Political aide

Michelle Duffy Orr has been an Ehrlich volunteer from the beginning. It started with a chance meeting in 1984

member spotlight

Michelle Duffy Orr, CPA
Founder, Michelle Duffy Orr and Associates

By Bill Sheridan
Statement editor

Everyone has a networking success story to tell — a key relationship or career-making deal born from a chance meeting.

But Michelle Duffy Orr's tops them all.

In 1984, as a newly anointed 24-year-old CPA, the Towson University and Johns Hopkins graduate came to the MACPA's New CPA Night looking for some professional camaraderie. She overheard a gentleman seated next to her discussing his plans to run for a seat in Maryland's House of Delegates, and she introduced herself.

His name? Robert Ehrlich Jr.

"He said, 'If you're interested, I'd love some help because I've never done this before," Duffy Orr recalled. "Nine months later he called me and said, "Do you remember me? I'm still looking for volunteers.'"

With Duffy Orr's help, Ehrlich — then a 28-year-old political novice — was elected by a narrow margin in November 1986. He served two terms in the state House before running for — and winning — the U.S. House of Representatives seat vacated in 1995 by Helen Delich Bentley. He served four two-year terms in Congress, then became Maryland's first Republican governor in 36 years by defeating Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in 2002.

Duffy Orr has been with him every step of the way, volunteering on each of his campaigns and serving on Ehrlich's Finance Committee, Business Advisory Board and election / re-election committees. She also served as vice chair of Maryland's Republican Party from 2000-02.

"Michelle is someone who you can give a project to and she will see it though to completion," Ehrlich said. "She is a great friend of mine and a great person to work with, and I think she has done a wonderful job for Baltimore County."

Though Ehrlich has quickly climbed the political ladder, Duffy Orr says his feet are still planted firmly on the ground.

"One thing I've noticed and am really proud of is the fact that, in many ways, he is the same Bobby as governor as when I first met him," she said. "He still calls me back; the calls just come in a little later nowadays. And he treats everyone the same as he always has. When people progress into higher offices, their lives often become so busy that it becomes hard to maintain their relationships. I think (Ehrlich) and his wife have done an outstanding job of that."

Starting anew

Duffy Orr has faced similar challenges, due more to distance than politics. Her husband works four days a week in Kansas City, and her in-laws and step-children live in North Carolina.

Wanting more time and flexibility, she left Baltimore Gas and Electric — for whom she had worked for nearly 20 years — and started her own business last year. Michelle Duffy Orr and Associates specializes in public relations, fund-raising and business planning. Its top client is The Helping Up Mission, a 120-year-old Baltimore-based non-profit that helps people with chronic alcohol and drug addictions.

The new job, she says, "gives me the flexibility that I need. It lets me travel when I have to, but I also have a job and clients that allow me to be very much involved in the community."

It also allows her to stay involved in the political arena, which "becomes contagious once you step into it," she said. Duffy Orr is serving a six-year, governor-appointed term on the board of Maryland's Injured Workers Insurance Fund, and she plans to stay active as an Ehrlich re-election volunteer.

"After all the years of hard work to get him to the governor's mansion, I believe I have a governor who is family oriented, well respected and works endlessly for the citizens of Maryland," she said. "I am very proud that I was part of the process that got him there."

Contact this Author: < William Sheridan > bill@macpa.org

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