Attorney General Joseph Curran admitted he?s going to miss the door-knocking and electioneering that has been part of his life for nearly 50 years in January when he leaves the state?s top legal job he?s held for five-terms.
“I think I?m going to be involved in one more campaign,” Curran told hundreds of staff, friends and family Monday as he announced his plans. His son-in-law Martin O?Malley, Baltimore?s mayor, is running for governor, and in a series of TV interviews, Curran made clear he?s supporting O?Malley wholeheartedly.
“I know firsthand it?s a great city and getting better,” said Curran, 74, who represented a Baltimore district for 24 years as a delegate and state senator. His father and a now-deceased brother were on the City Council, as is another brother, Robert.
But it was clearly Curran?s day, as O?Malley stood off to the side with his wife, Catherine, and the other four Curran siblings and a pack of grandchildren, who would be getting more of his attention, Curran said. “I?d rather have it said ?Why did you leave too soon?? than ?Why did you stay so long?? ”
“This is the greatest job that any lawyer could have,” Curran said, saying his fellow state attorneys general would agree. He said he is proud of how these lawyers for the states have banded together in class action suits that, for instance, won billions from tobacco companies.
“Not a day goes by that you don?t have chance to help someone,” Curran said. “We tried to give a voice to those who lacked a voice.”
Curran thanked many members of his staff, which includes 358 lawyers working in all the state departments, but he singled out Ernie Grecco, president of the Baltimore AFL-CIO unions, thanking “the working men and women” for their steadfast political support.
Grecco said Curran has “just been a class act” and “one of the best AGs” in the country, and praised him for his honesty and integrity, a common refrain about Curran.
Deputy Attorney General Donna Hill Staton, who has worked for Curran for nine years, said he is “everything everybody says about him” and has earned everyone?s “affection and respect.”
Gov. Robert Ehrlich, who has been openly critical of Curran?s representation of his administration, issued a statement commending him “for dedicating nearly a half century to serving the citizens of Maryland.”
