Peter Franchot: Honored to serve as Md. comptroller, but a ‘little burnt out’ – WTOP News

This content material was republished with permission from WTOP’s information companions at Maryland Issues. Join Maryland Issues’ free e mail subscription at this time.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot has been within the limelight for almost 4 a long time.

Some voters mentioned the charismatic Democrat would’ve simply maintained his place because the state’s tax collector for one more 4 years if he had chosen to hunt reelection.

As a substitute, Franchot, 75, determined to run for governor greater than two years in the past and have become the primary particular person to formally announce his marketing campaign. Nevertheless, he completed third on this summer season’s major election.

Belinda Queen of Prince George’s County, who voted for Franchot and was a significant supporter of his working mate, former Prince George’s County Councilmember Monique Anderson-Walker, mentioned Franchot wouldn’t have been challenged if he had sought a fifth time period as comptroller.

“You didn’t hear something unhealthy about him,” Queen mentioned. “Any extra cash out there within the state ought to go to the little folks. Eggs at the moment are $7. Any extra cash out there, the District of Columbia does it on a regular basis. The state of Maryland ought to do the identical factor. I’m hoping that occurs within the close to future.”

Franchot nonetheless has just a few weeks left in workplace earlier than Comptroller-elect Brooke Lierman (D) will get sworn in Jan. 16 — a nationwide vacation celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.

Franchot will go away behind 16 years as comptroller that features his service on one of many state’s most influential our bodies, the Board of Public Works. He sat alongside two governors and two state treasurers approving billions of {dollars} in class building tasks, authorities contracts and different spending measures.

The Montgomery County resident mentioned he plans to take a two-month trip, stress-free along with his spouse of 42 years, Anne Maher, and their three grandchildren. The couple anxiously awaits the beginning of a fourth grandchild subsequent yr. They’ve two kids.

After his day off, Franchot mentioned he’ll announce a enterprise to show kids about monetary literacy.

He pushed to include the topic in public college curricula statewide throughout his time as a state delegate between January 1987 and January 2007, and continued to advertise the concept as comptroller.

For the previous a number of years, former Del. Jay Walker (D-Prince George’s) picked up the mantle and continued the push for statewide monetary literacy, even as much as this yr. Walker’s laws was authorised within the Home of Delegates, however didn’t make it past the Senate’s Training, Well being and Environmental Affairs Committee. Walker is the husband of Anderson-Walker.

“I hope that I’ll be capable to work with youngsters and assist join them extra to the true world of the trendy financial system,” Franchot mentioned throughout an interview with Maryland Issues earlier this month at his Annapolis workplace. “It’s not only a monetary literacy hurdle that I, Jay Walker and others had been speaking about. It’s whether or not one thing could be achieved systemwide that may maximize the great issues which can be on the market already.”

Through the interview, Franchot talked about his time in public service, shying away from partisan politics and providing some recommendation for these working for an elected workplace. Listed below are just a few of his ideas in his personal phrases:

‘Impartial universe’

I feel it comes from my background, which by no means got here out of the Democratic golf equipment the place a number of elected officers stand up and finally get into elected workplace. I all the time have come out of the general public curiosity motion, the environmental motion, the anti-nuclear motion, the anti-Vietnam Warfare motion again within the late 60s and early 70s. My focus has all the time been to attempt to take care of coverage points. So after I was energetic within the public curiosity motion, I used to be typically as upset with the Democrats as I used to be with the Republicans, as a result of Democrats had been pro-nuclear, just like the Republicans. The Democrats usually had been pro-Vietnam Warfare.

I like my social gathering. I feel the ideas and values are nice, however verify and stability. That’s my center identify: verify and stability. I hope that’s one thing that legislators and different politicians need as a result of it’s very fashionable with the general public. It’s not essentially mirrored in major votes as a result of major votes are very distilled and really crystallized as to who exhibits up. However I feel the unbiased universe, each Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, is huge open to any elected official that wishes to enchantment to state curiosity being put in entrance of social gathering pursuits. That’s my legacy.

