Md. Gov (R) gets cash from developer who sought protected land

[PSU84]

THE SUN Baltimore, MD November 16, 2004

Developer's partner held fund-raiser for governor;
Sought to buy preserved land from state

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) collected $100,000 for his re-election campaign at a private fund-raiser held by a business partner of construction company owner Willard J. Hackerman this month, at the same time the governor's aides were contemplating the sale of state preservation land to Hackerman at a below-market price. Ehrlich raised the money Nov. 4 at the Owings Mills home of Howard S. Brown, a developer and president of David S. Brown Enterprises. Brown and Hackerman's Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. are partners in a project to build a $220 million town center at an Owings Mills Metro station parking lot that would include a library and university building.

<snip>

Four days after the fund-raiser, Hackerman bowed to criticism and abandoned his plan to purchase the 836-acre forest in Southern Maryland for the same price paid by the state. Hackerman stood to gain up to $7 million in federal and state tax breaks if he preserved the land, but according to documents released last week, he intended to build homes with a water view there. Repercussions from the aborted deal are continuing. Yesterday, state Sen. Roy P. Dyson, a Southern Maryland Democrat, asked state Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. for an investigation "to see if there was any criminal misconduct" involved in the proposed St. Mary's County transaction. "I believe it is up to the attorney general's office to investigate this matter," Dyson said in a letter.

Some observers say the appearance of Ehrlich at the fund-raising event illustrates the unsavory role of money in politics and state affairs."I would say that sends a message that if you help raise money for the governor, you may get special treatment when it comes to bidding on state properties," said James Browning, executive director of the campaign finance watchdog group Common Cause. John Reith, Ehrlich campaign finance director, said the event at Brown's home was attended by 100 people who paid $1,000 each for the opportunity to meet the governor and view the developer's collection of modern art.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.ehrlich16nov16,1,5650075.story

[ourbluenation]

1. send this to redmorals.com

[rodeodance]

2. sock it too the repug-there are too many "Delay's" in Congress!!

[Burma Jones]

3. I don't see much of a future for Ehrlich

We here in Maryland still remember Agnew and Mandel and do not want to see sleaze back in office. We're also heavily Democratic and are pretty annoyed with the 2004 election. Ehrlich also ran against a poor candidate in Kennedy-Townsend. You also REALLY do not want to screw around with parkland in Maryland...........

[mcg]

5. I'd love to see Ehrlich go the way of Agnew and Mandel.

[qanda]

4. Does this have anything to do with this story just posted...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2701522

Portions of parks slated for sale
Md. natural resource officials designate thousands of acres; Ehrlich administration called for list;
To raise state revenue, land could go into private hands

The state Department of Natural Resources is considering the sale of thousands of acres in and around some of Maryland's most scenic parks and forestland, fulfilling Governor Robert Ehrlich's (R) directive to streamline government and raise money. Targeted parcels include land that appears attractive to developers, such as 16 acres inside Deep Creek Lake State Park in Garrett County, a popular tourist destination where property values are soaring. Other land that might be sold includes 151 acres in Patapsco Valley State Park, 33 acres on Chesapeake Bay islands off Baltimore County, and Harford County property near the state's second-highest waterfall.

<snip>

"We're both stunned and baffled by this list. We've never seen anything like it," said George Maurer, senior planner at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. "This is not just a matter of selling off the small oddball parcel here and there. “This list really creates the appearance of a list to create income or profit for the state, and we don't think land owned by the state should be treated as disposable income."

<snip>

Some of the land was purchased with federal funds, with tight restrictions attached. Approval from Washington would be needed before a sale, and federal law requires that some land be replaced with "equivalent" property. Sale of preservation land to counties could amount to a financial shell game, said Robert J. Barrett, Baltimore County's recreation and parks director.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.land13nov13,1,2467439.story

[PSU84]

6. Nope. Similar, but not the same.

Two separate scandals. One involves sale of state-owned land - purchased with state monies earmarked for preserving undeveloped land - and at the the same price paid by the state - to a developer who intended to build homes on part of it and who would then get a $7 million tax break by promising to "preserve" the remainder. The developer's partner had recently raised $100,000 in contributions for the governor's re-election campaign.

The other story involves this same governor's plan to sell off parts of Maryland'd state park and state forest lands to raise revenue for the state and to put the land in the hands of Republican-friendly developers.

If all of this seems SLEAZY to you...it is!

[qanda]

7. Thanks...

I live in Maryland and haven't heard anything about this yet. I guess it will be on the evening news.

[JaneQPublic]

8. I live in St. Mary's County, MD

And I'm pissed as hell. This county is a beautiful little strip of land, between the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River -- lots of natural woodland and water views. But we're already getting over-developed. And if "Governor Unibrow" gets his way (and his bribes), we'll be able to stand on the Potomac edge of the county and have an unobstructed view of the Chesapeake.

I just hope Erlich gets burned BAD over this.