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A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to Maryland comptroller spokeswoman Susan O’Brien as Peter Franchot’s gubernatorial campaign spokeswoman as well. The article has been corrected.
A thick newspaper insert with a smiling, polo-shirt-wearing Comptroller Peter Franchot on the cover landed at more 150,000 Maryland homes this weekend, advertising unclaimed property and raising questions among some observers about whether the comptroller’s attention-getting marketing was designed to promote his bid for governor as the primary draws near.
Although the practice has ruffled some of Franchot’s competitors in a crowded field for governor, the mailing is “completely legal,” according to Jared DeMarinis, campaign finance director for the Maryland State Board of Elections.
The unclaimed-property circular never mentions the election, voting or that Franchot (D) is seeking election. Publishing it is also an annual requirement under Maryland law since the mid-1970s.
Franchot has put his face on the cover of the insert for the past decade, riffing off pop culture to draw attention to what’s currently more than $83 million in unclaimed property in the state’s possession.
He has posed with deerstalker hat and pipe as “Sherlock Franchot,” in duplicate as the “Unclaimed Property Brothers” and clad in a tuxedo with a single rose as the “Matchelor,” matching residents with unclaimed property.
But just weeks before Franchot’s name is on the ballot in the competitive July 19 Democratic primary race, this year’s spoof on the Jake from State Farm commercials — “Like a good neighbor, Franchot is there” — struck some residents and Franchot’s competitors as skirting an ethical line.
“The top two-thirds of the page were indistinguishable from a campaign ad,” said Charles Kenny, a writer and economist from Montgomery County who posted about the insert on social media.
“I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a big ad in the Sunday Post.’ And then I realized what it was,” said Dan Goldberg, a project manager from Montgomery who also posted about the ad on Twitter. “And is that crossing the line?”
As the smaller print at the bottom explains, the nearly 180-page tome lists the more than 83,000 people with unclaimed property in Maryland. It also puts Franchot squarely in front of voters at critical time during a crowded race — at taxpayer expense.
@peterfranchot should I be complaining here about the 180 page tax payer funded campaign insert in my WaPo or to your campaign? Can’t tell the difference (& that’s illegal). pic.twitter.com/65AtweYqL5
Franchot said in a statement that he doesn’t believe the insert crosses any ethical lines and that he advocated to stop “the antiquated printed effort,” although newspapers pushed back.
“We are unapologetic about the fact that we, more than any other state, seek to reunite people with their unclaimed property,” he said.
But the timing and tenor of this ad sparked concerns that spread on social media, including a private Facebook page where residents of Franchot’s hometown of Takoma Park suggested it appeared unethical, and on Twitter, where Kenny initially posted.
“The large vanity shot on the cover, alongside the fact that Franchot used his name in place of State Farm in advertising copy across the top, suggests pretty clearly this was about selling Franchot more than helping Marylanders,” said Kenny, a Democrat who has not picked a candidate in the race.
The printed ads will go to another 200,000 homes by the end of next week, reaching a total of 360,000 households statewide. (There’s also a YouTube video and an interactive website for searching lost property records.)
One of Franchot’s opponents, former Prince George’s county executive Rushern L. Baker III, called the insert “a breach of ethics” in a Facebook post and said Franchot’s campaign should reimburse taxpayers for it.
Another opponent, former U.S. labor secretary Tom Perez, said: “This simply doesn’t pass the smell test. ‘Good neighbors’ don’t misuse taxpayer dollars to fund shameless self promotion.”
And a third, author and former nonprofit chief Wes Moore, labeled it “nothing more than corruption,” adding that Franchot “needs to pay back the citizens he claims to serve.”
“This ad is 75 percent Peter Franchot’s name and face and maybe 25 percent information about unclaimed property,” Moore spokesperson Brian Jones said. “The largest font on the page is Peter Franchot’s name, because it’s always all about him.”
The comptroller’s staff brushed off the accusations as election-year antics and a distortion of his responsibilities, adding that “Comptroller Franchot makes no apologies” for successfully marketing an otherwise tedious list of names.
“This year’s unclaimed property theme is no different than any other year when we borrow from pop culture to bring attention to Maryland’s Unclaimed Property Fund,” Susan O’Brien, Franchot’s communications director, said in an email.
“It’s funny, it’s self-deprecating and, most importantly, it achieves its intended purpose: draw Marylanders’ attention to the existence of this $2 billion fund,” she said. “Anyone claiming that this is a departure from the past decade of eye-catching unclaimed property themes is either deliberately misrepresenting the facts or is willfully ignorant of the statutory responsibilities of this agency,” she said.
DeMarinis, the state campaign finance expert, said the law treats this similarly to the mail lawmakers sends to constituents heralding their accomplishments during the legislative session.
Once before, Maryland Democrats drew a clear line about when official publications cannot also serve as marketing for candidates. Ahead of the 2006 election, Democrats in the General Assembly amended the budget to forbid then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich (R) from using any state cash for public service announcements that featured his face.
The prohibition was not included in any subsequent budgets and effectively lasted only one year, according to Del. Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), the retiring chair of the House Appropriations Committee.
One of Franchot’s predecessors tried to end the unclaimed-property ads in 2002, arguing it was an unnecessary expense to publish newspaper advertisements statewide. The legislation failed amid opposition from Maryland’s newspapers.
The Washington Post is the biggest financial beneficiary of the unclaimed property ads this year, according to figures from the comptroller’s office. Of the $275,000 to print and distribute the ads, more than $220,000 of it was paid to The Post’s circulation department, which is operated separately from the newsroom.
The ads have also been successful at reuniting people with property, the comptroller’s office said. In fiscal 2021, the comptroller’s office processed 33,746 claims totaling more than $61 million. The comptroller’s office said calls always spike after the newspaper inserts, and as of Thursday they said they fielded no citizen complaints about the “Like a good neighbor” theme.
Alisa Tang contributed to this report.