About a year ago, Maryland voters elected the first new attorney general in 20 years, after former Attorney General Joseph Curran retired. Curran?s replacement, Doug Gansler, recently sat down with The Examiner to discuss his first year as the state?s top lawyer. A former lacrosse player at Yale and a graduate of University of Virginia?s law school, Gansler was Montgomery County?s chief prosecutor for eight years.
Q: You?re rushing around today. What?s going on?
A: Just going over some hiring stuff. The most important job I have as Attorney General is who I hire. I?ve got 420 lawyers. At any given time, we have 30,000 cases circulating through this office. Obviously, I don?t have time to delve into each of those 30,000 cases. So, who we hire is critical.
Q: In addition to being the boss of 420 lawyers, you?re also described as the state?s top law enforcement officer. In that role, what, if anything, can you do to help with the rampant violence in Baltimore City?
A: Well, dealing with the crime in Baltimore City is not in the job description of the attorney general at all. Having said that, this office has a special relationship with Baltimore City. We are part of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council of Baltimore City. Some of our statewide programs have an effect on crime — for an example, the Internet safety initiatives we?re doing. We?re also part of a gun task force that?s trying to get gun trafficking out of the city.
Q: You were also instrumental in persuading the Maryland legislature to pass the Gang Prosecution Act of 2007 — which prohibits knowingly joining criminal gangs — but that law has been criticized as too weak. Were you happy with how the law turned out?
A: The gang act was passed, but it was passed in an extremely watered-down version, because it was given to a group of defense lawyers who basically picked it apart. But it was a major step forward in the fact that it aligned us with the other 31 states that have gang legislation. It gives us a skeleton to build on.
Q: All but one of the Maryland?s 24 state?s attorneys supported the bill. Did you talk with Baltimore City State?s Attorney Patricia Jessamy about her opposition?
A: Her issue with that legislation was very legitimate. The bill didn?t go far enough. We all agreed with that. She wanted a statewide RICO [Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations] statute, nearing the federal RICO statute. I wanted that as well. But the chairs of the two committees of the senate and the house side said ?We?re not passing any bill having asset forfeiture as a part of it? and that?s a big part of RICO.
Q: House and Senate Judiciary Committee chairmen Joseph Vallario and Brian Frosh are defense attorneys. Do you think the let their personal interests get in the way of a strong anti-gang bill?
A: They?re all defense attorneys down there. They all represent defendants for a living. And that?s who we needed to get the bill passed.
Q: How is Baltimore?s gang problem different from the rest of Maryland?
A: The gang problem in Baltimore City is akin to the gang problem in Washington D.C., which is a predominately geographically, territorially based gangs. They say, ?This is my neighborhood. This is my corner. You can?t operate here.? Throughout the rest of Maryland, it?s more demographically based. For example, in Montgomery County, 90 percent of the gang members are Latino. Their home countries, and even their home cities are towns, are the framework on which these gangs are based. MS-13, while present in Baltimore City, isn?t the dominant force that it is outside of Baltimore City. The Bloods and the Crips have more of a foothold in Baltimore than the remainder of the state.
Q: While running for attorney general, you said you wanted to conduct a “mile-by-mile audit” of all the streams, rivers and tributaries in the state. Your republican opponent said such an audit would take more than 60 years to complete. How?s that going?
A: It?s going well. We?ve brought a number of actions consistent with the audit. We?re trying to figure out, ?Who are the polluters?? Unlike a state?s attorney, prosecuting murders, it takes a little bit longer to get things done.
Q: You also lobbied the legislature for a ban on phosphate in dishwasher detergent. Why are you so concerned with how people wash their dishes?
A: I spent an enormous amount of time advocating for that bill, because it was one of the most important things accomplished in the last legislative session. It banned phosphates from dishwasher detergent. We went up against the manufactures of these products and we were successful. There are basically two things that make the Chesapeake Bay polluted: phosphorus and nitrogen. It turns out 10 to 30 percent of the phosphate that gets into the bay comes from dishwasher detergent. We were the second state in the country to get this ban. It will be effective in January 2010.
Q: What about the Susquehanna River, the nation?s most polluted, that dumps all that junk into the bay?
A: Half the water in the bay comes from the Susquehanna. It starts up in New York and it comes down to Maryland, but when it hits Lancaster, it gets really nasty. We?re looking at doing some upstream litigation. The Chesapeake Bay is in environmental crisis.
Q: How about the raw sewage that ends up in our water after it rains?
A: Yes, we have to address wastewater treatment plans so that when it rains, raw sewage doesn?t get pumped into our waterways. It?s an anathema to anyone?s sense of justice that this is happening in the 21st century. It?s unbelievable and It?s shocking, but it exists.
Q: Why do you have a poster of Harry Truman on your wall?
A: I like the motto, ?Give ?em hell.?
Q: Is the only man to order nuclear attacks in world history your role model?
A: No, my wife is from Missouri. Her family knew the Truman family. He did a lot of important things and concluding World War II is one of them — in a favorable way for the United States. We used to win wars back then.
Q: You supported former City Councilman Keiffer Mitchell in a losing effort against Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon. You?re also supporting Barack Obama for president. Why do you pick those candidates to back?
A: I have a long relationship with Keiffer. We?re personal friends. Keiffer Mitchell was the only Baltimore City politician who was able to look past demographics and geographics and endorse my candidacy. I think it?s important to be loyal. My support for Barack Obama is very different. He is the smartest, most qualified person running for president. This president, George Bush, has done more in the last eight years to undermine international good will than any other president in 200 years. I think the very moment that this country elects Barack Obama president it will send a message to the world that we haven?t lost our marbles.
Q: Both of these endorsements put you at odds with Gov. Martin O?Malley, who supported Dixon and has stumped for Hillary Clinton. Is there any friction between you two?
A: I don?t think it puts me at odds with the governor at all. Irespect and understand his endorsements. Sheila Dixon supported him and he supports her. The Clinton family supported the governor, and he?s supporting them.
Q: Have you had any disagreements with the governor?
A: Not really.
Q: The two rising national stars of Maryland politics haven?t had a single disagreement?
A: Well, we disagree on some issues. I think we ought to have a death penalty. I think there are certain things certain people can do to forfeit their right to live on our planet. The governor feels differently. But there?s been nothing contentious. Will we have our disagreements down the road? Perhaps. But I think we?ll work through them.
Q: You?ve allegedly told people you want to be the “first Jewish president.” Is that true?
A: Actually, it was Mark Plotkin [WTOP radio commentator] who said that. I can safely say it wasn?t me saying that.
Q: Do you want to run for president?
A: I love law jobs. I was a state?s attorney and now attorney general. Those jobs are apolitical. I have no interest in legislative-type jobs. Will I run for a different office some day? Perhaps. I don?t see myself staying here, making $125,000 a year, for the rest of my life. There are no other jobs in the foreseeable future I see myself being interested in. I believe the best thing I can do politically is do a good job here.
Q: What?s been the biggest difference you?ve noticed between this job and your last one?
A: When I was state?s attorney, I used to get calls all night long, whenever there was a homicide. Nothing that happens here is of that kind of urgency. The other day the phone rang at 6:30 in the morning. It was the wrong number.
