Here’s a joint mailer by then-County Council challenger Duchy Trachtenberg and County Executive candidate Ike Leggett in 2006. The entire point of the mailer was to emphasize their endorsement by the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Trachtenberg’s leadership of their Maryland chapter. Note the strong statement of support from then-national NOW President Kim Gandy.
Trachtenberg’s NOW experience was a major factor in building her credibility with MoCo’s large progressive community and the 2006 mailer was smart to capitalize on it. This year, NOW has not endorsed Trachtenberg, but it has endorsed six other candidates for four at-large council seats. Perhaps that is because Trachtenberg has a standing threat to sue its officers if they dare to discuss her conduct as Maryland NOW Treasurer with the media. Given the allegations of exactly what went on while Trachtenberg was Treasurer, that threat is understandable. But it has destroyed a large part of the basis on which Trachtenberg was originally elected to her current office.
What a difference four years can make.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Hypocrisy NOW
Friday, September 10, 2010
Police Call for Investigation of Duchy Trachtenberg (Updated)
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35 has called on the Maryland Attorney General, the State’s Attorney of Montgomery County and the U.S. Attorney for Maryland to investigate Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg’s conduct as Treasurer of Maryland NOW. Following is their letter, as well as a few attachments.
September 9,2010
Douglas Gansler
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
200 St. Paul Place
Baltimore, MD 21202
Dear Mr. Gansler:
The Board of Directors of Fraternal Order of Police, Montgomery County Lodge 35 has directed that I write to you requesting an investigation as explained below. In making this request, we want to be clear that we are not alleging that any crime has been committed by anyone in this matter.
Since December 4, 2006, Marie “Duchy” Trachtenberg has been an elected member of the Montgomery County Council. She is a public official who serves as chair of the Management and Fiscal Policy Committee of the Montgomery County Council and in that capacity heads the County Council's Audit Committee.
From sometime prior to December 2006 until December 15, 2008, Councilmember Trachtenberg served as treasurer of Maryland National Organization for Women [“NOW”]. Maryland NOW is an organization with an address in Silver Spring, Montgomery County, Maryland. We do not know if the matters, infra, involve more than one state or more than one political subdivision within Maryland.
Based upon information believed to be credible, reliable and accurate, the past president of Maryland NOW, in her capacity as president of Maryland NOW, made serious allegations against Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, former treasurer of Maryland NOW.
Those allegations are detailed in a document titled, “National Organization For Women Grievance Committee Decision” in the matter of Maryland NOW v. Duchy Trachtenberg, dated November 9,2009. Decision attached.
According to the decision, Councilmember Trachtenberg failed to turn over records that she maintained as a fiduciary. Further, it is alleged that “Ms. Trachtenberg regularly utilized Maryland NOW’s ATM card to make cash withdrawals [and] used the ATM card to make regular purchases at retail outlets including but not limited to Lord & Taylor, Victoria’s Secret, Filenes Basement, Target, Williams Sonoma, [theaters and food stores] and numerous dining establishments.”
The decision further states that “according to SunTrust Bank records, Ms. Trachtenberg wrote numerous checks to herself ... and numerous checks to her husband ...” No documentation or expense reports justifying these expenses were provided, according to the decision.
The decision concludes that “Maryland NOW is unable to determine whether the $19,345.26 Ms. Trachtenberg returned to Maryland NOW at the end of her term as Treasurer represents the full amount owed to the organization.” (According to the decision, only $494.73 of this sum was from the authorized NOW account at SunTrust, the remainder was in the form of a cashier's check "from Bank of America a bank at which Maryland NOW had no account.”)
We make no claim as to the accuracy of these allegations and must presume that Councilmember Trachtenberg is innocent of any wrongdoing or inappropriate conduct. We do, however, note that in a January 20, 2010 article which appeared in the Gazette newspapers, it is reported that Bruce Bender, “[a]n attorney representing Montgomery County Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg has asked the Maryland Chapter of the National Organization for Women to dismiss a claim that Trachtenberg mishandled money while serving as treasurer of the organization.” The article refers to “a Dec. 9 [2009] letter to Terry O’Neill, national president of NOW [from Mr. Bender who reportedly] called concerns raised about Trachtenberg’s bookkeeping ‘totally frivolous.’ He requests that NOW ‘dismiss the grievance’ and that NOW members stop discussing the matter with the media.”
We expect that our motives will be questioned. but suggest that we had no part in the allegations against Councilmember Trachtenberg, the grievance against her, or the Grievance Committee Decision. Furthermore, we had no part in the January 20, 2010 Gazette article; the September 1, 2010 article on Maryland Politics Watch, or the May 2009 proposed amendments to Maryland NOW’s bylaws which track the matters addressed in the grievance decision. See attached.
This is not an issue of our making. The focus ought to be on the conduct of Councilmember Trachtenberg, not on messengers.
Indeed, on her County Council web page, Councilmember Trachtenberg says, “As MFP Chair, [her] primary mission is the stewardship of the County's fiscal health. [Councilmember Trachtenberg] guides the yearly budget-making process to ensure the protection of the County’s long-term stability while funding essential priorities and protecting the vulnerable, with transparency, equity and fiscal responsibility.”
