MARTIN O’MALLEY
PATTERSON PARK, BALTIMORE, MD
SEPTEMBER 28, 2005
Introduction:
Thank you for being here today – my family and I have a decision we’d like to share with you. It’s great to see so many friends. And I’m grateful for all the support from Katie and our children – Grace, Tara, William and Jack – that has brought us to this day.
For months now, my family and I have talked and thought about our future and the future of our state. Each of us here today faces big questions about what life holds for us and our families. Will we step up, or stand down for another day? Will we take risks, or reside in comfort? Will we find our calling, or continue to search?
This morning, I started the day back where I grew up. And I had the chance to spend some time with my parents, my brothers and sisters, and some old friends. And as I was thinking about the decision of this day, and the days ahead, I thought back on the important things my parents and my teachers taught me that I still use every day.
And as I’ve traveled around our great state – and had the opportunity to sit in people’s living rooms and visit their workplaces, and talk about our state’s present and our shared future, together – I’ve reached the conclusion that we cannot allow our state to coast or slip backwards.
Like you, I believe we must return the values of honesty, fairness, responsibility and tolerance to our statehouse. I believe that Maryland must lead. And that is why – with faith in the power of our people – I stand before you today to declare my candidacy for Governor … because a stronger Maryland can do better.
American Values & Maryland Leadership
Our state’s past – and our nation’s history in critical moments – have been shaped by strong American values and strong Maryland leadership.
During this month in 1814, on this very same hill, here in this the original land of the free and home of the brave, citizen-soldiers – sixty percent of us immigrants, one out of five us, free black citizens of a still as yet very imperfect country, came together to dig trenches and beat back seemingly overwhelming odds that threatened our country. In full view of the Star Spangled Banner, across the Harbor, a revolutionary people – steeled by revolutionary principles – won the battle that saved our country and inspires our nation, still, today.
Honesty, fairness, tolerance, and respect for every individual’s strength, compassion, the courage to take responsibility and the wisdom to accept compromise … these are our true American values. They are revolutionary values. They call upon the best in each person.
Securing Baltimore’s Future
Over the last six years in Baltimore, these are the values that have fueled our progress. We came together realizing that if we wanted greater security and greater opportunity, then we must have the courage to take responsibility to change our own future.
After World War II, Baltimore was a city of nearly 1 million people. Then we were hit with the same whipsaw effect as other big cities. Manufacturing moved overseas. People moved to the suburbs. Even during the renaissance in the 1970s, our city lost 100,000 residents – more than any other decade in its history.
We bottomed out in the 1990s, losing more of our population and private jobs than any major city. The DEA declared that Baltimore was the most addicted city in America in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. And by 1999, the FBI also dubbed us the most violent big city in America.
But as we have time and again throughout our history, the people of Baltimore came together … we chose to take responsibility. We showed our strength. We showed our compassion. We showed leadership. We stopped making excuses and we started making progress.
In Baltimore, rather than running away from adversity, we chose to tackle our toughest problems, in the realization that there is more that unites us than divides us. We talked honestly about our problems and fears, and we set public goals.
We’ve had differences, but we’ve compromised to make progress together – neighborhood leaders, business leaders, parents, churches, nonprofits. Today, crime is down, test scores and graduation rates are up. And a city that had been shrinking for 50 years is now creating jobs, attracting investment and beginning to grow and rebuild again.
Baltimore still has work to do. Challenges remain. But we’ve gone from being ridiculed on the Tonight Show to being recognized by Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Business Week and Nightline – just this year – for the progress we’ve made.
And together:
And while we’re improving present day Baltimore, we’re also taking responsibility for our future. We’ve built 100 playgrounds. Together we invested in after-school programs, even as the state made cuts. And as the walk to and from school has become safer, our elementary school children have been improving their test scores faster than the state average – and faster than almost any other city in America.
Five short years ago, not one of our grades scored majority proficient in reading and math citywide. Today our 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders have all scored majority proficient in reading and math, and we’re by no means done.
Baltimore is once again producing jobs and opportunity:
For Maryland
What does Baltimore’s progress mean for Maryland?
The quality of life we enjoy in Maryland is the result of vision … of commitment and of perseverance toward our common goal. It is the result of the sweat and collaboration between people of different races, classes and regions. Together as Marylanders, Republicans and Democrats, we have made investments over many decades that have built our Maryland way of life – that have made our state strong – setting goals for the future and doing the hard work of today.
We are not a people who should ever be content to drift or slip backwards. When given the option of standing still or moving forward, Maryland moves forward.
When I was growing up, the names of King and Kennedy were revered in our house.
Dr. King taught us … reminded our nation … and proclaimed to the world … that we are all tied together in a web of mutuality. That fairness and tolerance are inextricably tied to opportunity.
President Kennedy reminded us of the responsibility that each of us shares to make our country and our world a better place. He said: “Others may confine themselves to debate, discussion, and that ultimate luxury – free advice. [But] Our responsibility is one of decision – for to govern is to choose …”
As Marylanders, we must remember those words today. For the choices we make, together in the year ahead, will determine our state’s future course … will determine whether we move forward or slide back.
