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Md. official quits to run for Arundel executive
Having commuter rail job was determined a conflict
 
By Childs Walker
Sun Staff

May 17, 2005

Maryland commuter rail chief Phillip D. Bissett quit his state post yesterday after learning that his campaign for Anne Arundel County executive violated a federal law restricting political activities by government employees who handle federal funds.
Bissett, 48, a former delegate who narrowly lost the 2002 county executive race, announced at an Annapolis news conference that he would continue running for county executive.

He said he was quitting his state job because of a May 3 opinion from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The opinion concluded that his campaign violated the federal Hatch Act and that he could not continue it while holding the rail job, which involves handling $30 million a year in federal grants.

The opinion ordering him to comply by today or face possible disciplinary action "offered two options: pursue the job or pursue the campaign," Bissett said.

He said he weighed keeping the $92,801-a-year position, but "My heart and my head tell me the choice is clear and my decision is correct." His resignation will be effective at the close of business today, he said.

With Democrat Janet S. Owens unable to seek a third term as county executive because of term limits, Maryland Republicans see a major opportunity in Republican-trending Anne Arundel, where voters overwhelmingly backed President Bush last year and Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. for governor in 2002.

Bissett's decision to trade job security for a county executive campaign "shows how strong we expect to be in the next election," said Erik Robey, state GOP vice chairman.

Bissett said that his decisiveness in giving up the job shows that he would be a good leader for the county. Del. John R. Leopold, the other Republican candidate running for county executive, disagreed.

"His tenure has been a waste of taxpayers' money by any objective standard," Leopold said.

Though appointed to the rail job by Ehrlich, Bissett said he did not discuss his decision to give up the position with anyone in the administration.

Bissett said the opinion on the matter was requested after attorneys within the Maryland Transit Administration raised questions about a possible conflict of interest under the Hatch Act, which aims to prevent coercion of federal employees or those handling federal funds.

He said he did not believe the apparent conflict showed a flaw in the state's process for filling appointed positions. "I don't think anybody in their right mind would have assumed that this applied to us," Bissett said.

State Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said Bissett's conflict reflected a "rather widespread lack of information about how the Hatch Act applies."

Flanagan said that given the act's broad application, the state could not reconfigure Bissett's job to allow him to continue in it. Bissett's deputy, James Hoover, will fill the job on an interim basis.

Last week, Annapolis lawyer Dirk Haire announced that he would end his campaign and endorse Leopold.

Democrats said the early movement among Republican candidates shows the GOP is preparing a big push.

"I think they're lining up to ensure victory," Owens said. "They could be very formidable."

Possible Democratic candidates include Sheriff George F. Johnson IV, county parks director and former Annapolis Mayor Dennis M. Callahan and County Councilwoman Barbara D. Samorajczyk.

Bissett served in the House of Delegates from 1991 until 1998. He challenged Owens in 2002, receiving 48 percent of the vote.

In February 2003, Bissett took a $77,710-a-year position as legislative liaison for the state Department of Natural Resources. Forced from that job after three months, he went to work for the Motor Vehicle Administration, earning $81,322 a year.

Bissett was hired in December as director of the MARC train system at a salary $11,000 higher than the starting pay of the previous chief. Some Democrats said that given Bissett's lack of experience with transit issues, the move seemed a naked attempt to boost his profile.

"Him being put in that position in the first place was a move to give him exposure," said Derek Walker, spokesman for the Maryland Democratic Party.

When asked yesterday what he will do for a living while campaigning, Bissett did not specify. But he said he had "contingency" plans.

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