Canceling Governor's Reception was a No-Brainer 8/09

Ocean City - Governor O’Malley canceled the annual Governor’s reception at the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) summer conference.  Presumptively, this was to demonstrate he is making the hard decisions to cut frills from the state budget in hard times.

 

Under Governor O’Malley, the annual reception has become a big bash held at Seacret’s Restaurant – a popular watering hole at 49^th Street in Ocean City.  The reception would have cost $12,000 out of the Department of Business and Economic Development budget this year. 

 

When the state is over $700 million in arrears, a 12K party seems like a piddly amount to be worried about.  However, when you are getting ready to furlough state employees as well as cut their pay and reduce their benefits, it sends the wrong message for the Governor to be using taxpayer dollars to go out cavorting with local government leaders – no matter what it costs.

 

(BTW – local leaders still got their evening at Seacrets when the lobbying firm of Alexander & Cleaver, P.A., stepped up and quickly arranged to host a reception there on the opening night of the conference)

 

So on the surface – it appears a no-brainer that the reception was canceled for the symbolism, especially to state employees, that the Governor is making tough decisions to close the budget gap from the O’Malley deficit.  And that’s how it’s been played in the media (see Baltimore Sun, 8-11-09, “State, Local Officials to Party Less at Annual Gathering – Cutbacks Reflect Tough Times”).

 

However, the political reality is this:  the Governor’s reception would have provided face time with the Governor exactly at a time when the Governor’s spin strategy on cuts to local aid requires limiting direct access to the Governor.

 

Governor O’Malley has one and only one goal at this year’s MACO conference.  Before Labor Day, he will be announcing significant cuts in local aid.  When he does, he needs the local officials inside his tent praising him – not outside the tent throwing barbs.

 

Just as Governor O’Malley downplays the dire straits of the state budget crisis by saying Maryland is much better off than other states, he needs the local officials to say the Governor O’Malley’s cuts to education, public safety and local aid were the right cuts to make – because they could have been much worse.

 

Therefore, this MACO session is all about controlling access to the Governor, negotiating in private sessions for buy-in by local officials and leaving on Saturday with everyone singing “Kumbaya” on cuts to local aid.

 

The real no-brainer is that the reception with a receiving line and face-to-face encounters between the Governor and local elected officials from throughout the state is too volatile.  No way the Governor wants to have to defend his failed budget policy in that forum – such transparency has too much potential to derail his political strategy for county buy-in on the forthcoming severe cuts to local aid.