WEIGHING EHRLICH'S MOVE TO THE MIDDLE

Cuts To Ambitious Budget May Show Where Governor Stands, Democrats Say

Midway through his first General Assembly session as governor, Robert L.
Ehrlich Jr. has been staking out an agenda that appears to be a far cry from
the Democrats' campaign refrain that he is too conservative for Maryland.

>From increased aid for the mentally ill, disabled and drug addicted, to his
calls for legalizing medical marijuana and keeping nonviolent drug offenders
out of prison, the Republican governor is espousing a moderate tone on many
issues.

"He is looking and sounding very much like a Democrat," said Del. Maggie L.
McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat and chairwoman of the House Environmental
Matters Committee.

McIntosh and other Democrats are facing the same problem that haunted them
during the fall campaign: How do they differentiate themselves from Ehrlich
when he sounds like one of them?

"He is an astute politician," said Senate Majority Leader Nathaniel J.
McFadden of Baltimore. "He knows it is a majority Democratic state, and he
is trying to move the Republican image more to the middle."

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley highlighted Democrats' frustrations last
week when a reporter asked him what Ehrlich thought of a tax credit program
aimed at encouraging historic building restoration. "He likes this like he
likes all programs," O'Malley said sarcastically.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller sounded similar discontent after
Ehrlich's State of the State speech last month. Miller said Ehrlich's speech
was effective only because he sounded Democratic themes throughout it.

For his part, Ehrlich gloats that he has been able to govern from the center
and become the new spokesman for traditionally Democratic issues.

"I think [the Democrats] are having a hard time pigeonholing me, which is
not really my problem," Ehrlich said in an interview. "I like not being
pigeonholed."

But while Ehrlich maintains that his support for many social programs is
genuine, Democrats say the real test of his commitment is still to come.

If the General Assembly does not approve Ehrlich's proposal for slot
machines, legislators will have to cut an additional $395 million to balance
next year's budget - threatening some of the programs the governor embraces,
especially if he doesn't back down from his refusal to raise taxes.

"If he really cares about these programs, he will hold them harmless whether
or not slots become a reality," said David Paulson, spokesman for the
Maryland Democratic Party.

But Democratic leaders concede that they must do a better job drawing
distinctions between themselves and Ehrlich on issues of importance to
Marylanders.

"Things remain to be seen on environmental issues, some of the gun issues,
and I don't know what ultimately the right-to-life movement will throw into
the mix," said Del. Ann Marie Doory, a Baltimore Democrat. "There are some
litmus-test issues that may cause different lines between us."

Until then, many of the partisan lines remain blurred.

In his budget, Ehrlich has proposed spending increases of $128 million for
Medicaid, $38 million for developmental disabilities services and $36
million for mental health services.

"Medicaid and the poor always get hit first in bad budget times, and I did
not want to repeat that problem," said Ehrlich, who campaigned as an
advocate for the mentally ill.

On Wednesday, Ehrlich spoke to a meeting of the Mental Health Association of
Maryland. After the speech, the room was abuzz about how Ehrlich sounded
like a Democrat.

"I think a lot of people are very, very pleased," said Jane Walker,
executive director of the Maryland Coalition of Families for Children's
Mental Health. "It's a wonderful, wonderful outcome."

On criminal justice matters, the governor is also charting a seemingly
compassionate course.

One of his major priorities has been reforming the state's juvenile justice
program. The governor has appointed former Del. Kenneth C. Montague Jr., a
liberal Democrat from Baltimore, secretary of the Department of Juvenile
Justice.

And unlike the "lock 'em up and throw away the key" approach typically
associated with Republicans, Ehrlich wants fewer youth offenders sent to
adult prison. The governor has said in recent weeks that he also thinks
fewer adult drug offenders should be sentenced to prison.

Ehrlich has proposed spending nearly $136 million on alcohol and drug
treatment programs - a 4.2 percent increase over last year.

Ehrlich surprised many last month when he indicated his support for
proposals before the General Assembly to legalize marijuana for medical
purposes. He backed similar measures while in Congress.

But Ehrlich's spending plan has taken aim at some priorities of the last
Democratic administration. He has proposed $25 million in cuts for child
care vouchers to poor families. His budget eliminates a program to refurbish
playgrounds in communities and a program in Baltimore that encourages people
to live in the city.

"I think we are going to have more bombs like that popping out that we have
not noticed yet," Paulson said.

And on the issue of the death penalty, Ehrlich is maintaining a stance more
traditionally associated with his party. Ehrlich plans to reverse former
Gov. Parris N. Glendening's moratorium on executions. The governor has even
said he would support a change in the law so that some juveniles convicted
of murder could be sentenced to death.

But unlike Glendening - who had been one of the country's most liberal
governors - Ehrlich said he will consider parole for offenders sentenced to
life in prison on a case-by-case basis. Glendening had a blanket "no parole"
policy for prisoners with life sentences unless they were old or gravely
ill.

The governor is also sounding Democratic themes when talking about urban
renewal. Ehrlich announced last week that he is creating the Office of Urban
Development, which will be run by former Democratic state Sen. Clarence M.
Mitchell IV.

"This is the true Bob Ehrlich," said Joe Getty, Ehrlich's policy director.
"It's not an act. It's not a facade for this session."

Ehrlich has not been afraid to quiet the conservative wing of his party if
he disagrees with it.

Last week, the governor intervened when some Republican senators tried to
block the nomination of a gay Baltimore District Court judge. The nomination
was approved by a 38-4 vote, with five abstentions.

"He sent his people around to say this is all right with him and urged us to
support it," said state Sen. John J. Hafer, an Allegany County Republican
who voted for the judge.

The question facing Ehrlich is whether he will need to tend to his GOP base
of support, which turned out in huge numbers in many rural areas in
November's election.

"In the long term, he is going to have to satisfy his party and his
political base, and they are not Democrats and certainly not liberal,"
McIntosh said.

Many Republicans dispute that there will be conflict between the governor
and more conservative elements of the party, pointing out that they share
views on the GOP's most important philosophy: the dislike of taxes.

"The bottom line is the social agenda has to take a back seat to the
budget," said state Sen. Richard F. Colburn, a conservative Eastern Shore
Republican.

Colburn points out that Ehrlich has put conservatives in charge of the
Department of Natural Resources and the Department of the Environment - two
agencies closely watched by voters from rural areas.

"Compared to Glendening, it's a huge improvement," said Sen. Alex X. Mooney,
a Frederick County Republican.

At the same time, Ehrlich is warning conservatives not to expect too much
from his administration.

But sooner or later, Democrats say, Ehrlich will give them an opportunity to
draw distinctions.

The governor will have to take positions on ballistic fingerprinting,
Medicaid-funded abortions and environmental protection. And Democrats are
watching how Ehrlich's fledgling administration chooses to enforce - or not
enforce - regulations on businesses, suburban development and
environmentally sensitive areas.

"I think we are at least months away from the critical decisions that will
define any governor," O'Malley said.