We will ask our friends in Baltimore County and Prince George’s County, are we moving forward or sliding back when we claim to be anti-tax, but raise taxes and fees on working people by more than $1 billion – while protecting loopholes for out of state corporations?
Are we moving forward or sliding back when we hatch secret plans to sell off state lands – and even our public parks?
Are we moving forward or slipping back when tens of thousands fewer of our working neighbors in Maryland have health care even though they work hard every day?
Now, it costs about $20,000 to go to the University of Maryland for one year. So let us ask parents with children at College Park or Morgan, are we moving forward or sliding back if we choose to raise college tuition by 40%, making college unaffordable for working families – or young people who want to work their way through school?
Forty-one percent of the Bay is a dead zone, and the Susquehanna is named the most endangered river in America. So are we moving forward or sliding back if we decide not to join virtually every other state on the East Coast in trying to protect the Chesapeake Bay from mercury poisoning?
Ask our neighbors in Montgomery and Queen Anne’s Counties, are we moving forward or sliding back if we raid the transportation trust fund and fuel poorly planned sprawl and traffic congestion?
And are we moving our state forward or sliding back if we attack and demonize opponents rather than debating ideas?
These are the choices we share the freedom of making together. Will our decisions make our state stronger, fairer, more secure and more prosperous for the next generation?
We all share responsibility for meeting the challenges we face. We all share the credit for the progress we make. And we all benefit, together, from the new opportunities we create.
But those of us in public service can and must set high goals. We must lead. We must help bring people of different backgrounds together in the common work of progress. Our diversity is our strength. Progress is our opportunity. And compromise is not a dirty word.
Tolerance, strength, compassion, and respect for all of our neighbors. This is the kind of leadership that Maryland calls for today. Responsibility from all; security and opportunity for all … not just a privileged few. Openness and accountability as we do the people’s business. A better, stronger and fairer Maryland.
A Stronger Maryland Can Do Better
As citizens of Maryland, we are responsible for making choices that better our future. Our surrounding states are planning for their future, investing in higher education and economic growth. These are our competitors for jobs, for smart, creative people and for investment – to say nothing of India and China.
While other states and nations are moving forward, with leaders who bring people together to solve problems, Maryland is adrift. It’s time to get Maryland moving again, because we know … a stronger Maryland can do better.
You and I see a Maryland where we improve education by retaining quality teachers, reducing class sizes and making the investments we need to get our children out of trailers and crumbling classrooms, because we know … a stronger Maryland can do better.
You and I see a Maryland where we protect the good jobs that provide for strong families – and where we do more to bring in new, and even better-paying jobs with good health care benefits for working people, not just the wealthy, because we know … a stronger Maryland can do better.
You and I see a Maryland where we invest in higher education, so that the industries of the future – like biotechnology and life sciences – thrive in Maryland, rather than going to other states. And we know we need to make the investments in training and supporting the talents of our entrepreneurs and small business people that create so many of our state’s new jobs, because we know … a stronger Maryland can do better.
You and I see a Maryland where we tackle the tough problems of poorly planned sprawl and traffic congestion, because we know … a stronger Maryland can do better.
You and I know we can and must make health care more available and more affordable – helping small businesses and reversing the decline of the last few years, because we know… a stronger Maryland can do better.
You and I see a more open, transparent, efficient and accountable government that works for the people who pay for it, because we know … a stronger Maryland can do better.
You and I see a state where we protect our open space and improve the health of our rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, because we know … a stronger Maryland can do better.
You and I see a Maryland where our State becomes a reliable partner, once again, with local government to attack our common enemies of violent crime, sexual predators and drug addiction, because we know … a stronger Maryland can do better.
A stronger Maryland can do better. And the people of Maryland deserve a Governor who isn’t content with allowing our State to slide backwards.
Conclusion
My friends, all of us are responsible for reaching that Maryland we so clearly see. Each of us is called to find opportunity for ourselves, our families and our neighbors. And each of us must find the way we will make a difference.
And if we work together, Maryland will be the strongest state in the nation, once again. An economic power based on first-rate education, technology and creativity. A state where all families and seniors are treated with fairness when it comes to taxes, retirement security and healthcare. A state in which those who have been left behind will have real access to education and opportunity – for themselves and their children.
Today, I am proud to serve the citizens of Maryland as Mayor of Baltimore. Before this job, I was a father and a husband, a lawyer and a mediocre singer in an Irish band. And after this job, and before all those, I was and will be Martin, son of Tom and Barbara – who lived through the Great Depression, served our country in World War II, and raised their family here in Maryland with unwavering faith in our nation’s future.
My parents planted in me the belief that Maryland – and America – will be strong, and can and will always do better. I have faith in you, the people of Maryland. And like you, I know that we can do great things together. And today I stand before you, ready, with your help, to lead Maryland forward – to the better future our children deserve.