In fairness, we take note of praise of Councilmember Trachtenberg by NOW president Terry O’Neill, a former aide to Councilmember Trachtenberg. See attached.
In all good conscience, we consider these allegations to be serious and call upon you and your office to fairly, impartially, and objectively investigate this matter and to take such action as is appropriate.
“As MFP Chair, Councilmember Trachtenberg’s primary mission is the stewardship of the County's fiscal health.”
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/tratmpl.asp?url=/content/council/mem/trachtenberg d/about.asp
We believe that this request of independent prosecutors for such investigations is not only appropriate but fully consistent with Councilmember's own stated priorities of “transparency, equity and fiscal responsibility.” Id.
Similar requests are being made to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney and the United States Attorney.
Sincerely,
Denise Gill Acting Secretary
cc:
John McCarthy
State’s Attorney
Montgomery County, Maryland
Judicial Center, 5th floor
50 Maryland Ave.
Rockville, MD 20850
Rod J. Rosenstein
United States Attorney
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Maryland
36 S. Charles Street 4th Fl.
Baltimore, Md. 21201
Here is a copy of the letter on letterhead.
Here is a copy of the NOW grievance decision referenced in the letter.
Here is a copy of the recommended Maryland NOW bylaws changes that were considered after Trachtenberg left as their Treasurer.
The Gazette article can be found here and the MPW post referenced in the letter can be found here.
Update: The Gazette also has this story.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
MCRG Claims Duchy Trachtenberg Misused NOW Money
Maryland Citizens for a Responsible Government (MCRG), the organization that fought Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg's transgender anti-discrimination bill, has released a set of serious allegations concerning Trachtenberg's tenure as Treasurer of Maryland NOW. Following is their press release.
Media Contact:
Maryland Citizens for a Responsible Government
301-335-6042
www.NotMyShower.com
CRGmaryland@yahoo.com
Citizens Group Calls for Councilmember to Retract Threats and Release NOW Financial Records
Montgomery County, MD -- Maryland Citizens for Responsible Government (MCRG) calls on both Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg and the Maryland Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) to release all records involving Trachtenberg's actions as NOW’s treasurer from 2006 until November 2008, when Trachtenberg resigned from her position and membership with the organization.
MCRG has anonymously received an unsettling document which purports to be a summary of a November 9, 2009, NOW Grievance Committee Decision against Trachtenberg. The grievance allegedly cites Suntrust Bank records for NOW’s checking account and claims that Trachtenberg misused NOW’s ATM card to make unauthorized cash withdrawals; make purchases at retail stores like Lord & Taylor, Victoria’s Secret, and Filenes Basement; and write numerous checks to herself and her husband.
The grievance further alleges that at the end of her term as NOW treasurer, Trachtenberg failed to provide accounting records.
Trachtenberg currently sits on the County Council of Montgomery County, Maryland. In her infamous letter to the Department of Justice, Councilmember Trachtenberg requested transparent behavior of all public servants. “Threatening the National Organization for Women with legal action if they publicly speak about their grievance is not transparent behavior,” said Dr. Ruth Jacobs, MCRG President.
“MCRG calls on Trachtenberg to retract threats of legal action against NOW, confirm the outcome of this grievance, and produce all records concerning her actions as treasurer for NOW as the grievance allegedly demands. As Trachtenberg herself has said, Montgomery County residents deserve transparency of their public officials.”
A January 20, 2010, Gazette article documented that Trachtenberg had threatened legal action against officers of Maryland NOW for defamation and invasion of privacy if they discuss the grievance with the media. Trachtenberg’s attorney also asked that NOW “dismiss a claim that Trachtenberg mishandled money while serving as treasurer of the organization.”
Trachtenberg is seeking re-election this fall to her Montgomery County Council at-large seat. Both Montgomery County NOW and the Gazette have not endorsed Trachtenberg. And the alleged grievance forbids Trachtenberg from holding any leadership position with NOW. Montgomery County Now is reported to have added a new question to their candidate questionnaire -- “Is there anything in your background that might disqualify you from an endorsement by MCNOW?”
#####
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Duchy Trachtenberg's First Mailer
This mailer arrived yesterday. We have three questions.
1. With all of Trachtenberg's money and consultants, is their best strategy to start sending mail thirteen days before the primary?
2. Did anyone ask Maryland NOW about the "Duchy Difference" after she threatened to sue them if they discussed her "mishandling" their money with the media?
3. Did former Trachtenberg staffer and current NOW President Terry O'Neill think about the propriety of endorsing someone who has threatened to sue one of NOW's affiliates?
Of course, the answer to all of the above is "NO."
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Something’s Still Going On
Back on July 27, we noted the failure of Montgomery County NOW (MCNOW) to endorse former Maryland NOW President and Treasurer and former MCNOW President Duchy Trachtenberg. After all, they had endorsed six other candidates for the four at-large seats, so why not support the one candidate who had indisputably worked hardest on their issues? Well, over two weeks have passed since then, folks, and what do you know:
MCNOW has still not endorsed Trachtenberg.
