Keep one hand on your wallet...

Peter Franchot was sworn in as Comptroller today. So hang on to your wallets because. ready or not, here he comes. Once again though, Franchot seems to not understand the job he has accepted:

Democrat Peter Franchot took office today as Maryland's 33rd comptroller -- and he made it clear within moments that he won't be content to be a behind-the-scenes tax collector.

Franchot, a 20-year House member from Montgomery County who knocked off former Comptroller William Donald Schaefer last year, said after taking the oath of office that he wants to push for biotechnology jobs and to fight slot machine gambling.

The ambitious agenda came even though Franchot no longer has a vote in the legislature or any power to influence state policy except as part of a three-person board that approves state contracts.

We have noted before that Franchot seems to think his office is a bully pulpit from which to fight for his worldview, notwithstanding the limitations set forth in the State Constitution. Mike Miller is actually the voice of reason on this issue:

"He'll quickly learn that his job is a tax collector, not a policy maker," Miller told reporters after Franchot's speech.

And if Franchot sticks to that, he'll keep his own party off of his back. Not that I think Franchot really cares too much about that. However, I am amused that Franchot tells WBAL radio he will be a "fiscal watchdog" for the state of Maryland. I believe that. You see, what the people of Maryland need in a Comptroller is a guard dog, somebody who will be the voice of reason and fiscal sanity when it comes to funding these expensive projects the Legislature and the Administration dream up. Unfortunately, given Franchot's "agenda" and his 20-year record in the House of Delegates indicate, he is going to be a watchdog in the sense that he is the dog that watches the money flow out of the State Treasury. He will be nonexistent when it comes to stopping wasteful spending, but I'm sure Franchot will have no problems leaving the spigot open far and wide for the continued expansion of nannystatism...

Of course, given Franchot's penchant for raising money from out of state and loaning himself $750,000 of his campaign kitty (hey, that sounds familiar) I doubt that he'll be too concerned with the plight of Maryland's taxpayers.