O'Malley donor gains highway access

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By Tom LoBianco

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith this year secured more than $28 million to build a highway interchange leading to a road serving a commercial property owned by one of their largest campaign donors.

Mr. O'Malley and Mr. Smith, close political allies, committed the money a few months ago to build the interchange from Interstate 795 to a road running past the $79 million business development owned by Edward St. John.

Mr. St. John was recently fined $55,000 by the state prosecutors office for donating more than $25,000 through his company's vice presidents to Mr. O'Malley and Mr. Smith during the last election. The vice presidents were reimbursed for their contributions through their year-end bonuses.

Individuals are barred from donating more than $4,000 to a candidate and more than $10,000 overall during an election cycle, though corporations and large donors frequently skirt the law by making donations through limited liability corporations (LLCs) registered in their name or bundling donations from family members and co-workers.

Mr. St. John used both methods to violate the spirit of campaign finance restrictions, prosecutors said late last week.

The O'Malley administration touted the new interchange in a March statement.

"Today, we are investing in a core transportation project that will help meet the needs of one of Baltimore County's key growth areas," Mr. O'Malley said in the statement. "This new interchange project is a perfect example of how Maryland benefits when local and state government work together as partners."

Mr. O'Malley added the $28 million highway project to the state's long-term transportation plan this year.

The interchange would lead almost directly to the Dolfield Business Park, a 36-acre center that the St. John Properties began developing in 2005. The $79 million development is less than one-tenth of a mile from I-795, at the intersection of Red Run and Dolfield boulevards near Owings Mills.

An O'Malley spokesman said there was no quid pro quo in the decision to build the interchange.