Attorney General-elect Doug Gansler said he plans to move some parts of the attorney general’s operation to the Washington area.
“We need to have a presence in suburban Maryland,” where 1.8 million Marylanders live, Gansler told The Examiner. “There is a lack of access to the office by citizens and lawyers,” including the 5,000 bar association members in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.
“One of the things we’re considering is moving the criminal appeals divisions,” and “part of whatever we do move is an outlet of the consumer protection division,” which already has branch offices in Hagerstown and Salisbury, Gansler said.
With 420 lawyers for the state, the bulk of the operation “is going to remain in Baltimore,” but “there is going to be a presence throughout the state,” he said.
Gansler, finishing his second term as Montgomery County state’s attorney, is the first Montgomery County resident to become attorney general. He said he is also moving his personal residence from Chevy Chase to Bethesda.
But he plans to keeping the attorney’s general office and most of its staff in downtown Baltimore.
Maryland is the only state where the attorney general’s office is not located in the capital city.
The commute to Baltimore is “not that bad,” Gansler said.
His commute will also be eased by having a state trooper on his security detail drive his state car.
“I’m looking forward to being in Baltimore,” he said. “I like being in Baltimore.”
Other than appointing two new deputy attorneys general and other members of his personal staff, Gansler plans no wholesale changes in staff.
“We’re going slowly,” Gansler said. “Personnel-wise the office is loaded with talent in terms of qualifications and experience. I can really take my time and it’s comforting that it’s running very well.”
