Peter Franchot

Peter V. R. Franchot (born November 25, 1947) is an American politician who is the 33rd and current Comptroller of Maryland.

Franchot, born in New Haven, Connecticut, attended Phillips Academy of Andover, Massachusetts, obtained a B.A. in English from Amherst College in 1973 and graduated from Northeastern University School of Law with a J.D. in 1978. Franchot now resides in Takoma Park, Maryland with his wife Anne Maher and his two children, Abigail and Nicholas. He has served his community as treasurer of the Longbranch Sligo Citizens Association, and as a coach for the Takoma Park Youth Soccer League and the Montgomery County Youth Hockey League.

Franchot in 2008

Peter Franchot served in the United States Army from 1968 to 1970. Franchot has experience as an attorney and a self-employed business development consultant. From 1980 to 1986, Franchot served as staff director to Congressman Edward J. Markey. Prior to his election to statewide office, Comptroller Franchot served 20 years (1987-2007) in the General Assembly, representing the people of Montgomery County, Maryland in the Maryland House of Delegates. In 1988, while serving his first term in the Maryland General Assembly, Franchot ran for Maryland's 8th congressional district against incumbent Connie Morella (R-MD). Morella defeated Franchot, 63% to 37%, in the general election.

During his time in the Maryland House of Delegates, Franchot was a member of the Appropriations Committee and served on multiple subcommittees.

• Law enforcement & transportation subcommittee
• Education and transportation subcommittee
• Oversight committee on program open space and agricultural land preservation
• Capital budget subcommittee
• Chair, Public safety & administration subcommittee
• Oversight committee on pensions
• Oversight committee on personnel

During Franchot’s service, prior to his appointment as the Comptroller of Maryland he served on several other committees as well.

• Special joint committee on MED-EVAC Program
• House Chair, Joint Committee on Federal Relations
• Chair, Special Committee on County Finances, Montgomery County Delegation
• Transportation Committee, Montgomery County Delegation
• Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus
• Maryland Veterans Caucus
• National Conference of State Legislatures (transportation committee)
• Chair, Subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Power United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce (1985–1986)
• Sound Barrier Review Panel (1995–1996)
• State Information Technology Board (1999–2004)
• Committee on Building Public Trust and Confidence in the Justice System (1999)
• Virginia-Maryland-District of Columbia Joint Legislative Commission on Interstate Transportation (2000–2003)
• Legislative counsel, Union of Concerned Scientists
• Delegate, Democratic Party National Convention, 2008

Legislative notes

• voted against slots in 2005 (HB1361)
• voted for income tax reduction in 1998 (SB750)

• "2005 Regular Session - Vote Record 0152". Retrieved 11 August 2016. 
• "1998 Regular Session - Vote Record 1229". Retrieved 11 August 2016. 

Franchot's Inauguration, January, 2007(seated l-r: House Speaker Mike Busch, Senate President Mike Miller, Baltimore City Delegation Chairman Curt Anderson and Governor Martin O'Malley)

A candidate for Comptroller of Maryland, Franchot defeated incumbent William Donald Schaefer and fellow challenger Janet S. Owens in a close Democratic primary election on September 12, 2006. He defeated the Republican nominee Anne McCarthy in the General Election on November 7, 2006. Franchot was sworn on January 22, 2007.

In 2011 Franchot protested the decision by Bowie State University to purchase 32 Steinway pianos at a total cost of $552,000, calling the decision "out of touch" with the state of the economy at the time.

Franchot campaigned against bringing slot machine gambling to Maryland. As a member of the House of Delegates, he led a successful coalition of lawmakers to oppose the Constitutional amendment to legalize slots. The coalition succeeded in placing before the voters a Constitutional amendment to legalize slots. In 2008, Franchot, along with hundreds of grassroots leaders from around the state, launched Marylanders United to Stop Slots to encourage a 'no' vote on the referendum. Franchot argued that the high social costs of increased crime, broken families and bankruptcies would outweigh any revenue gains.

Franchot endorsed Barack Obama for President in early January 2008and actively campaigned for him across the state.

“Any education funding that goes into the Education Trust Fund is subject to being raided by the legislature," Franchot said. "That is what's happened historically; that inevitably is what will happen again."

The gambling referendum passed by a narrow margin, 52 percent to 48 percent.

Awards

• Distinguished Partnership Award, Baltimore-Washington, DC, Chapter, National Association of Securities Professionals, 2007.
• William R. Snodgrass Distinguished Leadership Award, Association of Government Accountants, 2008.
• Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.
• BMORE News- Minority Business Advocacy Award, 2007