Delivering Results

Maryland's #1 Ranked Public Schools

Funding for K-12 Public Education

Affordable College for our Families

Lowest Crime Rate Since 1975

Protecting Our Children

Reducing Domestic Violence

Protecting Homeownership

Access to Quality Care

Dental Care for All Children

Investing in Our Infants and Toddlers

Expanding Opportunity for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses

Ending Childhood Hunger in Maryland

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End Childhood Hunger

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Empowering Women, Protecting Families

Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown have fought to empower women and women-owned businesses, while expanding opportunities for the next generation.

Under Governor O’Malley’s leadership, Maryland’s families are safer with a violent crime rate in Maryland the lowest it has been since 1975. This year, Governor O’Malley signed tough new laws to protect our children from sexual predators—increasing the mandatory minimum sentence for sex offenders and requiring mandatory life supervision; and Lt. Governor Brown worked with Governor O’Malley and countless stakeholders to take firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers.

Under the leadership of Governor O’Malley, Maryland had the highest minority business participation rates in history.  Maryland has the highest goal in the nation for 25% of all state contracting dollars to be awarded to minority-and-women-owned-businesses. And this year, for the first time under Governor O’Malley, we reached 25% participation across cabinet agencies, and 23% across all agencies.

Recognizing that the judiciary should reflect the population it serves, Governor O’Malley has appointed record percentages of women to judgeships across the state.—including counties where women had never previously served as a judge.

As a husband and a father of four, Governor O’Malley understands that a parent’s ability to provide quality healthcare for their children is one of the most important roles a parent can play. Governor O’Malley led the fight to pass legislation providing more than 100,000 previously uninsured children with healthcare, established the Deamonte Driver Project to expand children’s access to comprehensive dental care and increased funding for Maryland’s Infants and Toddlers Program—a program that helps nearly 14,000 children with developmental problems.

Since taking office, Governor O’Malley has made education a top priority, creating the number one ranked school system in the country with record investments in education and school construction and moving Maryland colleges from the 6th most expensive in the country to the 21st with a four year tuition freeze at all Maryland state schools.

While progress has been made, Governor O’Malley will not stop until every child is well-educated and healthy, until all women and minorities are afforded equal opportunities and until our streets are the safest they can be.

O'Malley-Brown: Delivering Results

Maryland's #1 Ranked Public Schools

• In January 2010, Education Week ranked Maryland's public schools the best in the nation for the second year in a row. Maryland's public school system is recognized as having the best alignment from Pre-K to Post-Grad—the primary focus of Governor O'Malley's P-20 Council and key to preparing our students for the jobs of tomorrow.

Funding for K-12 Public Education

• Governor O'Malley secured record funding for K-12 public education for the fourth consecutive year. Governor O'Malley fought for more than $5.7 billion this year for our schools—an increase of $1.2 billion since taking office—and fully funded the Geographic Cost of Education Index for the second consecutive year.

Affordable College for our Families

• Governor O'Malley led the fight to freeze in-state undergraduate tuition for 4 consecutive years at every University System of Maryland campus and Morgan State University.
• After college tuition skyrocketed by more than 40% under the the previous administration, Governor O'Malley has worked with the Board of Regents to move Maryland's college affordability ranking from the 6th most expensive in the nation to an estimated 21st, ensuring that more of our students and families are able to realize their dreams of a college education.

Expanding Opportunity for Minority-and-Women-Owned Businesses

• Under the leadership of Governor O’Malley, Maryland had the highest minority business participation rates in history.
• Maryland has the highest goal in the nation for 25% of all state contracting dollars to be awarded to minority-and-women-owned-businesses. And this year, for the first time under Governor O’Malley, we reached 25% participation across cabinet agencies, and 23% across all agencies.
• These contracts not only expand opportunity but they also create jobs. Last year, our MBE program helped to create or save 18,906 jobs in Maryland and stimulated $1.6 billion in economic activity.
• Governor O’Malley helped move us towards the sub goal of 10% of all contracting dollars to be awarded to Women-Owned-Businesses by increasing spending to these firms by 68.8% from 2006-2009.
• Governor O'Malley and Lt. Governor Brown also recently launched MBE University, a conference that travels throughout Maryland to offer training, opportunities, and information on the tools necessary for minority or women-owned-businesses to expand and create jobs.

Supporting Equal Pay and Ending Wage Discrimination

• Governor O’Malley signed legislation in 2009 that builds on the federal Lilly Ledbetter legislation and extends the period of time for individuals seeking back pay for unlawful discrimination and unequal pay to two years.

Appointed More Women to Judgeships

• Recognizing that the judiciary should reflect the population it serves, Governor O’Malley has appointed record percentages of women to judgeships across the state. He has also appointed female judges in counties where women had never previously served as judges.
• Of the 68 new judges Governor O'Malley has appointed, 29 have been women. 43% of Governor O'Malley's judicial appointments are women, which is the highest percentage by any Governor in Maryland history. This nearly doubles the percentage of female appointments as compared to the prior administration. Only 23% of judges appointed under the prior administration are female.
• Governor O'Malley appointed the first woman judge on any court in Cecil County, the first woman judge on any court in Washington County, the first woman judge on any court in Somerset County, the first woman judge on the District Court for St. Mary’s County, the first African-American woman judge on the Montgomery County Circuit Court, and the first African-American Circuit Court judge and the first woman Circuit Court judge in Harford County.
• Governor O'Malley recently appointed Judge Michele Hotten to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals--the first African American woman ever to be appointed to an appellate court in Maryland.
• Governor O’Malley has appointed 3 out of the 7 judges on the Court of Appeals, MD’s highest court; 2 of the Governor’s appointees have been women – bringing the total number of women on that court to 3 for the first time ever.
• Governor O'Malley has appointed 4 women to appellate courts in Maryland, compared to 0 under the prior administration.

