Kelly Madigan, Baltimore County’s first inspector general, is leaving her position after four difficult years to become the first inspector general in Howard County, she said in a resignation letter.

“It was not an easy choice, but it was the right one,” Madigan said of her decision to leave Baltimore County effective Jan. 2.

She added that a cascade of circumstances has made continuing in the job difficult.

“I have confronted the reality that the tools and support required to safeguard integrity in the county government continue to be restricted,” said Madigan, 47, who was appointed inspector general by then-Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. in 2020 to fulfill a campaign promise.

Almost immediately, the Olszewski administration bristled at her investigations of some political allies. Olszewski tried to create an oversight board to rein in Madigan’s investigative powers, but there was a public revolt. County Council member Julian Jones, who was the target of two Madigan investigations, publicly insulted her demeanor as “prosecutorial” and said county employees, particularly those who were Black, were afraid to do their jobs.

Matters didn’t improve much after Olszewski left for Congress and former state Sen. Kathy Klausmeier stepped into the county’s top job. When Madigan’s term ended this year, Klausmeier declined to reappoint her, opting instead for an open search process to which Madigan was welcome to apply. She did, and the public rallied behind her at several protests, in letters to the council and the county executive, and through petitions with hundreds of residents’ signatures.

The search committee chose someone else. But the County Council did not appoint that person, so Klausmeier opted to keep Madigan in a holdover capacity. There she could have stayed until a new county executive was sworn in at the beginning of 2027.

Howard County residents overwhelmingly voted a year ago to create an Office of the Inspector General to root out waste, fraud and abuse in local government. A committee chose Madigan from a pool of 58 applicants.

Madigan’s deputy, Steve Quisenberry, served on the search committee, though he recused himself from discussions and the vote on his former boss.

Madigan has appointed Quisenberry to be interim Baltimore County inspector general. He can remain in the position until Klausmeier appoints someone else; it’s unclear if she’s inclined to do so.

In a statement, Klausmeier said she accepted Madigan’s resignation and wished her well. The county executive added she looked forward to “working with our partners in the County Council in determining next steps.”

For Howard County, Madigan was “the natural choice,” said David Salem, chair of Howard’s inspector general advisory board.

“Kelly has exceptional credentials and experience as a prosecutor and an Inspector General at the county level, and knew what it would require to set up and operate a successful IG office in Howard County,” Salem said in a statement. “We believe she will serve the residents of Howard County to her fullest abilities.”

Madigan’s investigations chronicled Baltimore County’s waste, fraud and abuse at all levels, ranging from low-level corrections officers taking COVID relief funds for off-the-books taxi businesses to a former permits director waiving millions of dollars in fees for a well-connected developer who gave him a free parking space.

But she herself spent $190,000 of taxpayer funds on a lawsuit the county filed on her behalf against Olszewski’s former chief of staff Patrick Murray, long after Murray left office. The county had to pay Murray $100,000 to settle the matter, and Madigan incurred $90,000 in legal fees pursuing it. The case remains sealed at the request of Madigan’s county-appointed attorney, Skip Cornbrooks. He has declined to comment.

Madigan has never spoken to The Banner about the lawsuit, but records show it stemmed from a breakfast meeting she had with Murray in March 2021 where he asked her to wrap up an investigation she was working on. Murray, according to records made available to The Banner, did not know the investigation concerned a tennis barn that developer David Cordish was attempting to build in northern Baltimore County. Murray only knew that Madigan’s inquiries were making some employees uncomfortable. (Cordish is The Banner’s landlord.)

Friction remains between Madigan and the county, partly because she requested and received approval from the County Council to hire a separate attorney to represent her in matters where she differs from the administration.

Last month, Madigan asked county Administrative Officer D’Andrea Walker for a legal opinion on whether the County Council violated the Open Meetings Act when it met without public notice to select Klausmeier as county executive. The Open Meetings Compliance Board already ruled it could not determine whether the council violated the law, but Madigan was following up on a complaint from 12 citizens who asked her to look into it.

Walker responded that she previously advised Madigan to direct such inquiries to the council, and that “my position has not changed.”

She added, “I would also note that you have the option of seeking a legal opinion on this issue from Karpinski, Cornbrooks & Karp, P.A. You will recall this is the law firm for which you requested approval from the Council back in 2024,” emphasis hers.

Council member Izzy Patoka, a Pikesville Democrat, supported Madigan throughout her ordeal and introduced legislation to make the office more independent and free from politicization.

In a statement, he said he’s sorry to see her go.

“One of the most challenging actions in government is to create a new agency. This is particularly difficult in establishing an Inspector General’s office given the nature of the work program,” he said. “Kelly Madigan did a great job in creating and leading the operations of the Baltimore County office.”

This article have been updated to correct when a new county executive will be sworn in. It's 2027.