University of Maryland Regents Violated Campaign Fundraising Law

What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander - except when the issue is Democrat politics in Maryland.

When Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., was Governor, Democrats in Annapolis created an “ethical smear” on the Administration because members of the Board of Regents of the University of Maryland System were also involved in political activities during their private lives. Nothing illegal was done - but with much uproar and election-year grandstanding, the Democrat legislators passed a bill prohibiting regents from engaging in political fundraising.

Entering the 2010 legislative session, however, the University of Maryland System was facing the potential for severe cuts as the O’Malley Administration was formulating its higher education budget. Conveniently, two members of the Board of Regents served as hosts for a major fundraiser sponsored by the O’Malley/Brown campaign.

Regent Chairman Clifford M. Kendall and Assistant Treasurer Barry P. Gossett are the key names on the list of a 19-person host committee printed in the invitation for the November 3, 2009, fundraiser. They solicit contributions of $1000 per individual and $4000 per sponsor for the O’Malley/Brown campaign. The flyer is a direct violation of the law passed by the Democrats in 2006.

Delegate Frank S. Turner (D-Howard) told the Washington Post in 2006: “We need to clean up this board, and dealing with fundraising is a piece of that . . . These people should be out fundraising for need-based scholarships, for athletic scholarships.” (Washington Post, “Momentum Builds for Regents Bill,” March 23, 2006)

Harsh criticism was also delivered by Douglas M. Duncan, Montgomery County Executive at the time, in the Washington Post article. He asked whether a potential contributor would know in what capacity a regent was acting: “We expect our regents to be focused on higher education, not hitting people up for political money.”

Today, not only are the regents confusing potential contributors about what “hat” they are wearing when fundraising, but so is the Chief of Staff of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs. As reported at MarylandReporter.com, Gerard “Jerry” Boden was transferred from Lt. Governor Anthony Brown’s staff to a high-paying position created for him at Veterans Affairs.

However, he also serves as the treasurer of Brown’s official campaign finance account. Won’t contributors be confused by which role Boden is representing when fundraising? Shouldn’t Boden be focused on the issues of Maryland’s veterans and “not hitting people up for political money”?

Just another example of how, in Maryland, the Democrats play by a different set of rules for ethical standards in state government.