Khadija E. Walker, the nominee put forth by Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier to become the county’s next inspector general, lives in Fredericksburg, Va., placing her about 110 miles and 2½ hours away by car from her prospective job.

Land records reviewed by The Brew in Spotsylvania County, Va.,  show that Walker purchased a $755,000 home on 2.67 acres of land in the far south Washington D.C. exurb last September, the same month she took a job as deputy assistant inspector general for audits at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAIDS).

Walker previously had worked for 20 years in Chicago as an auditor at the regional office of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Baltimore County does not require an inspector general – charged with investigating waste, fraud and abuse in county government – to live in the jurisdiction where they work. But knowing its laws and politics is essential to becoming an effective IG, says Baltimore City’s inspector general, Isabel Mercedes Cumming.

“I was described as a D.C. attorney when I was named inspector general in 2018,” she told The Brew this morning. “In reality, I started working in Baltimore in 1984 as a financial auditor and then as both a city and state prosecutor, only leaving to be a deputy inspector general in Washington. All this meant that I was able to hit the ground running when I became IG.”

Prior to her appointment, Baltimore’s IG office was without a permanent director and had not issued a single investigative report in over a year. In her first months in office, Cumming was able to identify over $1 million in wasteful spending, and the office has gone on to save taxpayers $48 million, she said.

KEY BREW STORIES:

• Kathy Klausmeier misrepresented the credentials of her choice for Baltimore County inspector general (7/25/25)

• Khadija Walker’s ex-boss was closely involved in her selection as Baltimore County inspector general (7/28/25)

• Corruption watchdog joins chorus of criticism over Klausmeier’s role in inspector general selection (7/21/25)

• County Executive Klausmeier appears ready to bypass the inspector general selection panel she set up (7/14/25)

Last Friday, The Brew reported that Walker was neither a certified inspector general nor an attorney. Both these qualifications were attained by Kelly Madigan, the current county IG. Klausmeier passed over Madigan in favor of Walker, whose final job interview was conducted in the presence of Arthur A. Elkins, her former EPA boss.

A former deputy state prosecutor and Baltimore City assistant state’s attorney, Madigan is well versed in both local and state laws. Madigan served for five years as county IG and was recently named “Fraud Fighter of the Year” by the Maryland chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

By comparison, Cumming said, Walker “has zero direct experience serving as an inspector general,” explaining that in the federal system, IG offices have clearly differentiated audit and investigation divisions.

The audit division, where Walker worked at EPA for more than 20 years, “examines financial records and controls, while the investigation division conducts active investigations of waste, fraud and other illegal acts. Baltimore County is an investigative office, and the nominee has no experience and limited qualifications in that area,” Cumming said.

Protest Rally Today

Public anger over Klausmeier’s decision not to reappoint Madigan – which took place days after she filed a report exposing the hundreds of hours that the uncle of former County Executive Johnny Olszewski spent at Olszewski’s campaign headquarters while a county inspector – has spilled over into a protest rally scheduled today.

The rally will start at 3 p.m. in front of at the Historic Courthouse at 400 Washington Avenue, Towson.

At 4 p.m., the County Council is expected to start deliberations on the Walker nomination, which must be confirmed by the body. A majority of of the seven-member Council have publicly stsated that they will only support the reappointment of Madigan.

Yesterday, Klausmeier’s office announced that Walker will meet privately with Council members to answer their questions and make her case for the IG post, which pays up to $188,000 annually.

Late yesterday, Klausmeier, who was named interim county executive in January after Olszzewski was sworn in as a U.S. congressman, issued her most detailed defense of her selection of Walker.

Klausmeier Statement

The text of her statement – Klaumeier has not held a press conference or answered media questions in weeks – is below:

“Ensuring an open, honest, and accountable government is the highest responsibility of a county executive. Residents deserve to know that they have the most qualified inspector general working on their behalf – as well as an administration that looks inward and continues to find ways to improve Baltimore County.

“That is why I am proud of the work the Inspector General Selection Panel did on behalf of our residents. The exceptionally qualified panel consisted of two former members of the Baltimore County Blue Ribbon Commission on Ethics and Accountability, two former inspectors general, and a respected local attorney appointed by the County Council. Twenty-three people applied for the role, and panel members interviewed several candidates who met the minimum qualifications for this job. The panel recommended finalists, which was its charge from the beginning.

“Throughout this process, Khadija Walker stood out as the most qualified candidate to elevate the Office of the Inspector General. In addition to her more than 22 years of high-level experience, I was particularly impressed by her fearless work to hold the federal government accountable in the wake of the Flint, Michigan and Jackson, Mississippi water crises. While the selection panel recommended three candidates for my consideration, the charter requires that the county executive is the appointment authority and I am proud to have selected Khadija Walker to serve in this role.

“This selection process has achieved exactly what we set out to do; to identify the most qualified candidate. I urge the members of the Baltimore County Council as well as our residents to consider Khadija Walker’s experience, leadership, and dedication to open, honest, and accountable government. I have full confidence in her abilities, knowledge, and character and I believe anyone who learns more about her career will agree that she is the right person to lead this important office.

“It is disappointing that Ms. Walker’s impressive credentials have come under attack for political reasons. To be clear, it is commonplace for inspectors general at all levels of government to have auditing experience. The County Charter explicitly states the following: ‘The Inspector General shall be professionally qualified, by experience or education, in auditing, law, ethics, compliance, government operations, or financial management, and shall be selected solely on the basis of professional ability and personal integrity.’ In those areas, Ms. Walker has extensive experience and stands out in the field; she has also led teams with investigators on staff and assisted in ongoing investigations throughout her career.

“I made it clear during my candidacy for county executive that I would not run for this position in the 2026 election. However, that does not mean I can deny my responsibility to make sure that we have the most qualified and competent people serving our residents. I am proud to continue the work to make Baltimore County better every day and I am sure that Khadija Walker will build on that progress and ensure a local government that all our residents can be proud of.”

• For The Brew’s full coverage of Madigan’s non-reappointment, see here.