There’s a terrific children’s educational game called Set that involves picking out patterns on cards that have various kinds and numbers of figures, colors, shapes and shadings. It’s interesting for adults as well, although, just like modern technology, kids are better at it.
The idea of being able to distinguish what is similar as well as what is different is a useful skill in thinking about elected officials as well. Consider for example, Attorney General Doug Gansler and Comptroller Peter Franchot, the first two elected statewide officials from Montgomery County since 1919.
During the 2006 election, both were widely described as ambitious, adept at getting media coverage and, perhaps, already thinking about the next office for which they were going to run.
So far, Franchot, as I described in an earlier column, has lived up that description and, in the minds of many, exceeded it. There seems to be no topic outside his interest and his quest for public attention seems boundless.
Gansler, on the other hand, has taken a far different approach to his office. His public posture in the job has been relatively low-key and no one has accused him of straying outside the boundaries of his position.
Still, if you ever spent any time with the attorney general, your first impression is how enthusiastic and energetic he is and there is no doubt that he views himself as an activist attorney general.
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That probably comes from a combination of his own personality and his 14 years as, first, a federal prosecutor and then as Montgomery County’s state’s attorney.
Despite his reputation for seeking media coverage, he points out that he did not hold any press conferences as state’s attorney, but was always available to respond to reporter’s questions. It probably didn’t hurt that he personally tried a number of high profile cases.
Gansler swept into office on the strength of the new political demographics of Maryland in which Montgomery and Prince George’s counties have become the dominant jurisdictions. That pattern will only become more significant in future elections.
The office of attorney general is not particularly well understood by most people. Gansler is no longer primarily a prosecutor, but, instead, the state’s lawyer with the responsibility to represent the governor and all state agencies. That gives him, among other things, a unique perspective on the operations of state government and helps explain why so many attorneys general around the country end up running for governor of their states.
Gansler, after just a year and a half in office, is the chair of the Democratic Attorney Generals Association and active in the national group of all attorneys general as well. He jokes about the greeting from a long time attorney general who welcomed them to the ‘‘National Association of Aspiring Governors.”
Early Obama supporter
He has also been active in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign as co-chair of the Maryland effort and a frequent campaigner in other states for the Illinois senator during the primaries. That decision got him on board the Obama bandwagon early, which must have seemed like a risky step to those many officials who were reluctant to make a public commitment in the early going.
Those national activities are not, however, what take up most of Gansler’s time. In addition to representing state agencies, another area in which his office is active is consumer protection.
He points with pride, for example, to two settlements that he negotiated that have had a national impact. He convinced rental car companies to switch to market cost plus a fee to fill up the tank of a car that is returned less than full. That initiative resulted from his own experience on an out of town trip.
As anyone who has ever rented a car knows, the prior system involved an astronomical per gallon charge. Or one that used to seem astronomical before the recent spike in gas prices.
A second consumer case was convincing cell phone companies to fully disclose the terms of the insurance that they sell for lost phones. It’s a multi-billion dollar business that Gansler delights in asking people if they understand. Our waiter didn’t and I certainly wouldn’t ever buy the insurance after hearing Gansler’s explanation of what it covers.
The attorney general also got a lot of attention after he was elected for his statements about focusing the office on the Chesapeake Bay and environment enforcement. Gansler sees that as an inevitably long-term undertaking, one of the reasons he plans to run for another term, and describes it as his top priority.
And then there’s public safety, which is, for the most part, a local rather than a state matter. As the result of a new law that Gansler pushed, the attorney general’s office now has a gang unit that works with local law enforcement agencies because, as he points out, gangs pay no attention to jurisdictional boundaries.
Pushed Internet safety
His office has also initiated an Internet safety program that has been made available throughout the state.
Gansler, who describes himself as a pro business, centrist, moderate Democrat, may well be Maryland’s next governor, but he gives every indication of being focused on his current job and enjoying it enormously. As he told me, every day is different and there’s a lot more work to be done.
As to the game of Political Set that started this column, Doug Gansler and Peter Franchot have taken dramatically different paths since coming from their previous Montgomery County positions.
It should be a fascinating case study to see which one is more successful.
Laslo Boyd is a partner at Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies. He also is a visiting professor of government and ethics at the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics at the University of Baltimore. His e-mail address is lvboyd@gmail.com.
