Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown announced his candidacy for governor Friday afternoon, becoming the first in a potentially crowded field of Democratic candidates to officially begin campaigning for 2014.

Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (File Photo)

“Today, I’m asking you to join me to build on our successes, to take on our next challenges, to make Maryland better for more Marylanders,” Brown said in a statement released by his campaign committee.

And while Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler did not rush to join Brown — Gansler has said he may announce his candidacy this fall — his campaign team didn’t waste time in responding to the start of Brown’s run.

“Marylanders expect their governors to be leaders who work for them and have a record of real accomplishments to prove it,” said Doug Thornell, Gansler’s campaign strategist. “Doug has led as attorney general and will continue to work on behalf of families across Maryland to get things done.”

Brown — who would become Maryland’s first African American governor if elected — has said his priorities as governor would be fighting disparities in health and education. He was Gov. Martin O’Malley’s point person on implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act and also championed legislation to make it easier for businesses to enter into long-term deals with the state.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (File Photo)

Detractors point out that Brown, as O’Malley’s deputy, has overseen numerous tax increases, including an income tax hike last year and a gas tax increase this year.

Brown, the highest-ranking government official in the nation to have served a tour of duty in Iraq, will have plenty of opportunities to answer that criticism over the next year and a half. His campaign kick-off continues Saturday, with visits to Frederick, Baltimore and Silver Spring.

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Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (Maximilian Franz/The Daily Record)

At a cookout in his home county of Prince George’s, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown will officially begin his campaign for governor Friday.

Brown, who has served as dutiful deputy to Gov. Martin O’Malley since 2006, plans to start his kickoff tour in Largo this afternoon, with stops in Frederick, Baltimore and Silver Spring coming Saturday. O’Malley is expected to join Brown in Baltimore.

The lieutenant governor is slated to become the first in a potentially crowded field of Democratic hopefuls, including Howard County Executive Ken Ulman (who could instead join Brown’s ticket), Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger and Del. Heather R. Mizeur of Montgomery County.

In his announcement speech, Brown is expected to talk about fighting disparities in health care, education and employment while also encouraging infrastructure investment, The Washington Post reported Friday. If elected, he would become the first African American governor in Maryland’s history.

Potential Republican candidates for governor include Harford County Executive David R. Craig, Frederick County Board of County Commissioners President Blaine R. Young, Del. Ronald A. George of Anne Arundel County and Larry Hogan, chairman of Change Maryland and a former cabinet secretary for Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1 in Maryland.

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Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (Maximilian Franz/The Daily Record)

Here’s a few government and politics headlines for Friday:

• The Washington Post reports Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown is readying for a campaign tour following his expected announcement on May 10 that he will run for governor.
• The Daily Record reports on a new law that should remove roadblocks for the $84 million InvestMaryland program.
• MarylandReporter.com reports Del. Guy Guzzone will not run for Howard County Executive — but Del. Steve Schuh will.
• The Gazette reports that some county executives are OK with the “rain tax.”
• The Daily Record reports former Del. Tiffany T. Alston has been disbarred.
• The Baltimore Sun reports that, with same-sex marriage now legal in Maryland, unmarried gay couples will no longer receive state benefits.

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Del. C. William "Bill" Frick, D-Montgomery (Photo: Maryland State Archives)

In a small sampling of likely Democratic voters, a couple of Montgomery County lawmakers have emerged as the top contenders to replace Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler.

Sen. Brian E. Frosh — with the apparent support of much of Annapolis’ Democratic establishment — has been considered the frontrunner for months. But Del. C. William “Bill” Frick — who shares the 16th legislative district with Frosh — garnered 54 votes to Frosh’s 70 in a straw poll at the Western Maryland Democratic Summit last weekend.

Frick, who at 38 is 30 years Frosh’s junior, had raised $60,000 in campaign cash to Frosh’s $390,000 as of January. But Frick said Monday he is emboldened by his respectable showing out west, and has put together a team that is raising money across the state.