Now suppose that we have it all wrong and Trachtenberg is NOW’s heroine. Suppose that she forgot to send in her questionnaire, or it was lost. A reasonable person in Trachtenberg’s shoes would get the questionnaire in, make a few phone calls to MCNOW officers and wrap up the endorsement quickly just to stop the chatter. But apparently that has not happened and the chatter has dramatically intensified in the last two days.
The focus of the rising interest in Trachtenberg’s relationship with NOW is connected to a January Gazette article discussing a grievance filed by Maryland NOW against Trachtenberg for allegedly mishandling money while she was their Treasurer. The article never talked about the specific allegations against Trachtenberg, but they were bad enough that Trachtenberg had her lawyer threaten to sue any NOW official who discussed them with the media. Furthermore, Trachtenberg told the Gazette that she had no knowledge of the grievance until told about it by a Gazette reporter. A Maryland NOW official said Trachtenberg was told of it when it was filed. These two accounts cannot be reconciled.
How bad is this? Imagine a United Food and Commercial Workers local not endorsing Valerie Ervin, who was a member of that union for years. Imagine a Latino organization not endorsing Nancy Navarro. Imagine anyone who eats granola or tofu not endorsing Marc Elrich.
Something’s going on, folks, something’s still going on…
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Something’s Going On
The Montgomery County chapter of the National Organization for Women (MCNOW) has perhaps the most relaxed endorsement procedure in the county. All you have to do is fill out the online questionnaire, click submit, and if you answer correctly, you have a good chance of getting the endorsement. Multiple candidates have told your author that they did not even have to attend an interview. MCNOW also frequently endorses more candidates than seats. For example, they have endorsed both candidates in all four marquee Senate primaries, four Delegate candidates in Districts 14 and 15, five Delegate candidates in District 18 and eight (!!) in District 16. In the at-large County Council race, they have endorsed six candidates for four seats:
Jane de Winter
Marc Elrich
Nancy Floreen
George Leventhal
Hans Riemer
Becky Wagner
Not Duchy Trachtenberg.
You read that correctly: Not Duchy Trachtenberg.
Trachtenberg appears to be better qualified than any other candidate in the county for MCNOW’s support. She is a former President of MCNOW and a former President and Treasurer of Maryland NOW. Her former Chief of Staff, Terry O’Neill, was once President of Maryland NOW and is the current National President of NOW. Her former aide, Dana Beyer, was an Executive Vice-President of Maryland NOW while Trachtenberg was Treasurer. Trachtenberg introduced a successful bill on pregnancy centers that was supported by O’Neill. And O’Neill even appeared at Trachtenberg’s campaign kickoff, as did a National Vice-President of NOW, despite the fact that she had not yet been endorsed by any NOW organization.
So why has MCNOW endorsed no fewer than six at-large candidates before supporting Trachtenberg? Consider that Trachtenberg has threatened to sue various NOW officials to prevent them from publicly discussing a grievance alleging that she had “mishandled money” while she was Maryland NOW Treasurer. Consider also that Trachtenberg not only resigned as Maryland NOW Treasurer, but she also resigned as a NOW member in November 2008.
And why does this question appear at the end of MCNOW’s online questionnaire? 12. Is there anything in your background that might disqualify you from an endorsement by MCNOW?
What kind of a question is that? Eli El might have a problem answering it, but would any other candidate in MoCo? Your author has never seen a question like that asked by any other endorsing organization in the county.
Something’s going on, folks, something’s going on…
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
MoCo NOW Releases Early Endorsement List
The Montgomery County chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) has released its early endorsement list. Its first picks are:
Maryland General Assembly
Senate
District 39
Saqib Ali
House of Delegates
District 14
Eric Luedtke
District 15
Brian Feldman
District 16
Charles Chester
District 18
Dana Beyer
District 19
Jay Hutchins
Montgomery County Council
At-large
George Leventhal
School Board
District 3
Patricia O’Neill
NOW says, "This is not a final list, and candidates will be added as they are endorsed." Fair enough. Most early endorsements are no-brainers, that is, people who are obvious picks because of their long records of support in and out of office. By that measure, why are so many of the county's most renowned female candidates off the list, like former NARAL staffers Cheryl Kagan and Ariana Kelly? Why was Duchy Trachtenberg, a former President of Maryland and MoCo NOW, not endorsed? And how about Marc Elrich, who worked with George Leventhal on the successful 2007 bill to protect domestic workers?
Wow, NOW.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Duchy Trachtenberg's Chief of Staff Voted National NOW President
Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg's Chief of Staff, Terry O'Neill, has been voted the new national President of the National Organization for Women (NOW). Council Member Trachtenberg is herself a former President of Maryland NOW. The Gazette reported that O'Neill would have to leave Trachtenberg's staff if she won the NOW presidency, so the Council Member will be picking a new Chief of Staff.
