In addition to an investigation by the Maryland Ethics Commission, Baltimore County Sheriff Anne K. Strasdauskas faces mounting criticism from current and former employees, political opponents and some county officials about her high-profile stewardship of the sheriff's department.
Critics say the department is understaffed and demoralized. They also point to the sheriff's use of public funds for what they see as self-promotion and political advertising, an issue being examined by the county attorney at the request of a County Council member.
The ethics commission is looking into the sheriff's testimony at a county liquor board hearing, where she endorsed an application from a corporation without informing the board that her brother owns the chain's Silver Spring Mining Co. restaurant in Bel Air.
Strasdauskas, who likes to be called "Sheriff Anne," said she has done nothing wrong, and declined to comment on the ethics investigation. A Democrat, she is running for a second four-year term.
After interviews with dozens of current and former sheriff's department employees, courthouse and government workers, questions about the sheriff's department and Strasdauskas' conduct remain.
In May, County Auditor Brian J. Rowe told County Council members Strasdauskas spent nearly $1,200 in public funds for newspaper ads in fiscal year 2002 that "appear to border on campaign advertising for the Sheriff."
After that, she agreed not to use taxpayers' money for the ads, which she said were meant to inform the public about the duties of the sheriff's department -- providing courthouse security, serving legal papers and transporting prisoners. Most of her ads featured her picture and lacked information on the sheriff's department's main responsibilities.
An ad published July 4 in the Times-Herald, a community newspaper, contains a large picture of the sheriff offering best wishes to law enforcement personnel and members of the U.S. armed forces -- and does not contain an authorization line indicating the source of funding for the ad. The sheriff said she personally paid for the ad.
"The sheriff's ad was definitely campaign material," said Katie A. Brown, a county election official, whose office has received numerous complaints about the advertisement.
Under state election laws, the authorization line must indicate who is responsible for production and distribution of campaign material. Such material includes signs, letters, advertisements, Web sites and bumper stickers.
Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder has asked the county attorney to examine the advertising. Councilman Vincent J. Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat, is concerned about the promotional-style ads being financed with taxpayers' money.
"At her budget hearing, the sheriff said she would stop using general funds for these ads and pay for them herself," said Bartenfelder, a Fullerton Democrat. "So if she is now paying for these ads that really have nothing to do with her department's official functions, are they campaign ads? And if so, where is the authorization line required in political advertising?"
Added Gardina: "Public officials cannot use public money to promote themselves. The sheriff may have stopped that, but the new ads I've seen just promote her, and I have some significant concerns about it."
Staffing
The sworn-deputy ranks are depleted by at least 14 positions, including the deputy chief and a sergeant's position -- nearly a quarter of the ranks of officers who have graduated from the police academy and are trained in the use of firearms. County records show that five of those vacancies have existed for more than eight months under Strasdauskas' command.
Current and former deputies complain about a lack of adequate backup when serving eviction notices or removing a parent from a household by court order.
Deputies also say they are offended when ordered or "volunteered" to work details at events such as Special Olympics Cops and Lobsters, Department of Aging Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets and Child Identification Days.
In interviews, current members of the department spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared losing their jobs.
The county auditor cautioned the sheriff in the most recent budget analysis for the County Council that while having deputies participate in non-mandated "special community projects ... they were not specifically authorized in the [sheriff] office's adopted budget nor were funds specifically provided to support these activities."
Furthermore, the auditor's report said, "several of these activities appear to be more appropriately budgeted in other County agencies."
Strasdauskas, who will answer only written inquiries from The Sun, said that when she assumed command, there were six vacancies compared with the current 14. Discounting criticism, she said backup resources "are sufficient."
Second in command
Some deputies are unhappy about the department's second in command, David Ebacher, who earns $60,000 annually, nearly double what the average deputy makes.
Ebacher was hired by Strasdauskas in 1999, although he had no law enforcement or security experience. He has not attended the police academy, which is required for deputies under his command, and is not qualified to carry a sidearm, which rankles sworn personnel in the department.
