The Maryland Secretary for Veterans Affairs George W. Owings has enigmatically been replaced – and many are wondering why?May 22, 2007
For those of us who follow the issues of our past and present men and women in uniform, news travels quickly.
So when the news that George W. Owings III, [a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant (1964-68) who served in Vietnam, 1965-68 (Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation with Bronze Star Device, Navy-Marine Corps Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with Silver Star Device)], “was relieved of his duties as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs by Gov. Martin O'Malley on May 7,” it was one of those rare moments in
The news was certainly not missed by Frederick and Washington County, Dist. 3B, Delegate Richard Weldon…
Hardly a week goes by when I don’t want to call to folks’ attention the work of Delegate Weldon in The Tentacle.
And this week is no exception. Those of us who follow the comings and goings of state officials were flabbergasted when Secretary Owings was let go. But no one explained it better that Delegate Weldon in his Monday, May 21, 2007 column, “Old Soldiers Don't Fade Away:”
George W. Owings, III, was relieved of his duties as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs by Gov. Martin O'Malley on May 7. Secretary Owings was not dismissed for any reason other than he had been appointed by former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.
Secretary Owings had become legend in his politically shortened four-year tenure. Veterans across
That's right; Secretary Owings is a Democrat, the party of Governor O'Malley. His party affiliation clearly mattered not to Governor Ehrlich, who was looking for a soldier's soldier to lead state's veterans' outreach. In George Owings, Bob Ehrlich found the perfect guy!
Be sure to read Delegate Weldon’s entire column here: Old Soldiers Don't Fade Away.
In the past - now long-gone era when everything that the previous gubernatorial administration did was scrutinized to the letter of the 1981 movie “Absence of Malice;” the news of Secretary Owings losing his post would have been great food for fodder. Not so in the current
Gov. Martin O’Malley got a pass. And perhaps justifiably so - for the governor has a right to pick his team - - folks who share his vision and want to move the governor’s initiatives forward.
Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that the
I, for one, was willing to toss it up to another personal – personnel decision that the governor is certainly entitled to make – without any publicly stated reason or justification. It is his call. That is to be respected… And I am willing to give the governor the benefit of doubt.
Unfortunately that was a point totally missed when on July 8, 2005 a crass politically motivated witch-hunt devoid of any substantial basis was announced: “House Speaker Michael Busch today appointed a committee of four Democrats and two Republicans to join six state senators in an inquiry into the personnel polices of the Ehrlich administration.” (“Busch appoints 6 to panel probing Ehrlich firings - Bipartisan committee to assess personnel changes made after governor elected,” by Tom Stuckey, The Associated Press.)
It is in this context that the fires of discontent have been fueled among veterans, many of whom tend to be a bit more conservative than the present administration in the statehouse…
In spite of the fact that it was well known among insiders, including the leadership of the Calvert Street hallways, that there was no there – there, to the at-will employee probe; the Baltimore Sun piled on all through the balance of 2005 and 2006. Right up until the election - and yet, curiously enough – hardly a whimper has been heard since the
Understandably so for it was then that the Sun realized, that in order for Governor O’Malley to make things happen he needed his own team – and that meant, jettisoning as many former Governor Robert L. Ehrlich appointees as possible…
Hmmm…
See: “Diluted Bills Anger Republicans” in Maryland Moment…
When a special legislative committee wrapped up an 14-month investigation last fall into then-Gov. Bob Ehrlich's hiring and firing practices, a special counsel decided no pursue no criminal charges. Instead lawmakers said they would rely on legislation to fix what was wrong with the state's personnel process.
Yesterday, the state Senate gave final approval to two of those bills. But Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles), who helped lead the legislative probe and sponsored the bills, acknowledged they were changed--and weakened-- at the request of now Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration.
[…]
"The bills do virtually nothing. . . . It was a political witch hunt with no substance," said
As I noted on July 21, 2005 in The Tentacle: “A Skunk by Any Other Name Still Stinks:”
The state workforce includes 80,000 employees. So what is the cause of all of this wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth?
According to a Washington Times article on May 25, 2005, by S. A. Miller (former Frederick News-Post scribe Steve), “Lawrence J. Hogan Jr., the governor's secretary of appointments, said the Ehrlich administration in three years has fired 280 of its 7,000 at-will workers. Mr. Ehrlich's Democratic predecessor, Gov. Parris N. Glendening, fired 309 at-will workers in a single year from the Department of Transportation alone…”
Paul E. Schurick, the governor's communications director, said it better than I could in a June 3, 2005, Gazette article by Thomas Dennison: "The double standard is as gross and as egregious as I have ever seen. The fact of the matter is dozens of legislators have made a career of trying to influence the hiring and firing of state employees."
See also: “20050712 This year Halloween comes early in Maryland.”
And - - my November 22, 2006 Tentacle column, “Now Comes The Hard Part:”
… It has not gone unnoticed that the Sun is already practically his public relations office; telling and re-telling glowing, gooey and heart-warming stories of Norman Rockwell beginnings, childhood friends and Camelot-on-the-horizon.
Then there is the not so small matter of the upcoming personnel shake-up that occurs when a new governor and administration takes office in
In days gone by this transition was relatively unnoticed. However, the Baltimore Sun and the
After the announcement that the Democrats were going to conduct a witch-hunt of the Ehrlich administration's hiring and firing of at-will employees, it was prophetically observed that
As the at-will employee investigation began in early July 2005, even some Democrats were whispering that if a Democrat were to prevail in the November 2006 gubernatorial election, the new governor would want to replace many folks and the residual hyper-scrutiny would be unwanted.
Now that a Democrat has been elected governor it will be interesting to see how much scrutiny the
Remember, the Ehrlich administration fired only 280 of 7,000 at-will workers in four years. Governor Glendening fired 309 at-will workers in the Department of Transportation in a single year.
In a recent Gazette article, Governor-elect "O'Malley said there will be no wholesale firing of political appointees from the Ehrlich administration. Governor Ehrlich drew criticism for allegedly seeking to identify and fire Democrat. 'I am going to go after professionalism, and we're going to recruit the most professional people we can find,' O'Malley said."
The operative word in the proceeding was "allegedly." And, of course, the implication is that Governor Ehrlich did not hire "professionals."
Well not only was former Secretary Owings a consummate profession – he was a veteran’s veteran who wore his respect for his fellow veterans on his sleeve and worked tirelessly for their benefit and welfare.
By all accounts, his replacement, the former deputy of Veterans Affairs, James A. Adkins, will do a fine job.
In a testament to former Secretary Owings’ professionalism; in a published account, he “said that he had applied anew for the job in O'Malley's Cabinet, but that he backs the selection of Adkins… My presence here today is evidence I agree with that choice," Owings said after the State House announcement. "The governor could not have made a better selection.”
This too shall pass. But Secretary Owings will be missed.
Thank you for your service Secretary Owings, we will all look forward to future leadership from you.
For Corps and Country,
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