O’Malley: Opportunity in ‘transformational time’ for Md. economy

Posted: 2:09 pm Sat, August 21, 2010
By Nicholas Sohr
Daily Record Business Writer

OCEAN CITY – Gov. Martin O’Malley offered an upbeat but guarded outlook for the state’s economic future Saturday morning in a speech laden with election year jabs directed at his predecessor and likely opponent, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

O’Malley touted a recent economic report that showed Maryland adding a net gain of 40,000 positions from March through July.

“We’re not out of the woods yet. We still need to keep creating new jobs,” he said during his address to local elected leaders and government officials on the final day of the Maryland Association of Counties conference.

O’Malley, a Democrat, criticized Ehrlich for spending increases during the Republican’s term, an increase to the property tax and the creation of the “flush tax” used to pay for Chesapeake Bay restoration projects.

“Most of us remember that eight years ago, in easier times, we were promised savings to taxpayers, and then the state spending was increased by more than ever before in Maryland,” O’Malley said.

As he has throughout his campaign for reelection, O’Malley urged people to look forward, rather than back, a reference to Ehrlich’s time in office.

Senate Minority Leader Allan H. Kittleman, R-Howard and Carroll, said after the speech the governor’s focus on the future was not surprising.

“If I were Martin O’Malley, I wouldn’t want to talk about the past, either,” Kittleman said. “I wouldn’t want to talk about the largest tax increase in the history of the state. I wouldn’t want to talk about unemployment being double what it was when he took office.”

Kittleman, who was one of the few Republican legislators at the conference, said after four years, O’Malley can no longer get away with blaming those who held the office before him.

“He’s driven us to the edge of the cliff and now he wants us all to close our eyes as he drives us over the cliff,” Kittleman said.

In the speech, O’Malley said there are still tough times ahead, but pointed out a few bright spots, including the job creation, which slowed in July. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment remained unchanged that month, at 7.1 percent.

O’Malley pointed to state revenues that came in $170 million over what budget officials had anticipated. He acknowledged the burden borne by local governments as state aid, particularly for road maintenance, has dried up during the recession.

Ehrlich visited Ocean City one day earlier – he stopped only briefly at the conference – to announce his plan to boost road funding to counties and Baltimore City by $60 million.

O’Malley did not offer hard numbers, but said “as we come out of this recession, I hope those are some of the first cuts we restore, along with the furlough days for state employees.”

He also touted the jobs the state stands to gain as part of the military’s Base Realignment and Closure program and the creation of a high-tech command at Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County. BRAC will bring some 60,000 jobs to Maryland and the location of the recently formed joint Cyber Command at Fort Meade will bring another 21,000.

O’Malley said higher rates of high school students taking math and science advanced placement tests for college credit is evidence the state will churn out workers prepared to step into high-tech military and cyber jobs, as well as others in fields like biotechnology and green energy.

“This is a transformational time. And part of the pain we’re feeling is because of this transformation,” he said. “In that pain is tremendous opportunity… There’s not another state that’s better equipped to make this transformation than your state.”