Gov. Martin O’Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown launch their 2010 re-election campaign at lunchtime Tuesday in Baltimore, then follow up with a whirlwind three-day tour of Maryland.
The tour includes stops in Largo, Rockville, Waldorf, Hagerstown, Frederick, Columbia, Cambridge, Aberdeen, Catonsville and Annapolis. Full details on scheduled tour stops are at the O’Malley-Brown campaign Web site, www.martinomalley.com
Gov. O’Malley and Lt. Gov. Brown, the Democrats, are running against former Gov. Bob Ehrlich and his running mate, “Who,” the Republicans. In ordinary times, O’Malley vs. Ehrlich would be a ho-hum affair. Bob Ehrlich is a well-known but uninspiring Maryland political figure, representing a feeble minority party. O’Malley won against Ehrlich in 2006, and there is no obvious reason to expect a different outcome four years later.
Martin O’Malley is the kind of politician Marylanders like to re-elect, regardless of political party. O’Malley is smart, energetic, and moderate to liberal, with a “good government” image. O’Malley tends to focus on the practical, not the ideological.
For instance, when O’Malley ran for mayor of Baltimore, what was his ideology? He ran as the “tough-on-crime” guy. That’s not an ideology, that’s a plan, aimed at a goal, reducing crime and improving quality of life.
This year, I expect O’Malley will be running as the “jobs” guy and the “balanced budget” guy, with real plans to achieve the goal of surviving a difficult economy (without sacrificing too much of Maryland’s quality of life).
Under the administration of Gov. O’Malley (and yes, with a Democratic majority in the General Assembly), Maryland government actually works, if imperfectly. Maryland has fared better than most other states. Maryland is NOT one of the states teetering on the edge of insolvency. Maryland is holding steady, with a balanced budget and a Triple-A bond rating. Maryland’s public schools are rated Number 1 out of 50 states, and Maryland is near Number 1 in the rate of new jobs created.
The difference between a guy like Martin O’Malley and a guy like Bob Ehrlich is this: O’Malley wants to work, move forward, help ordinary people; Ehrlich wants to be governor.
Election 2010 is not ordinary times, of course. These are uncertain, angry times, and the political climate is volatile. So please remind me again: Why would I want to change from a solid, can-do guy like O’Malley, to a guy like Ehrlich?
I believe I’ll stick with O’Malley.
— Bernie (John) Hayden
Ocean City Blog 
Posted on April 26, 2010
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