Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker said Tuesday he hopes that two pieces of ethics reform legislation he has proposed to the Maryland General Assembly show that the county is no longer a "pay-for-play place." "If you're doing business here, you're going to get a fair shake and everything's going to be above board," Baker said on WTOP radio's hourlong "Ask The County Executive" program.
County officials are handling a heavy week of ethics reform, as a new task force aimed at examining whether the county needs a new corruption watchdog group is set to meet for the first time Wednesday at Prince George's Community College in Largo.
Baker said he wants the Accountability, Compliance and Integrity Advisory Board to make recommendations about whether the county should establish an inspector general's office or similar watchdog agency. He also wants the task force, led by former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke and retired Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge William Missouri, to review existing county oversight operations.
Baker refused to speculate on whether more arrests, stemming from the ongoing federal corruption probe into Prince George's County officials, are forthcoming. Richard Wolf, an FBI spokesman, said he couldn't say if more arrests are expected.
Baker also wouldn't comment on whether the constituents of District 6 Councilwoman Leslie Johnson -- who was arrested in November on charges of tampering and destroying evidence -- would be better served if she resigned.
"I can't interject myself into the legal process," he said.
Johnson was arrested after her husband, then-County Executive Jack Johnson, was recorded by the FBI telling her to flush a $100,000 check down the toilet and hide $80,000 in suspected bribes in her bra. The FBI also has arrested three county police officers in the corruption probe. Baker said he has instructed all employees within the county government to cooperate with investigators.
The two pieces of ethics reform legislation Baker submitted to the General Assembly both have to do with the relationship between developers and county officials. According to Baker's office, one bill involves closing a loophole that allows county officials to receive campaign contributions from developers with business in front of the council through slates. Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler has called for reforming slates, often used for transferring donations to skirt campaign-finance laws.
Another bill restricts council members from seeking review of site plan cases when no appeal has been made.
"There's some legislation that we're proposing that people aren't too happy with," Baker said Tuesday, "but I think it's necessary given the times we live in."