Veteran political gossips have noted with some consternation that something very odd is coming out of Gov.-elect Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s transition team: nothing.
No test balloons regarding policy decisions, no top-notch whispering about who is getting what job, no especially fruitful leaks about much of anything. Rumors, yes, but solid facts, very few.
A case in point occurred yesterday. Even as Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley announced that Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris was leaving to take a job as state police superintendent under Ehrlich, the governor-elect's staff refused to confirm the appointment.
In Annapolis, where inside information is currency, this state of affairs makes those accustomed to feeling that they're in the know feel like paupers.
"I'm just not hearing buzz like I used to hear," said Mike Golden, Comptroller William Donald Schaefer's press secretary.
Longtime Republican activists say they are suddenly shut out by the code of secrecy surrounding Ehrlich's transition.
"They are holding everything really close to their chest," said Carol L. Hirschburg, a GOP consultant. "I know people who tell me they know things but tell me they can't tell. They are sworn to secrecy. Who knows if they really know anything or not?"
Del. James F. Ports Jr., a Baltimore County Republican helping Ehrlich's transition team, says even he is in the dark. "The Ehrlich camp is not saying squat," Ports said.
Local governments, too, are wondering what is going on. Howard County Councilman Christopher J. Merdon said he has been unable to glean any information. "I have tried to check, and they are being very quiet about any appointments. I know absolutely nothing," he said.
Ehrlich's staff has refused to release the names of everyone working on his transition team and what their responsibilities are. Some of those working for the new administration have said they are not allowed to talk publicly - or privately - about what they're doing.
There is no printed public schedule for the governor-elect, so his activities can be a mystery to the press. On Saturday, Ehrlich and his closest advisers met for 3 1/2 hours to discuss Cabinet candidates at what staffers describe as "an undisclosed location."
And Lt. Gov.-elect Michael S. Steele, chairman of the transition team, has said that at least seven Cabinet members have been chosen, but he won't say for which positions, or who they are.
Adding to the aura of secrecy, a state trooper is posted at the transition team headquarters in Annapolis to make sure no one goes upstairs unannounced. Reporters are not allowed to see the fifth-floor offices where Ehrlich and Steele sit.
The new era of confidentiality is a turnaround from the days of the campaign, when Ehrlich was readily accessible to reporters and talked, sometimes breezily, about his plans and the inner workings of the campaign.
Paul E. Schurick, Ehrlich's spokesman, said the transition team's strategy is simple. "We don't want people reading in the newspaper what we're doing before we decide to announce it," he said. "We're not using leaks. We're choosing to do this stuff on our own terms."
Secrecy isn't exclusive to Republicans, however. All but a few close aides were utterly surprised when Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend announced that she had tapped retired Adm. Charles R. Larson as her running mate.
The choice angered some of her most powerful allies, who complained that they should have been consulted before their candidate chose a white, former Republican for the post. Townsend spent valuable campaign time and energy trying to soothe hurt feelings.
But political observers say Ehrlich's strategy is smart. He has experienced people around him and is consulting - albeit quietly - with key people to make sure he doesn't inflict mortal offense. Besides, they say, the election is over and he is in charge.
"I think maybe it says there's good discipline inside the organization, that there aren't what are called 'unauthorized leaks.' ... I think that people involved in the political game professionally know that you can get burned by leaks," said Republican strategist Kevin Igoe, adding that he has "heard almost nothing" in terms of gossip.
Sen. Ulysses Currie, a Prince George's County Democrat and incoming chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, applauds Ehrlich's tack.
"I think what they are doing is trying to get their arms around the budget, and you can't do that through the press," Currie said.
But others, such as environmentalists and health care advocates, are frustrated they don't know more about Ehrlich's policy with just a few weeks before he is sworn in Jan. 15.
Controlled leaks are an age-old political tactic. They allow ideas to float into newspapers and onto television, get turned over by pundits, and eventually by voters. If the reaction is bad, the idea never is implemented; if it's good, the politician takes credit.
Still, said Paul Herrnson, a government professor at University of Maryland, College Park, control over information is safer.
"There's never a risk in being careful," he said. "There's tremendous advantages in controlling the press."
The White House under President Bush has been a model of gossip restraint, for instance, and is considered incredibly effective at controlling press and the political agenda.
The recent zippering of formerly loose lips in Ehrlich's camp, though, says as much about his style as about that of Maryland Democrats, Herrnson said.
"The Democrats have been in control of the governor's office and the state legislature in all of recent history, and for many, beyond memory," he said. "With that control comes a certain style. The Democrats viewed themselves as untouchable, so they exhibited a degree of sloppiness and a degree of arrogance."
The open feuding between fellow Democrats Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Schaefer would be out of the question if they had to worry about a divided legislature, he said. "The Republicans were way out there in the proverbial desert, and when you're in the desert you're much more cautious," he said.
Sun staff writer Larry Carson contributed to this article.