IG independence under threat in Baltimore County

Listen to this article

Editor’s note: After this column was submitted, Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier announced the selection of Khadija E. Walker as her appointee for Baltimore County Inspector General. Her appointment is subject to confirmation by the County Council.

This is not a formal ethics complaint, because no such complaint can be properly filed in Baltimore County.

Summary

The citizens of Baltimore County have raised serious concerns for months about the integrity of County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s shifting approach to appointing a new Inspector General. The process has been deeply compromised by apparent conflicts of interest, secrecy, and what appears to be political retaliation. Forcing a respected, independent IG into a sham reapplication process — after four years of award-winning, fearless service — is not just an insult to a model public servant. It’s an affront to transparency, accountability, and public trust.

The failure to reappoint Kelly Madigan, as anticipated in the enabling legislation, was not based on performance. There are no findings of misconduct. Her office has returned millions to county coffers, launched vital investigations, and earned a national reputation for independence — reporting on waste, fraud, and abuse regardless of who was responsible.

But those are not the qualities the County Executive appears to value.

Conflicts and Corruption of the Process

A strong and independent IG is not a luxury — it is a structural requirement in any government that seeks public trust. Baltimore County voters overwhelmingly approved the IG office. What we’ve witnessed instead is a coordinated effort to weaken it and remove its founding watchdog.

• County Executive Klausmeier, appointed to fill the final two years of now-Congressman John Olszewski Jr.’s term, chaired the second interview panel. Any county executive could become the subject of an IG investigation. That’s a clear conflict of interest.
• The Ethics Commission chair also served on that same interview panel. That’s the very body meant to hear ethics complaints related to this process. Another textbook conflict.
• The county executive hand-picked the panelists, who met behind closed doors. Their deliberations and recommendations remain secret — despite IG Madigan’s request to make her part of the process public. The decision to post the job at all was never publicly explained.

National rebuke from the Association of Inspectors General

This is no longer a purely local issue. On July 21, the Association of Inspectors General — the profession’s standards bearer — issued a public letter that called out Baltimore County by name. The letter to Klausmeier and the County Council said the county’s process “appears to violate core principles of Inspector General independence” and warned that Baltimore County risks being “the only jurisdiction in the country in which a qualified IG must reapply for their own job.”

AIG identified the broader danger: politicizing IG appointments deters strong candidates, leaves the public unprotected, and tells employees that those in power won’t be held accountable. AIG’s message was clear: “We are watching.”

Public trust in the balance

Baltimore County residents are not fooled by the administration’s bureaucratic gymnastics. The backlash has been swift and bipartisan. Editorial boards at The Daily Record (May 29)and The Baltimore Sun (May 20 and July 21) have rebuked the county executive’s handling of the matter. Fiscal conservatives, transparency advocates, ethics watchdogs, and residents across the county have raised the alarm.

What’s unfolding looks like an effort to punish a public servant for doing her job too well. And this isn’t just about Madigan. This is about whether Baltimore County will meet its charter obligation and the public’s demand for ethical governance — or continue to undermine both through conflicts of interest and selective enforcement.

No future IG should have to pass a political loyalty test. No selection panel should operate in the shadows. No Ethics Commission should be unable to hear complaints because its own members are entangled in the process.

Will Baltimore County be a place where watchdogs are punished? Or where the public’s right to honest, transparent government comes first?

When official channels fail, the public must be the jury — and the judge of what’s right. And the public has spoken.

The county executive should end this slow-motion crisis and reappoint Madigan. Anything less is a betrayal — not just of one office, but of every resident who expects ethical leadership from those in power. We call on the County Executive to end this charade now. Reappoint Madigan. Restore the integrity of the IG’s office. And begin real reforms to firewall this position from political interference going forward.

Peta N. Richkus is on the Steering Committee of Indivisible Baltimore County. She served as secretary of the Maryland Department of General Services from 1999-2003, as a member of the Maryland Port Commission from 2008-15 and on the Baltimore County Blue Ribbon Procurement Reform Commission Nov 2020 – January 2022. She was a member of the Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee on Trade, U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, from 2010-14.