Martin O'Malley

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This article is about the Governor of Maryland. For the journalist, see Martin O'Malley (journalist).
Martin O'Malley
Martin O'Malley
Incumbent
Assumed office 
January 17, 2007
Lieutenant Anthony G. Brown
Preceded by Robert Ehrlich
In office
December 7, 1999 – January 17, 2007
Preceded by Kurt Schmoke
Succeeded by Sheila Dixon
In office
December 7, 1991 – December 7, 1999
Succeeded by Kenneth N. Harris
Born January 18, 1963 (1963-01-18) (age 45)
Washington, D.C.
Political party Democratic
Spouse Catherine Curran O'Malley
Profession Lawyer
Religion Roman Catholic

Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as the 61st Governor of Maryland. Previously, he served as the mayor of Baltimore City from 1999 to 2007.

Contents

[edit] Political development

In December 1982, while still in college, signed on with the Gary Hart for President campaign. In late 1983, O'Malley volunteered to go to Iowa. He phone-banked, organized volunteers, and even played guitar and sang[1] at small fundraisers and other events. Hart was the surprising runner-up in the caucus, and O'Malley headed to other states such as Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. Initially polling at 1%, Hart rose to become the biggest challenger to Walter Mondale. Hart became the “new ideas” candidate, but eventually lost the nomination.

O'Malley attended Gonzaga College High School and then to college at The Catholic University of America, graduating in 1985. Later that year he enrolled at the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore, earning his JD in 1988 and passing the bar that same year.

In 1986, while in law school, O'Malley was named by then-Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski as her state field director for her successful primary and general election campaigns for the U.S. Senate. Later he served as a legislative fellow in Senator Mikulski’s office from 1987-1988.

In 1988, he began dating his future wife, Catherine Curran, the daughter of the State's Attorney General. Later that year, O’Malley was hired as an Assistant State's Attorney for the City of Baltimore. He would hold that position until 1990.

In 1990, O'Malley, ran for the Maryland State Senate in District 43. He lost the Democratic Primary to John A. Pica Jr. by 44 votes.[2] A year later he ran for a vacant Baltimore City Council seat to represent the 3rd District. He served from 1991 to 1999. As Councilman, he served as Chairman of the Legislative Investigations Committee and Chairman of the Taxation and Finance Committee.

[edit] Mayor of Baltimore

O'Malley announced his campaign for Mayor of Baltimore in 1999. He won the Democratic Primary with over 50% of the vote. He was then elected Mayor of Baltimore in the General election with over 90% of the vote[3]. In 2004, O'Malley was re-elected in the general election with 88% of the vote, defeating Republican challenger Elbert (Ray) Henderson.

In O'Malley's first year in office, he adopted a statistics-based tracking system first modeled after Compstat, which was employed by former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to assist the New York City Police Department. O'Malley broadened this results driven government model across all government services. The program shifted Baltimore’s way of “doing government” from an antiquated patronage-based system to a contemporary, high-tech, performance-based system that zeroes in on areas of under-performance, using computerized databases to track targets and results. There is a weekly meeting in which city department managers meet with the Mayor’s office and are brought to task for their results. The power of information technology has been harnessed to manage the complexities of modern urban systems and procedures. CitiStat has saved Baltimore residents more than $350 million.[4] In 2004, O'Malley's CitiStat accountability tool won Harvard University’s prestigious Innovations in American Government award [5].

Stained Glass window of Mayor Martin O'Malley.
Stained Glass window of Mayor Martin O'Malley.

As one of O’Malley’s top five accomplishments, his administration said that he “cut ... property taxes to a 30 year low”.[6] On the other hand, "he sought and won an income tax increase which was enacted in 2001".[7] This claim is arguable because while the rate was decreased all of the assessed valued were increased resulting in an overall tax increase which is proven by city budget statistics.[8]

During his first Mayoral campaign, O’Malley’s most prominent campaign promise was to bring down Baltimore’s homicide count to 175. O'Malley claims that Baltimore “has brought about nearly a 40% reduction in violent crime, which leads the nation”.[9] Still, in 2006, Baltimore was ranked the twelfth most dangerous city. This ranking represents a substantial improvement from the previous year, when it was ranked the sixth most dangerous city.[10]

Baltimore’s reported homicide rate continues to be five times that of New York City, which has the lowest crime rate of America's large cities.[11] To the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Unified Crime Reports for 2000 and 2003, violent crimes -- which include homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault -- in Baltimore (that were reported to law enforcement officials) declined from 16,003 in 2000 (O'Malley's first year in office) to 13,789 in 2003. This only includes reported crimes. There were 261 reported homicides in Baltimore in 2000; 256 in 2001; 253 in 2002; and 270 in 2003.[12] This has increased to 276 homicides in 2004. In 2005 there was some relief with 269 homicides, however that number was surpassed in December 2006. WJZ News reported "Despite promises to reduce the city's homicide rate, Baltimore's homicide numbers have risen above [2005]'s statistics. With several days left in 2006, Baltimore City Police have recorded 272 homicides this year, three more than [2005]."[13] All statistics are based on reported homicides. Unexplained deaths are not reported homicides.

