McKay explains why he misstated college degree

Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006

The incorrect information on the Web sites was posted without his knowledge, he said, and blamed it on a staff error. He falsely told a reporter he had a college degree because ‘‘I saw everything exploding in front of me here and I did panic,” he said Monday.

McKay’s admission and subsequent apology inject fresh drama into the race to represent St. Mary’s and parts of Calvert and Charles counties in the Maryland Senate. In less than a week, voters decide whether to re-elect Sen. Roy Dyson or replace him with McKay (R).

Until last Thursday, biographical information on the county government Web site and McKay’s campaign Web site said that he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland in 1979. McKay confirmed in a county-issued press release Thursday that the information was mistaken and called the erroneous information a staff oversight that he did not authorize.

McKay said Monday he submitted an accurate biography at the beginning of his term and requested revisions to be made about two years ago to reflect commissioners’ recent activities, but he did not request his academic credentials be changed. A staff member, he said, ‘‘assumed I had a bachelor’s degree.” He said he did not read the Web site in subsequent years and did not know the information about his college degree was incorrect.

His county government biography was copied for use on his campaign Web site earlier this year, McKay said. A campaign aide subsequently supplied the erroneous biography to The Washington Post for its voters’ guide, lifting it from the Web site, he said, without his knowledge.

The county government’s Web site now says that McKay ‘‘attended Ryken High School from 1970-1974 and the University of Maryland from 1974-1979.”

McKay clarified his educational background in an interview on Monday. He said he attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County from the fall of 1974 through the spring of 1976. He then took classes at St. Mary’s College of Maryland from the fall of 1976 through the spring of 1977, before transferring to the University of Maryland, College Park from the fall of 1977 through the spring of 1979.

He took classes part time that final semester to help open the Charlotte Hall grocery store that his family owns. ‘‘It was a big project for my family,” he said. But the commute became taxing, McKay said, and he left at the end of the semester without receiving a degree.

He said he later took classes at the University of Maryland University College, the school’s program for nontraditional students. He said on Monday that he took about four classes at UMUC, the last in 2001, but has not earned a degree.

During the interview on Monday, McKay produced a flier from his 2002 commission president campaign that said, ‘‘Tommy attended Ryken High School from 1970-1974 and the University of Maryland from 1974-1979.”

Last Wednesday, a reporter from The Enterprise asked McKay about his college degree. The reporter, McKay said, ‘‘asked if I got a degree at the University of Maryland in 1979. I said no, I had to continue my education at University College and stopped right there.

‘‘It was not misleading, it was absolutely honest. He never asked me if I had a degree. He never asked me that question,” McKay said.

That conversation, he said, ‘‘stuck in my mind.” But a lot of questions arise in the midst of a political campaign, he said, with a lot of motivations.

On Thursday, McKay returned a call from a Washington Post reporter, who told him that the St. Mary’s Today Web site said McKay didn’t have a college degree, McKay said Monday. The reporter told him the county’s Web site and his own campaign Web site said he had a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, McKay said Monday, and added that St. Mary’s Today said he last took a class at UMUC in 2001.

The Post reporter asked him if that was where he got his degree.

‘‘I saw everything exploding in front of me here and I did panic,” McKay acknowledged. ‘‘Maybe I did just think I could stall this thing until I could find out what these Web sites said. I just answered her question, ‘Yes.’ I asked her to call me back.”

He then saw the online information was incorrect, he said. Upon the reporter’s return call, ‘‘At this point I gave her all the correct information,” he said. ‘‘All I did in that situation was try to stall her until I had an opportunity to find out what was going on. I used the wrong method to stall her and I do apologize for that and take responsibility for that.”

McKay then questioned the timing of the disclosure about his college degree.

‘‘Surely, someone knew this long ago,” he said. ‘‘... There was a clerical mistake made and now this is going to be an election issue that never should have been an election issue.

‘‘I’ve tried to work very hard to be as honest and open as I can,” he added.

‘‘The real ethical issue is my opponent’s campaign,” McKay said Monday in an effort to redirect the discussion. He complained about a mailer paid for by the Maryland Democratic Senatorial Committee on behalf of Dyson that alleges McKay accepted developer contributions and supported the sale of environmentally sensitive land for below-market price. The glossy ad, entitled ‘‘Some See Green Space ... Others See Green Backs,” depicts Dyson as a friend of open space and McKay as its adversary. Inside, McKay’s head is transposed on the body of a man holding a wad of $20 bills.

McKay responded angrily to the leaflet and said he played no role in the proposed land deal. ‘‘He put an image of my head ... on someone else’s body doing acts I’ve never done,” McKay said.

Dyson could not be reached for comment.

Word of McKay’s incorrect resume rippled through St. Mary’s political arena.

Former St. Mary’s County Commissioner President Julie B. Randall (D) said it adds to the speculation surrounding McKay.

‘‘Citizens expect and deserve honesty and integrity in their elected officials,” she said. ‘‘He has continued to skirt the truth, he’s been deceitful and downright lied.”

While Randall believes the revelation will swing votes to Dyson, former Republican commissioner Frances P. Eagan believes it was an unintentional mistake because McKay wasn’t trying to misrepresent his credentials in his race four years ago.

‘‘If it was intentional, he would have done it the first time,” she said. ‘‘Why, in four years, would he change it? No politician would do that to misrepresent what was already correct the first time.”

St. Mary’s Planning Commission member Shelby P. Guazzo, a former county commissioner, thinks the dispute is insignificant when compared with the candidates’ records. Despite supporting McKay’s bid four years ago, Guazzo, a Republican when she held office, said she backs Dyson in the Senate race. ‘‘I have not appreciated his running a campaign for four years while being a president of the county commissioners,” she said.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland political science professor Zach Messitte said the mistake can only have negative consequences for McKay.

If it was a deliberate attempt to distort his resume, McKay should be treated the same as anyone who falsified their education, Messitte said. ‘‘This is the kind of thing that would get me fired,” he said. ‘‘If I fudged where I got my Ph.D., I’d be gone tomorrow.”

E-mail Alan Brody at abrody@somdnews.com. Staff writer Rick Boyd contributed to this report.