Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier said the anger over her not nominating Inspector General Kelly Madigan for a second term caught her by surprise.

In an exclusive interview with WYPR, Klausmeier said if she could do it over, she would not change the way she picked Khadija Walker over Madigan for IG.

The county executive spoke with WYPR ahead of Monday night’s county council up or down vote on whether to confirm her nominee.

“Now the ball is in their court and we’ll see what happens,” Klausmeier said.

For weeks a majority of council members have said they will only confirm Madigan. They’ve praised her work as the county’s first inspector general, building the department from scratch and finding waste, fraud and abuse in county government.

Klausmeier said that the wall of opposition did give her pause.

“It did, but that’s why I had the process going because I would tell them I’m looking for the best candidate I could find,” Klausmeier said.

It's that selection process that council members and others have objected to. On May 12, at Klausmeier’s only meeting with Madigan, she gave Madigan a letter that said the county code called on the executive to conduct an open search for an inspector general.

Now Klausmeier’s office confirms that following that meeting, County Attorney James Benjamin advised Klausmeier that the code gave her the choice — and the authority — to reappoint Madigan. She chose not to, launching a national search instead.

Klausmeier said, “That’s how I interpreted it to myself and that’s what I wanted to do. Open up the process just to make sure I had the best, the most qualified person.”

That person for Klausmeier is Khadija Walker, a veteran auditor for the federal government. If Walker is confirmed and becomes the county’s next IG she will make an annual salary of $218,000. That’s nearly $50,000 more than Madigan who makes just under $170,000.

“She had 20 years of experience,” Klausmeier said of Walker. “She was very articulate. She had leadership skills.”

Last week, Walker made her case before the county council, but afterwards the four members who said they will only support Madigan, including Democrat Izzy Patoka, were unmoved. Patoka said Madigan already has experience being the county’s watchdog and unlike Walker, has investigated elected officials.

Patoka said, “I think it’s important because it’s so sensitive when you have to investigate an elected official. We’ve seen that in the past how it can play out. It’s really important to have someone who already has that experience.”

There have been rallies and a petition in support of Madigan. The Association of Inspectors General sent a letter to council members and to Klausmeier, saying she did not conform with the law when she set up the IG search. It also said there was a conflict of interest when Klausmeier, someone who could be investigated by an inspector general, sat on the panel that decided on the nominee.

But the county code states the nomination is the county executive’s to make, and Klausmeier said if she had to do it over again, she would do it the same way.

“I would still have the panel,” Klausmeier said. “I would still interview people and I would still decide in the end who was the best candidate.”

And then there’s Walker’s plan to commute to Towson from Fredericksburg Virginia.

When told that could be a one-way three hour commute based on a Google Maps check Klausmeier said, “You did and everybody else did too. My friends were telling me all about it.”

She said some people don’t mind driving and she expects Walker to show up, and only occasionally work from home.

In her 30 years as an elected official, as a legislator and now county executive, Klausmeier said she’s never dealt with this level of controversy.

“It caught me by surprise so I learned a lot,” Klausmeier said.