Published on: Friday, September 03, 2010

By Paige L. Hill

Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) and his wife, Kendel, earned close to $2.5 million since he lost the governor’s seat to current Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), according to the initial partial tax returns Ehrlich submitted before the state’s Board of the Elections last week. O’Malley and his wife, Catherine, collected $900,000 during the same period. The governor is set to earn $1.2 million during his four years as governor, as is state mandated.

“[Ehrlich] is out of touch with the needs of working families in Maryland,” O’Malley campaign manager Tom Russell wrote in a press release over the weekend. Russell said he estimated Ehrlich alone would have averaged roughly $734,000 in an annual salary, mostly from working as an attorney at private law firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice.

“Tell Marylanders which clients paid him that much and why,” Russell wrote.

The Ehrlichs also reported that Kendel earned a portion from serving on the board of directors at an Annapolis bank, and that they both earned a portion from the radio show the couple co-hosted each Saturday morning on Baltimore’s WBAL station. In July, the couple was forced to retire from the show so Ehrlich could file for the race without any conflicts of interest.

“Kendel and I have always conducted ourselves in a very public and transparent way, while always respecting the fundamental and appropriate lines of privacy that every family deserves,” Ehrlich said in a press release. Ehrlich was under no legal obligation to release tax returns, but he said he made a promise earlier in the year to do so to “make good” on his commitment to transparency.

Likewise, O’Malley promised to release his tax returns in November just before the election, but following Ehrlich’s release on Friday, O’Malley moved that date up to Saturday. The governor makes $150,000 annually, and the first lady added $113,000 annual pay from her position as a District Court Judge in Baltimore. O’Malley also collects roughly $60,000 in annual pensions from his time as Baltimore mayor and council member.

Ehrlich also released returns from his last two years as governor, which accentuated how much more lucrative the private sector has been for the couple. The Ehrlichs reported $188,000 from his final year in office — $30,000 of which came from Kendel’s job with Comcast cable provider.

Ehrlich appealed to Montgomery County voters Tuesday at a roundtable discussion with local businessmen. He highlighted two taxes that O’Malley’s administration introduced since he took office, the “tech tax” and the “millionaire’s tax,” and called them especially harmful for residents in the Rockville area.

“They have hurt this county more than any other because of your flight of wealth,” Ehrlich said. The “tech tax,” which is a levy on computer services, was adopted in 2007 and then repealed in 2008. The “millionaire’s tax,” adopted in 2008, is a three-year surcharge on the state’s wealthiest.“