Ebacher, records show, is married to the former Claire Sweet, a longtime friend of the sheriff's dating to their college days at the University of Wisconsin.
Strasdauskas said Ebacher "is the best person for the job." Ebacher would not comment.
Self-promotion
In public appearances, the sheriff often brings "Sheriff Andy," a 9-foot-high balloon depicting a uniformed deputy. It cost nearly $4,000 and was purchased with "private funds," Strasdauskas said.
But in November last year, she shipped Sheriff Andy to Nebraska for repairs -- and county taxpayers paid $450 for the work, county auditors found.
The sheriff said it is used for "official projects as well as the Child I.D. Program."
But it has also been used for political and promotional purposes.
Last week, when she waved to passers-by and distributed campaign literature, the balloon was with her at York and Padonia roads.
At a recent fund-raiser for Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend at the Baltimore Zoo, Strasdauskas turned out in uniform accompanied by the balloon.
And she has appeared with Sheriff Andy at promotions for private businesses, such as the reopening of the Merritt Health Club and the grand opening of a Kmart, according to the sheriff's Web site.
Critics say this is an example of how Strasdauskas blurs the line of professional duty and self-promotion. Others are irate that public funds were used to repair the balloon and that it is used for political purposes.
Strasdauskas also spent public funds to purchase a plaque for Rosie O'Donnell when the sheriff appeared before millions of viewers on the celebrity's television show in April 1999. After writing for tickets to the show, said her former secretary, Vicki Silvestri, Strasdauskas drove to New York and back in a county sheriff's vehicle, appeared on the show in uniform and presented O'Donnell with the plaque, which cost $40.75, county records show.
In using the county car for the trip, the sheriff did not follow a county regulation regarding the use of the sheriff's personal take-home car. The regulation says, "No person may operate or be transported in a County vehicle unless they are on related official County business that requires the use of that particular vehicle at that time."
Strasdauskas says using the car and spending public funds for the plaque are justified because she made O'Donnell an "honorary deputy" and recognized the celebrity "for her work with children and the Sheriff's Office received national/international exposure."
Ray Lewis jerseys
Judges and deputies were miffed with the VIP treatment accorded the Baltimore Ravens star during his April appearance in a civil case at the Towson courthouse. Judge John O. Hennegan ordered Strasdauskas to leave the courtroom during the Lewis hearing because it was not a criminal trial and her uniformed presence could have swayed the jury.
Citing security as her rationale, the sheriff gave the Ravens linebacker her reserved parking space and access to a jury room and elevator not accessible to the public.
Strasdauskas said she received two Ravens game jerseys autographed by Lewis. One was for an unidentified sick friend; she gave the other to her re-election campaign committee.
That jersey was auctioned at the sheriff's political fund-raiser in Towson in June, according to people who attended the event.
A former college speed skater, Strasdauskas, 48, boasts that she overcame hardscrabble beginnings in Baltimore's Highlandtown to become sheriff.
Elected in 1998, she earns $70,000 annually and oversees a $3.5 million budget and 58 sworn deputies and 40 civilian personnel.
Donna "D.J." Wright, who lived with Strasdauskas in Essex for nearly a year until September 2000, said the sheriff bragged "about her power in the county, that she could get anything done. To me, it was impressive. That was part of her aggressive nature."
Strasdauskas' supporters say they favor her rough-around-the-edges style and her seemingly boundless energy. They say her concerns for the elderly and children are to be applauded.
"She's a bubbly and kind person," said Patti Zajdel, an Essex community activist whose husband, Roger, is running for the House of Delegates.
"Sheriff Anne walks into a senior center and everybody knows her," said Patti Zajdel. "It's not above her to act like a child or be playful with an old person. And she is everywhere."
But Strasdauskas' attention to self-promotion and political standing has caused people to leave the department, current and former deputies say.
Michael Porter, a former lieutenant who retired after Strasdauskas took office, said, "It was a great place to work for 23 years." When the new sheriff took command "that world fell apart."