Democratic Del. Bobby Zirkin defended himself this week against critics who say he didn?t report at least $28,000 in rent for an office he used for his re-election effort in his campaign finance filings.

Zirkin said he thought the Owings Mills office would be an in-kind contribution from development firm David S. Brown Enterprises, which owns the building off Reisterstown Road. But when the state Board of Elections director asked his treasurer to explain why the rent wasn?t reported as an expense or donation in his finance reports, Zirkin said he decided to pay Brown $5,000.