An assistant secretary filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Maryland Department of General Services, claiming his June firing was “part of the purge of white Republican appointees” by the O?Malley administration.
Nelson Reichart, who oversaw land appraisals as assistant secretary for real estate, also claimed the O?Malley administration retaliated against him after he went public about controversial land deals. He was fired by DGS Secretary Alvin Collins on June 29, the day after the Baltimore Sun published his comments that his office might have tried to negotiate a lower price for a $5 million Open Space land acquisition on Kent Island. He is seeking reinstatement.
In his lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Baltimore County Circuit Court, Reichart alleges that not only was he illegally fired for the comments he made to a reporter during an interview authorized by the agency, but that it was part of a pattern of firings “for no other apparent reason than their political affiliation and/or race and/or age/approaching retirement.”
Reichart said that he was 12 months away from a 30-year pension in state service. He admitted he was an at-will employee who could be fired for any reason, but said that is not true in his case because it was “for perceived misconduct in the form of public comments which were used to portray the O?Malley administration in a bad light.”
Collins rejected Reichart?s administrative appeal to get his job back.
Dave Humphrey, the DGS spokesman who told Reichart he could talk to a reporter, said: “We believe the Department of General Services acted legally and the state will vigorously defend the lawsuit. Beyond that I cannot comment because this is personnel-legal matter.”
The suit is laced with comments suggesting racial and political motives for firings and hiring in the top positions at General Services, which manages state buildings and procurement, including land purchases.
Reichart?s suit notes that the department secretary, deputy secretary and his own position were all replaced by black Democrats. Other positions were filled by Democrats, including another assistant secretary slot that was filled by Michelle Griffin, the wife of Natural Resources Secretary John Griffin, who was involved in the land deal on Kent Island that Reichart questioned.