Increased Funding for the Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program

• Governor O’Malley provided $51.9 million to The Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program (BCCP)—a 22% increase over the previous administration. This program provides uninsured, low income women aged 40-64 years in Maryland screening for breast and cervical cancer.  In 2010, the program provided services to 12,000 women.

Reducing Domestic Violence

• Governor O'Malley and Lt. Governor Brown worked with countless stakeholders and advocates to take firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers in Maryland.
• Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown were honored by the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence for their work during the 2009 legislative session to remove firearms from the hands of domestic abusers. The legislation passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor provides judges with an additional tool to ensure the safety of Maryland’s families by granting them authority to remove weapons from homes early during domestic violence proceedings.
• Governor O’Malley also signed legislation into law that allows a tenant who is a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault to terminate a residential lease or request that their locks be changed with certain written notice, including a final protective or peace order. Lt. Governor Brown, the administration’s point person for domestic violence policy, worked with legislators and stakeholders to pass the bill.

Protecting Homeownership

• Governor O'Malley led the fight for our most vulnerable citizens who have been hit by this economic downturn by establishing what the Washington Post said were "among the most sweeping [reforms] in the country," to prevent foreclosure.
• Governor O'Malley took on the big banks to empower more Maryland families and provide homeowners with information and support they need to keep more families in their homes.
• Under the leadership of Governor O'Malley, Maryland has become a national model for combating home foreclosures by putting together a broad coalition of counselors, advocates, more than 900 pro bono lawyers, and spiritual leaders from across our State to keep families in their homes.

Access to Quality Care

• Under Governor O'Malley, the State of Maryland is providing quality healthcare to more than 837,000 Marylanders.
• Over 200,000 Marylanders who were previously uninsured now have access to healthcare, including 100,000 children.
• Governor O'Malley has set a goal to reduce infant mortality in Maryland 10% by the end of 2012.

Providing Jobs Skills Training

• Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown developed a collaborative vision across multiple agencies called Skills2Compete. The vision is for every Marylander to have access to the equivalent of two years of education or training past high school - leading to a career or technical credential, industry certification, or two years of college - to prepare them for a good job with family supporting wages. Some of the highest-paid middle skill jobs are in occupations where women are the majority of those employed including Registered Nurses and Dental Hygienists.
• Governor O'Malley has set a goal to increase the number of Marylanders who receive skills training 20% by the end of 2012.

Lowest Crime Rate Since 1975

• Maryland’s violent crime rate is at its lowest level since modern crime-tracking began in 1975, according to 2009 crime data. Total crime declined to its lowest level since 1975, as have homicides, dropping 12 percent since 2008 with 57 fewer people murdered last year in Maryland than the year before.
• Since 2007, Maryland has seen the steepest three year reduction in homicides since the 1970s.
• Governor O'Malley has set a goal to reduce violent crimes committed against women and children 25% by the end of 2012.

Protecting Our Children

• Governor Martin O’Malley signed tough new legislation to protect our children from sexual predators.
• Governor O'Malley signed bipartisan legislation to increase mandatory minimum sentences for sexual offenders and require mandatory lifetime supervision of sexual predators.
• In the State of Maryland, juvenile homicides are down by 46%. Governor O'Malley has led efforts to reform the state's Department of Juvenile Justice, creating a statewide Juvenile Violence Prevention Initiative to identify and appropriately supervise juveniles who are at high risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of violent crime.

Dental Care for All Children

• Governor O'Malley helped to establish the Deamonte Driver Project to expand access to dental care for more Maryland children than ever before.

Investing in Our Infants and Toddlers

• Believing in the dignity of every individual, Governor O’Malley increased spending for Maryland’s Infants and Toddlers Program to $10.4 million in 2009. The MITP supported local programs serving nearly 14,000 children with developmental issues such as speech delays, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and Autism. Because of this much needed funding, there has been a 50% increase in the number of children receiving early intervention services since 2003.

Ending Childhood Hunger in Maryland

• Under the leadership of Governor O'Malley, Maryland is on track to become the first state in the nation to end childhood hunger within its borders. In partnership with Share Our Strength, the coalition is providing every child in Maryland with the opportunity to reach their full potential at school and at home by providing school breakfast, lunch and year-round summer food services.
• Last summer, over 2.5 million meals were served to children in need throughout the state through the Summer Food Service Program. The After School Supper program, one of only 14 in the country, operates 43 sites across the state and serves an average of 1,745 children a day who may have otherwise not have received a nutritious meal for supper
• Governor O'Malley has set the goal to end childhood hunger in Maryland by 2015.