Former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley made his name as a champion of liberal causes, but who knew he was also adept at scoring bargain-basement deals on personal household furniture--at taxpayers' expense?
Thanks to what looks like a generous interpretation of state rules by some pliable state officials, Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat who left office in January, was allowed to purchase much of the governor's mansion's residential furniture--54 pieces from the family's bedrooms and living rooms--for the attractive price of $9,638; the original price of those items, billed to taxpayers, was $62,000.
Mr. O'Malley and his wife, state District Court judge Catherine Curran O'Malley, paid about 15 cents on the dollar for furniture that his successor, Gov. Larry Hogan (R), described as "expensive, beautiful [and] barely used."
While a spokesman for the O'Malleys said they bought the goods only after they were declared "unserviceable" by the department, a spokesman for the department said that it was, in fact, Mrs. O'Malley who initiated the process by which the furniture was classified as "surplus."
The O'Malleys made a combined income approaching $300,000 for most for the eight years of his governorship. Why couldn't they buy their own furniture, new or used, when they moved into private accommodations in Baltimore? What did they do, exactly, to deserve a sweet deal paid for by Marylanders?
The O'Malley shopping spree at the governor's mansion--a $750 chest snagged for $7.50; an $892 table snapped up for $8.93; a set of four chairs, originally $6,200 for $61--has now been referred to the state Ethics Commission. Whatever the outcome, the verdict is clear: It reflects exactly the sense of entitlement on the part of public officials that turns voters' stomachs.
Editorial on 09/03/2015