[edit] Controversy

Members of the Democratic-controlled Baltimore City Council as well as the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun newspapers have questioned the crime statistics released by the O'Malley administration since they differ with official FBI crime reports. They claim that crime in Baltimore is seriously underreported. The Washington Post, however, characterizes these accusations as coming from "O'Malley's political foes -- Democrat and Republican alike" and says that "[t]o date, no evidence has surfaced of a systemic manipulation of crime statistics."[14]

O'Malley lauds many of his achievements in the Baltimore City Public School System, stating that his administration has greatly improved schools and that they “are on the mend for the first time in decades.” As one of his five most prominent achievements, O'Malley claims that his administration “improved student test scores across the board.” However, it is difficult to deny that much more improvement still needs to be made in all aspects of school quality. A national study on the graduation rates in the nation's 50 biggest cities found Baltimore to be second to last with respect to dropout rates (with Detroit in last place).[15]. As the city school system is independently controlled by a board jointly appointed by the mayor and the governor of Maryland, a structure adopted in 1997 as part of litigation in the Federal court system, no single political leader or single level of government (city or state) has responsibility for or authority over the city schools, and it is difficult to hold specific elected officials responsible for either the successes or failures of the city school system. [16]

In 1987, O'Malley was arrested by the Montgomery County, Maryland police and charged with drunk driving. Court records show the charge was eventually dismissed by a judge. [17] The character questionnaire part of the application O'Malley filed with the Maryland Board of Bar Examiners in 1988 to be permitted to take the Maryland bar examination required O'Malley to disclose under penalties of perjury his 1987 arrest for drunk driving. Disclosure of such a charge by an applicant, not just disclosure of convictions, is mandatory under the rules for bar examination applications approved by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, the highest court in the state, which, under the state constitution, has the authority to grant a license to practice law in Maryland and to suspend the license or to disbar an attorney for misconduct. In October 2006, during O'Malley's campaign for the office of Governor of Maryland, the 1987 drunk driving arrest became public for the first time when it was reported by the Baltimore Sun newspaper. O'Malley was then asked by the reporters if he had disclosed the arrest to the bar examiners on his character questionnaire. O'Malley said that he did not remember. The Clerk of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, not the office of the Maryland Board of Bar Examiners, has custody of the bar applications of all Maryland lawyers who in the past were admitted to practice in the state by the Court of Appeals. O'Malley refused to authorize the Clerk of the Court of Appeals to release to the media and the public a copy of his 1988 bar application. When the President of the Maryland State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement about ten days before the November 7, 2006, election saying that voters had a right to see a copy of his 1988 application to take the Maryland bar examination, O'Malley ignored him and his campaign staff accused the FOP, which had endorsed the re-election of Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich, of having made their demand for release of the bar application for purely partisan political reasons.[18][19]

[edit] Media attention

In 2002, Esquire magazine named O’Malley “The Best Young Mayor in the Country,” and in 2005, TIME magazine named him one of America’s “Top 5 Big City Mayors” [20]. In August of 2005, Business Week Magazine Online named O'Malley as one of five "New Faces" in the Democratic Party. Business Week said that O'Malley "has become the party's go-to guy on protecting the homeland. The telegenic mayor has developed a detailed plan for rail and port safety and has been an outspoken critic of White House security priorities." [21] An anti-O'Malley web site www.omalleywatch.com was started not long after he took office.

[edit] Homeland security

In 2003, national Democratic leaders asked him to give the Democratic Response to the President’s weekly radio address in which he spoke about Homeland Security.

During the 2004 presidential campaign, Sen. John Kerry invited O'Malley to speak on the topic in Wisconsin. In 2004, O'Malley was one of the featured speakers at the Democratic National Convention in the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts. In his speech, he focused on Homeland Security stating “Sadly and unforgivably almost three years after that fateful day when thousands of moms and dads, sons and daughters didn’t come from work on September 11th, America’s cities and towns, America’s ports and borders and America’s heartland remain needlessly vulnerable” [22]. As the only mayor to speak at the Democratic National Convention, O'Malley proved that he was a “rising star” in the Democratic Party.

In August 2005, O'Malley was invited to speak to the National Press Club to give a mayoral perspective on homeland security issues. Again he criticized the Bush Administration, stating, "In Washington today, the traditional strong defense values of the party of Abraham Lincoln are found only in the words carved on the cold walls of his memorial." O'Malley also stated that increased Homeland Security funding supported the "values of our republic – what former Senator Gary Hart would call 'the Fourth Power' – the moral exponent of our military, economic, and diplomatic powers".[citation needed]

[edit] O'Malley rumors and the "MD4Bush" incident

See also MD4Bush Incident

In early 2005 Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich fired an aide, Joseph Steffen, for spreading false rumors of marital infidelity about O'Malley on the Internet. O'Malley and his wife had previously held a highly publicized press conference to deny the rumors and accuse Republicans of dirty politics. The discussions in which Steffen posted the rumors were initiated by an anonymous user going by the name "MD4Bush," later revealed to be Maryland Democratic Party official Ryan O'Doherty.[23]

[edit] Governor of Maryland

[edit] 2006 gubernatorial elections

Main article: Maryland gubernatorial election, 2006

O'Malley was nominated by the Democratic Party to challenge incumbent Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich in the November 2006 election. O'Malley featured the news article “Running early, running hard" [1] on his new web site, launched June 2005. It states, "O'Malley has yet to officially announce his run for governor, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy on the campaign trail."