“I’m very serious,” Frick said, adding that he would not officially declare his candidacy unless Gansler announces he won’t seek another term as attorney general. Gansler told The Daily Record last week that such an announcement would probably come this fall.

Until then, Frick said he’d try to raise his profile outside of Montgomery County. Like Frosh, Frick says he’s excited about potentially enforcing some of the laws he’s helped the General Assembly craft.

“We have a lot of good, democratic legislation,” Frick said. “It’s the place you can give the kind of enforcement our laws deserve in the areas of consumer protections, and workers rights and be a champion of our businesses.”

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Sen. Brian E. Frosh, D-Montgomery, chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee (File Photo)

Sen. Brian E. Frosh says the National Rifle Association‘s decision to fight Maryland’s yet-to-be-signed gun control law in court rather than at the polls shows the pro-gun organization knows state voters would uphold the law.

In an email sent from his campaign account on Friday, Frosh wrote that “overwhelming support for the new common sense safety measures convinced opponents to abandon their petition campaign.”

Frosh, as chairman of the Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee, guided Gov. Martin O’Malley’s gun control legislation through the Senate during the recently-adjourned General Assembly session.

The Montgomery County Democrat is also mulling a run for Maryland attorney general, a role that would put him in position to defend the constitutionality of the Firearm Safety Act in court.

“We already know that the Firearm Safety Act is constitutional,” Frosh wrote. “It has been thoroughly examined by me and my legislative colleagues, the attorney general, Governor O’Malley’s legislative office, and the Department of Legislative Services.

“The NRA will waste its time and money finding out what we already know: the new law does nothing to infringe the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.”

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Gov. Martin O’Malley strolled up to a press conference just before Election Day singing a song that had become a ubiquitous advertisement on Pandora Internet radio.

“Maryland cash, bring it back,” O’Malley sang, urging Maryland voters to support Question 7 — the expanded gambling measure that Maryland’s casinos are now enjoying.

Question 7 was approved by voters in November. On Wednesday, the Baltimore public relations firm that dreamed up “Maryland Cash” announced that it had received two first place awards for the song, which was also viewed more than 300,000 times on YouTube.

The team — composed of Kearney O’Doherty Public Affairs LLC, Tim Maloney of Joseph Greenwald & Laake P.A., guitarist and singer Dillon O’Brian and others — won two Pollie Awards for “best use of Pandora” from the American Association of Political Consultants.

O’Brian — the guitar-playing singer who performed “Maryland Cash” while strolling Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in the song’s music video — is the uncle of Damian O’Doherty, principal and co-founder of KO Public Affairs. O’Brian, whose real name is Brian O’Doherty, wrote the theme songs for television shows “The Office” and “My Name is Earl.”

“Damian and some of his friends had the idea of having a song and video, he called me, and I thought ‘this is a great idea,’” O’Brian said in an October interview. “I’m always trying to have those kinds of conversations with people, thinking out of the box in thinking how to use music.”

O’Brian said at the time that he’d like to do more political songwriting, too.

“I think it’s a lot of fun and I would like to get more involved,” he said. “I think its such an interesting way to approach things.”

The song said that out of state casinos — particularly Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia — were benefiting from Maryland gamblers traveling across state lines to play blackjack and the like.

Maryland Live Casino at Arundel Mills mall, the state’s largest commercial gambling site, began operating table games this month, and was the mid-Atlantic’s highest-grossing casino in March, generating more than $44 million.

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Two presumptive gubernatorial candidates next year will meet in Annapolis on Wednesday when Gov. Martin O’Malley signs into law legislation to enable veterans to get credit for their military experience when applying for occupational and professional licenses in Maryland.

Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown and Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, who have all-but-officially announced campaigns for governor, will join first lady Michelle Obama for the signing of the 2013 Veterans Full Employment Act. Brown, a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, lobbied for passage of the bill this past legislative session.

