O'Malley, Brown call for 'One Maryland'

BY Chris Patterson
Contributing Writer

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The inauguration of Governor Martin O’Malley (D) and Lt. Governor Anthony Brown (D) began somewhat privately on Wednesday, Jan. 17 with the official swearing-in ceremony inside the Maryland State House in Annapolis.

With little room inside, attendance at the official ceremony was limited to legislators and a select group of VIP guests. Even the media was restricted to one newspaper and one television outlet; the latter provided the live television feed to hoards of media waiting outside.

The public waiting to see the ceremonies began gathering as early as 9 a.m. outside the State House.

Guests on the inaugural platform included Speaker of the U.S House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), State Senator and Minority Leader David Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) among former governors, elected officials and other dignitaries.

Former Governor Robert Ehrlich (R), wife Kendal and former Lt. Governor Michael Steele took their seats in the front row of the ground seating, in front of the media.

Lt. Governor Brown was joined on the platform by his wife, Patricia Arzuaga, their daughter and young son. Governor O’Malley entered onto the platform with his wife, District Court Judge Catherine Curran O’Malley, their two daughters and two young sons to the uplifting strains of Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.”

After a vocal rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” the Pledge of Allegiance was led by the new governor’s father-in-law, former Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran.

O’Malley and Brown were sworn-in again for the public by Chief Judge Robert Bell, Maryland Court of Appeals. Both O’Malley and Brown took the opportunity to speak about their unified vision for the next four years.

‘One Maryland’

The theme of O’Malley and Brown’s respective inaugural speeches should have come as no surprise to anyone. Both men have been talking about their ideas for “One Maryland” throughout the weeks preceding the inaugural events.

Neither should anyone have been surprised that the speeches were filled of lofty phrases full of enthusiasm and high ideals, but little substance on specific solutions.

As Delegate Rick Weldon (R-Dist. 3B) told The Dispatch, “I think (O’Malley’s speech) set a great tone for the new administration. Like most inaugural speeches, it was a little light on specifics, but the State of the State speech next week is the forum for laying out a policy agenda.”

While Brown’s speech ended with the strongly positive language of “One Maryland,” O’Malley’s speech went farther to re-cap a few of the issues he and Brown have emphasized during their expensive and hard-fought campaign.

During his roughly 13-minute speech, O’Malley spoke of many “perils and possibilities” that face Maryland and the nation. Those perils included “budget deficits, polluted waters, drug addiction and crumbling infrastructure,” all of which he cited as of “our own recent making.” But he also mentioned national and world issues that affect the state, such as global warming and terrorist threats, among others.

O’Malley said he saw “possibilities” that included joining in partnership with Virginia and Washington, D.C., re-establishing the “regulatory framework of our state government” for a cleaner environment, and improving the public education system, including making college affordable for working parents.

On the subject of the environment, O’Malley said the survival of the bay was imperiled by “poorly planned sprawl and a multitude of other manmade ills” including storm water runoff and broken sewer systems.

“We have the possibility… to fuse science, government and personal responsibility together to expand buffer zones, cover crops, … open space and oyster beds, and to harness the growth that is coming to rebuild our cities and towns. Together we can preserve our quality of life and our Bay,” O’Malley said.

Talk of the perils to our national security abounded with a reference to the safety interests Marylanders have in the Port of Baltimore, a fight O’Malley took on while mayor of Baltimore.

“Maryland is one of America’s wealthiest states,” he said. “It is time to make us one of America’s safest and most secure.”

Near the end of his speech, O’Malley said he was taking responsibility for doing all that he could to make government work, but called on Marylanders to share in the responsibility. “…There are a few things for which each of us must take responsibility, as individuals, or the work of government will be futile,” he began.

O’Malley cited “safe neighborhoods, a strong and growing middle class, educational achievement, financial fairness, protecting the beauty of God’s creation, caring for the sick, responsibility for ourselves, our neighbors” as examples. “These are the things for which each of us must take responsibility,” he said.

The inaugural ceremonies ended with an afternoon parade around the State House Circle in which Frederick County was represented by Linganore High School’s marching band.

Reaction

Delegates and senators scattered after the ceremonies, no doubt due to the bitter cold. But reached after the event, Delegate Richard Weldon told The Dispatch that he thought the theme of ‘One Maryland’ may be a more symbolic initiative than a productive one due to the diversity in the state.

“As long as urban legislators feel it a waste of time to attend the Maryland Agricultural dinner, and rural legislators eschew issues like inner city drug-related violence, ‘One Maryland’ makes a good banner but doesn't produce much in the way of policy outcomes,” Weldon wrote in an e-mail to The Dispatch.

Weldon did consider the ‘One Maryland’ theme a positive way to start a new term in office, but said that he would say one thing to the governor, if he had his ear.

“Recognize that 850,000 voters in this state chose a different direction than the one you laid out in your campaign. That doesn’t mean they don’t want you to succeed, it’s just that you have to listen to them, synthesize their interests into your policy priorities, and govern from the center,” Weldon wrote.

Delegate Sue Hecht (D-Dist. 3A), who The Dispatch found at the inaugural party later that evening, called O’Malley’s speech uplifting and noted the vitality and progressive thinking of the new administration.

“…I am excited to be working with this administration and moving things ahead for working families,” Hecht said.

The morning’s inaugural ceremonies ended with an afternoon parade around the State House Circle during which Frederick County was represented by Linganore High School’s marching band.

Attendance was not nearly as high for the parade as for the swearing-in ceremony; however, a lively, exuberant, albeit small crowd gathered to watch the parade of representatives from the various counties in Maryland, as well as the military, police, and ethnic groups.

John Harrison, 42, of Snow Hill on the Eastern Shore, was at the parade to watch family friends. He called himself a conservative and said overall he was pleased with the speech.

“I was glad to hear (O’Malley) mention (national security),” Harrison said. “… I think national security is a very important issue right now, very important.”

Joann Hughes, 70, and Frank Hughes, 67, of Dundalk, were attending their first inauguration because, she said, “We like Governor O’Malley.” They described themselves as big supporters of his, and were particularly happy to hear him mention protecting the Chesapeake Bay.

“We’re surrounded on three sides by the bay, the water, and you know it’s very important that we bring that quality back (to the bay),” Joann Hughes said.