Elected workplace

It’s a anxious job. I’m honored and privileged to have been an elected official, nevertheless it’s not simple. And significantly because the politics have developed over the previous couple of years. The job of being comptroller was an honor and a privilege. However for 16 years, I’ve made many, many appearances time and again. I’m not saying that I used to be sad with that. I used to be joyful to attach with the voters.

However frankly, after 16 years, I turned slightly burnt out so far as the required conferences of the comptroller all around the state. [Board of Public Works] meets each two weeks because the treasurer, the governor, myself. It’s a distinctive panel. No different state has one fairly prefer it. As a result of in different states, the same boards are all chosen by the legislature or the governor. And on this occasion, the treasurer is elected by the legislature. I’m elected statewide, the governor is elected statewide. We’re unbiased of one another.

Each two weeks we meet and the typical, I feel, is $440 million on state contracts. It’s motion central for what’s going on within the state fiscally. I feel my legacy from 16 years of being there each different week is that I used to be very robust on Republicans, however I used to be equally robust on Democrats. I feel the folks within the state acknowledge that sort of independence and appreciated it. And that will likely be my one of many legacies that I go away behind. Clearly, I’ll keep knowledgeable, however from an commentary standpoint reasonably than an implementation.

‘Poisonous surroundings’

To begin with, it’s a poisonous surroundings. I don’t have any complaints. I simply wish to give everyone a yellow warning sign that these campaigns have change into very partisan and superficial and deceptive. It’s not fairly the trail of the promised land that folks assume it’s. I’m not fairly certain what the answer to that’s as a result of your complete nation appears to be divided.

However I do know that 900,000 Marylanders, who’re registered [independent] voters which can be very interested by what’s occurring in Maryland, they’re not allowed to vote within the primaries, both Republican or Democratic. The issue with each events, the Republican Get together extra so than the Democratic Get together…each events have change into taken over by their excessive margins. And not using a group of voters who’re extra average in significantly fiscal issues, but in addition, coverage issues, you’re going to finish up with a number of battle between two events.

However the truth that we hold speaking about voting rights, what in regards to the 900,000 Marylanders who’re registered as  unenrolled? Why shouldn’t they be allowed as they’re in 36 states to vote in a single major or the opposite? I don’t wish to sound like I’m bitter grapes, however closed primaries are a significant contributor in nationwide and state politics to folks being elected who’re way more partisan than the voters. I feel you then’ll see a moderating of each events and a decreasing of the temperature.

Some recommendation

I feel it’s one thing that every one the elected officers ought to simply look within the mirror and say, ‘Look, am I actually on this only for the ability? Simply because somebody’s holding the door for me, simply because I can beat the opposite social gathering?’ No, that’s not why you’re there. You’re there to do issues which can be supportive of the state, significantly the state’s financial system, which is so dependent upon small companies. COVID has triggered an incredible quantity of struggling for small companies, and people that would not have a number of monetary reserves.

I work with Gov. [Larry] Hogan (R) and we gathered over the interval of COVID over $10 billion in a single time solely cash. There’s a great reserve within the state. I really feel snug saying to the brand new leaders you’ve got some room to make errors or make commitments. What do you assume is essential, however you’ve acquired to in some unspecified time in the future understand that the financial system the state is all the time first, second and third to check out so far as taking good care of jobs for our folks.

I’m an enormous supporter of Brooke Lierman. I feel she’s very, very proficient. I feel it’s essential that she’s doing the sort of easy transition that we’ve created for her. I feel she’ll do an amazing job. She’s not going to be mistake-free. I imply, everyone makes errors. However I feel she understands that that is an award-winning company. Customer support is past reproach. It’s respect the taxpayer, reply to the taxpayer and get outcomes for the taxpayer. We name it the three R’s. I’m certain she’ll proceed that and he or she’ll be very profitable.