The legislation calls on Maryland public colleges and universities to give academic credit for relevant military training and puts veterans on a faster track for licenses based on their military experience.

Gansler held a more than three-to-one lead over Brown in campaign funds as of Jan. 9, the most recent filing deadline with the Maryland State Board of Elections. Gansler had $5.2 million in the bank compared to Brown’s $1.6 million.

O’Malley, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term next year, is weighing a presidential run in 2016.

Obama’s appearance at the signing is part of her Joining Forces initiative, which strives to help service members, veterans and their spouses find jobs.

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Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who has run point for the O’Malley administration for two years on legislation that creates special procurement rules for public-private partnerships, said the bill’s success this year should help prevent future lawsuits.

Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (File Photo)

House Bill 560 was among one of many bills signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley on Tuesday. In addition to allowing businesses to pitch their own ideas for state construction projects, the legislation is meant to create a more predictable procurement process with strict oversight from the Board of Public Works and General Assembly.

The proposed redevelopment of the State Center office complex in Baltimore was supposed to be a public-private partnership, but a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge ruled in January that the state violated its own procurement law in awarding the contract. The Maryland Court of Appeals will hear the case this fall.

“We’ll be mindful of the State Center experience,” Brown said in an interview on the legislature’s final day. “When stakeholders are more confident, they’re less likely to litigate.”

As for the future of State Center, Brown — a likely candidate for governor in 2014 — wasn’t ready to say that its redevelopment would again be negotiated as a public-private partnership.

“There’s a question for whether it ever was a P3,” Brown said.

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Sen. Brian E. Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat who chairs the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, has a campaign war chest of $390,655, about 90 percent of which has been raised since November.

Frosh, who is mulling a bid for Maryland Attorney General, launched an exploratory committee in October. He said at the time that he was running because current Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler had told him he planned to run for governor.

Gansler has $5.2 million in his campaign account, the largest amount of cash on hand among likely Democratic challengers for governor. Gov. Martin O’Malley is term-limited and widely thought to be eyeing national office in 2016.

Frosh has said he would not run for attorney general if Gansler does not run for governor. Neither have officially announced their candidacy.

Del. Jon S. Cardin, a Baltimore County Democrat who launched his own exploratory committee in November and is considering a run for Attorney General, reported Wednesday that he had $170,224 in his campaign account.

The deadline for reporting campaign figures to the Maryland State Board of Elections was Wednesday. Members of the General Assembly cannot hold fundraisers while the legislature is in session.

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Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown

(Updated: 5:59 p.m.) Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown announced Wednesday afternoon that he raised $1.25 million in the last year. He has $1.6 million in a campaign account.

Brown, a former member of the House of Delegates representing Prince George’s County, is considering a leading candidate to replace Martin O’Malley as governor in 2015.

“I am pleased with our fundraising success and honored to have the support of so many people across Maryland,” Brown said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to move Maryland forward with the help of thousands of committed friends and neighbors.”

Brown’s was the last of several campaign announcements made Wednesday, the deadline for reporting fundraising activity to the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Del. Heather R. Mizeur, a Montgomery County Democrat who is also considering a run for governor in 2014, raised $248,671 in 2012, most of it since November.

Mizeur, an outspoken advocate for legalizing same-sex marriage in Maryland and an opponent of hydraulic fracturing, has $380,000 in her campaign account, an amount that lags behind other potential Democratic nominees for governor.

Del. Heather R. Mizeur, D-Montgomery

“In every corner of the state, voters tell me they want a governor with clear ideas for the future and a track record of results,” Mizeur said in a statement. “I’m honored that so many are encouraging me to run, and I will never stop working to strengthen our economy, protect our natural resources, and ensure that every Marylander receives equal protections and rights under the law.”

Earlier Wednesday, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman announced he had raised $1.1 million last year and has $2.1 million in his campaign account, an amount $3.1 million less than Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler’s $5.2 million.

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