The expensive Lincoln Town Car that helped send Dennis F. Rasmussen into early retirement four years ago is long gone, but its political ghost still haunts those who hold the Baltimore County executive's job.
Wary of the big-spender symbols that helped defeat the last Democrat to occupy the office, C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger III has scotched plans to replace his official car -- a well-worn Ford sedan -- with a four-wheel drive vehicle this winter.
While impoverished Baltimore City barely blinked when Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke bought both a Lincoln Town Car and a Jeep Cherokee Laredo, Mr. Ruppersberger said the climate in Baltimore County is different -- particularly in light of a projected $3.9 million deficit.
"When I got news of the deficit, I said, 'Stop it,' " he said of his plans to have the county buy a new four-wheel drive vehicle for his use.
"A car is not a big deal to me. I'm trying to let employees and the public have confidence in me. If the money's there, I'll do it next year."
Meanwhile, he'll make use of the executive's 1991 Ford Crown Victoria or his own car, a 1990 Lincoln.
The Lincoln Mr. Rasmussen used became a symbol for opponents who accused the former executive of being a big spender, and the publicity helped Republican unknown Roger B. Hayden win in 1990.
Deciding that the symbol was more important than the money itself, Mr. Hayden promptly sold the $24,440 Lincoln at auction for a mere $10,300 and replaced it with a used 1991 Ford Crown Victoria for $15,900 -- at a net cost to the taxpayers of $5,600.
Mr. Hayden vowed before his Nov. 8 election loss to keep the Ford until the odometer read 200,000 miles. But Mr. Ruppersberger turned him out of office with 130,000 miles on the clock.
The city paid $28,267 for Mr. Schmoke's 1993 Lincoln, which spokesman Clinton R. Coleman said is necessary for the extra room.
"When the mayor travels to Washington with the housing authority director and the congressional liaison and two security people, it's a full load," Mr. Coleman said.
He said that's too many people to fit into the Chevrolet the mayor used before the city bought the Lincoln.
The Cherokee, bought for $21,477, replaced a duplicate Lincoln and gave Mr. Schmoke mobility in bad weather.
Mr. Ruppersberger would like that mobility, too, but he may have to wait for it.
County Councilman Douglas B. Riley, a Towson Republican, sees the different attitudes toward executive conveyance as the different images attaching to a big city mayor and a suburban executive.
Although Baltimore City and Baltimore County have nearly equal populations, he said, county officials seem to be expected to get by with less. "You have all the big-city headaches with none of the perks," he said. "People don't think of the county executive as a mayor."
By way of comparison, Harford County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann rides in a 1993 Ford Taurus. Anne Arundel's new executive, John G. Gary, inherited a low-mileage Buick LeSabre, and Howard County's Charles I. Ecker rides in a 1993 Dodge Intrepid.
Baltimore's Sen. Julian L. Lapides, now a candidate for city comptroller, said that a leader's car often becomes controversial because the average voter can understand the symbol.
Mr. Lapides has no problem with the mayor's arrangements, though he bristles at public cars for other top officials.
"Things like cars really do set people off," he said. "This [a car] is something that's part of your family -- a perk that every American
relates to."