Officials worried about O'Malley's security ideas

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ANNAPOLIS -- Homeland security officials across the state say they have become concerned about emergency preparedness in Maryland since Gov. Martin O'Malley has taken office.

Mr. O'Malley, a Democrat, has been slow to fill vacancies in the Governor's Office of Homeland Security, and local homeland security coordinators say the O'Malley administration has not contacted them since taking office.

"What's a little bit disturbing is we have put together strategic homeland security goals for Charles County, and I don't know whether they have seen them," said Donald McGuire, Charles County director of emergency preparedness.

Mr. O'Malley has filled two of the office's eight slots since taking office but also has become more directly engaged with homeland security, said administration spokesman Rick Abbruzzese.

"It's not about bureaucracy, it's about planning and execution," Mr. Abbruzzese said. "I would argue that we are doing much more with much less."

Mr. Abbruzzese said the governor's style follows his work as mayor of Baltimore, relying on a few close advisers to work with such groups as the state police, the state's transportation department and emergency management agency and the National Guard, which all have staff dedicated to homeland security.

Mr. O'Malley also brought Andrew Lauland, his Baltimore homeland security director, to run the state office.

But former members of the office think the work they put into building relationships with local officials was wasted when Mr. O'Malley's team arrived.

"It's disappointing to say the least," said Kevin Reigrut, former program and policy development manager in the homeland security office under former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican. "I wish I could tell you how [Mr. O'Malley's] model was supposed to work."

Mr. Reigrut said he and his colleagues were not consulted during Mr. O'Malley's transition into office in January and that important work was likely being left undone.