ayor Martin J. O'Malley of Baltimore yesterday denounced rumors spread by a Republican state official that the Democratic mayor once had an extramarital affair and he called the accusations "despicable lies."Posted on 02/09/2005 8:13:46 PM PST by conservative in nyc
ayor Martin J. O'Malley of Baltimore yesterday denounced rumors spread by a Republican state official that the Democratic mayor once had an extramarital affair and he called the accusations "despicable lies."
In a news conference on the steps of Baltimore City Hall, Mr. O'Malley, standing beside his wife, Catherine, said, "I have always been faithful to my wife from our first date until this date."
Mr. O'Malley was responding to a Washington Post report that Joseph F. Steffen Jr., a longtime government aide and campaign worker for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican, had spread rumors on a conservative Web site that the mayor once had an affair with a television news reporter.
After The Post disclosed its plans to print the story, the governor confronted Mr. Steffen on Tuesday evening and demanded his resignation from his position as the spokesman for the state insurance administration, a spokesman for Mr. Ehrlich said. Mr. Steffen, 45, who has held a string of state and political jobs, resigned.
"The governor does not tolerate this sort of behavior from any employee under his oversight," said Henry Fawell, a spokesman for Mr. Ehrlich. "He accepts responsibility for his employees and believes the individual who posted these messages should apologize to the mayor."
The state Democratic Party nonetheless demanded an investigation into whether Mr. Ehrlich had helped orchestrate a "smear campaign" against Mr. O'Malley, who is considered a potential opponent of Mr. Ehrlich in 2006. Deborah Martinez, a spokeswoman for the state Republican Party, said: "We're not involved in the politics of personal destruction. Mayor O'Malley has a weak record on crime control that we're more interested in highlighting."
Mr. Ehrlich told reporters in Annapolis that Mr. Steffen's behavior was "inappropriate," in part because the aide had apparently sent e-mail messages spreading the rumor while working in his state office.
In an interview with The Post on Tuesday, Mr. O'Malley asked the governor to apologize. But Mr. Fawell said Mr. Ehrlich was not offering an apology because he had not been aware of Mr. Steffen's actions.
Though Mr. Steffen did not offer an apology yesterday, aides to Mr. O'Malley said that Mr. Steffen's former boss Alfred W. Redmer Jr., the state insurance commissioner, apologized in a phone call to the mayor.
Mr. Steffen did not return calls for comment. But in postings Tuesday night on FreeRepublic.com, the Web site where he had spread rumors about Mr. O'Malley, Mr. Steffen said that Mr. Ehrlich had been unaware of his actions.
Using his screen name, NCPAC, after the National Conservative Political Action Committee, where he once worked, Mr. Steffen thanked correspondents to the Web site for their support, writing, "This might even burnish my reputation."
Mr. O'Malley was re-elected overwhelmingly last year and is now considered a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006, along with the Montgomery County executive, Douglas M. Duncan.
Mr. O'Malley, 42, said that the persistence of the rumors had led him to believe they were part of a "sustained," "orchestrated" and "relentless" campaign.
Aides to Mr. O'Malley said they became aware of rumors about an affair 18 months ago. Then last summer, they said, the rumors seemed to become more coordinated, with Baltimore television stations receiving the same tips on the same day.
The mayor's wife, a district court judge in Baltimore, said the rumors had even reached the couple's four children. In the news conference, she said one of their sons, William, recently insisted that both parents sign his report card so his teachers would not think the couple had divorced.
"I just looked at him and my heart broke, that this poor 7-year-old kid has to worry about these lies," Ms. O'Malley said.
Wrong target, honey.
Remember, the Dimwits always need an enemy, real or contrived. They are masters of the victim game.
BTW, we did cancel our Post and Sun papers. Why should I pay for the DNC rags?
For the moles and trolls:
Keep spinning. It makes you dizzy and drives you right into the ground.
That's two months earlier than any FR postings.
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