In order to make informed decisions, voters need accurate information about candidates.
That?s why it should trouble we the people that Del. Peter Franchot, a Democrat running for comptroller, does not acknowledge in his official biography nor his campaign biography that he works outside of the Maryland General Assembly. He does.
We know you would be interested in knowing where: Cassidy & Associates, a lobbying firm in Washington. It billed clients more than $211 million for lobbying from 1998-2005 ? the most of any firm, according to OpenSecrets.org, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics.
You would not know that Franchot works at Cassidy. The firm does not list him among the biographies posted on its Web site. But when The Examiner called Cassidy & Associates and asked for Franchot, the receptionist connected us to his voice mail. He told The Examiner that he is a “business consultant,” not a lobbyist.
Regardless, his affiliation means that the candidate who calls himself “the only Democrat” in a race with the incumbent Democrat and Janet Owens, Democratic Anne Arundel County Executive, and who touts his environmental and anti-gambling credentials works at a firm that cites as its accomplishments:
» When the president rescinds funding for a multibillion dollar defense system, the contractor retains Cassidy & Associates to plan and implement a public affairs program that reaches targeted audiences nationwide from Seattle to Boston, Miami to Minneapolis … and the decision is reversed.
» A leading U.S. chemical company seeks to develop a major new business sector by marketing its product to the federal government … and does it.
Did we mention that Cassidy clients have included Wal-Mart, scourge of Democrats, and the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, which hired the firm in 2005 for gambling and casino-related work? Franchot declined to list clients for whom he works. But he said he specializes “in helping urban hospitals not in Maryland understand how they can connect to communities.”
Part of that job includes developing strategies to win government grants for clients. Why does this matter?
As comptroller, he would sit on the Board of Public Works, which votes on procurement contracts. Franchot says his hospital clients would never come before the board seeking state taxpayers? money because none of them are in Maryland.
In today?s world of health care conglomerates, it could be a possibility, though? No one is free of conflicts of interest, but the worrisome ones are those that are undisclosed. Franchot ought to post his current and former client list in his campaign materials so that we the people can hold him accountable. The same goes for the other candidates in the race ? of course. The public deserves to know the full background of each candidate, not one that omits key positions, club and board memberships.
The fact that Franchot has hidden this affiliation speaks poorly of his candor and raises questions about his character ? doesn?t it?
While we?re at it
The nearly silliest (the silly season continues for too long to declare this the winner) line in the stream of candidate press releases is this one from Franchot. “As Comptroller, I will make education my top priority and end overcrowding in our schools.”
Baltimore schools are a giant worry, but the comptroller?s greatest contribution to fixing them would be to ensure he collects taxes efficiently so that we can pay for them. For Franchot to list fixing schools as his top priority is the worst kind of pandering. Will the next press release carry his commitment, as our new comptroller, to cut the murder rate in Baltimore City?
