she drove on a suspended license and failed to quickly make good a bad check. In September 1993, a District Court judge fined her $1,500 and gave her a suspended jail term and three years probation on convictions of driving on a suspended license and without car insurance. Last spring, she said she still owed $13,000 to family members who helped her.