MD Gov Ehrlich Allies' Nonprofit Used Access as Lure | Washington Post

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Ehrlich Allies' Nonprofit Used Access as Lure

By Craig Whitlock and Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, February 19, 2004; Page A01

A nonprofit group formed by Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s political allies sought as much as $50,000 apiece from Annapolis lobbyists and business interests last year in exchange for golf dates and private receptions with the governor, including an event at the state's luxury box at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, documents show.

The group, the Maryland Economic and Business Development Coalition Inc., was set up by Ehrlich campaign supporters and advisers at the behest of state officials, who said they needed the money to defray $260,000 in expenses from parties that the administration was planning last May at the Preakness Stakes, part of horse racing's Triple Crown.

According to copies of the coalition's fundraising materials, donors who contributed $50,000 would receive four tickets to a "golf outing and reception" hosted by Ehrlich (R) on May 16, the day before last year's Preakness; 10 tickets to a pre-Preakness reception with Ehrlich at a Baltimore Orioles game; 10 tickets to a Preakness breakfast hosted by the governor; 20 tickets to a hospitality tent sponsored by the Ehrlich administration on the Pimlico Racecourse infield, and VIP parking passes for the nationally televised horse race.

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1. Ehrlich is just another slimy politician.

And his phony veneer is wearing very thin. Even though he's doing as much as he can to undermine O'Malley, I cannot wait for the next gov's race. I believe O'Malley will take the race in a landslide...slots will be his undoing (actually, the fact that gambling interests put Ehrlich into the Mansion; gambling interests are also tied to organized crime, aren't they?) If a reporter actually cared, the story could be big.