Shortly after he was sworn in, new Attorney General Doug Gansler said his two young sons “still don?t understand the concept of spending $2 million to get a job that pays $125,000,” and frankly, he doesn?t quite get it either.
But Gansler?s expensive gamble two years ago that Attorney General Joseph Curran Jr. would not run again paid off mightily Tuesday as he was sworn in to succeed Curran. Gansler became the first Montgomery County resident in state history to hold the job, and the first in 40 years not from Baltimore City.
Gansler had high praise for Curran, whom he called “an enigma and anomaly.”
“Nobody can serve 48 years in public service and be as beloved as he is,” Gansler said. “He?s assembled an amazing staff,” and Gansler plans few personnel changes.
Returning to a major campaign theme, Gansler promised, “We?re going to make an all-out assault on those who pollute the air and the Chesapeake Bay,” besides pushing prosecution of consumer and insurance fraud.
He spent much of his inaugural address thanking his supporters who packed the Senate chamber, and said he was “very, very honored” to have Gov. Robert Ehrlich swear him in, a duty given to Ehrlich in the Constitution. Ehrlich “served with integrity and honesty,” Gansler said, and supported much of the pro-victim legislation Gansler did.
“I?m not exactly the poster boy of the Democratic establishment,” Gansler told the crowd, which included former Attorneys General Stephen Sachs and Curran, Comptroller-elect Peter Franchot and House Speaker Michael Busch. Notably missing from the event were Gov.-elect Martin O?Malley; his running mate, Lt. Gov.-elect Anthony Brown; and Senate President Thomas Mike Miller, who had supported one of Gansler?s Democratic opponents.
Curran, who had clashed with Ehrlich on issues, also praised Gansler?s work in Montgomery and then reached out to the governor, whom his son-in-law, O?Malley, had defeated in November. “Thank you for your service, governor,” Curran told Ehrlich, who stood quietly in a corner after he had performed the swearing in. “We wish your family well.”
GANSLER UP CLOSE
» Age: 44
» Home: Bethesda
» Education: Sidwell Friends School, D.C.; B.A. economics, political science, Yale University; J.D., University of Virginia.
» Career: Clerk, Maryland Court of Appeals Judge John McAuliffe; Civil Litigator, Howery & Simon, Washington; Assistant U.S. Attorney, Washington, 1992-98; Montgomery County State?s Attorney, 1999-2007; Attorney General 2007-present.
» Family: Father Jacues Gansler, vice president for research at University of Maryland, College Park and former undersecretary of defense for acquisition; mother, Alison, Montgomery County school teacher; wife Laura Leedy Gansler, securities lawyer and author; sons Sam, 11, and Will, 9.
» Hobbies: Plays lacrosse. Formerly played at Sidwell. Friends and Yale, where he was All-Ivy and All-New England; coached lacrosse, baseball and basketball for sons.
» Salary: $125,000