O'Malley selected Anthony G. Brown, Delegate from Prince George's County, lawyer, and Iraq War veteran, as his running mate. O'Malley was expected to face Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan in the Democratic primary. However, Duncan dropped out of the race on June 22, 2006, citing clinical depression.

Friends of O'Malley also have speculated that he could be a presidential candidate in 2012[24].

O'Malley defeated incumbent Gov. Ehrlich in the November 7, 2006, gubernatorial election by a 6.5% margin.[25] He was the only candidate to defeat a sitting governor in 2006.

[edit] Term as Governor

Martin O'Malley's inauguration
Martin O'Malley's inauguration

O'Malley was sworn in as Governor on January 17, 2007. The Maryland Constitution required that he submit the budget proposal, developed jointly by the incoming and outgoing administrations, for the coming fiscal year two days later.

Accomplishments in O'Malley's first two months in office included legislation to save the Maryland terrapin[26], passing the nation's first statewide living wage law, and closure of the Maryland House of Correction in Jessup, Maryland, an old and notoriously violent maximum-security prison facility.[27].

As fill-in for Hillary Rodham Clinton during a Democratic convention on June 2, 2007 in New Hampshire, O'Malley expanded "his exposure among the party elite and activists."[28]

In June 2007, five months into his term as Governor, O'Malley's appointed Public Service Commission passed a massive utility rate hike – a 50 percent rate increase – on consumers by Maryland's largest electric power company. This ran counter to O'Malley's gubernatorial campaign promise to stop the electric rate hikes.[29]

Based on a Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of registered voters, O'Malley's approval rating was at 33% in January 2008, down from 52% in March 2007.[30]

The State of Maryland faces significant fiscal challenges including a structural budget deficit of $1.7 billion. A structural deficit is different that an actual deficit because it is based on out year projected data. In response to this projected deficit for 2008-2009, O'Malley and some Democratic Maryland lawmakers have passed and signed tax increases. Their claims that 83% of Maryland taxpayers would not pay higher taxes under the original plan's new structure were disputed by the Republican party and conservative media.[31][32] The plan would raise total state tax collections 14%.[33] A Maryland Senate panel modified the tax proposal, removing "tax breaks for middle- and working-class families."[34][35]

In years past, slot machine gambling has been a heated topic in the General Assembly – both houses in Maryland government. Proponents claim slots could help ease the burden of Maryland's severe structural deficit. O'Malley's predecessor, Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. made slot machine gambling a priority from the beginning of his four-year term. However, associated legislation was not passed. O'Malley has said that he supports the implementation of a limited number of slot machines only at horse racing tracks to help sustain the horse racing industry. He was elected as the Finance Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association for 2008-2009.

[edit] Family

O'Malley is the son of Tom and Barbara O'Malley. Tom O'Malley, a Montgomery County based criminal defense lawyer served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 1957 to 1962. The elder O'Malley claimed to have seen the nuclear mushroom cloud rise over Hiroshima; he served as a a bombardier in the Army Air Forces in the Pacific theater during the Second World War, and to have known the real identity of Deep Throat, alleging that it was his close friend Joe Lowther who confessed to him on his deathbed. [36]

Martin O'Malley is married to state district judge Catherine Curran O'Malley (Katie). Martin and Katie first met in 1986 while he was working on now-U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski’s primary and general election campaign; while Katie was working on her father J. Joseph Curran, Jr.’s campaign for Attorney General of Maryland. They began to date in 1988 and were married in 1990 during his first unsuccessful campaign for political office.

The couple had their first child, Grace, in 1991. They now live in the governor's mansion in Annapolis with their children, Grace, Tara, William, and Jack. The family had attended St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Baltimore.

O'Malley’s father-in-law, J. Joseph Curran, Jr., served as Attorney General of Maryland from 1987-2007. Due to concerns about the appearance of a conflict of interest in potentially having two close family members at the position of Governor and Attorney General, some had suggested that Curran should step down from his post. Curran decided not to seek reelection on May 7, 2006, citing his age and having accomplished a great deal, rather than his relation to O'Malley. [37]

[edit] In other media

O'Malley was one of the inspirations for the fictional Mayor of Baltimore Tommy Carcetti on the HBO drama The Wire. According to series creator David Simon, Carcetti is "not O'Malley", but O'Malley was one of several inspirations.[38]

O'Malley appeared in the film Ladder 49 as himself, then-mayor of Baltimore.

The History Channel's documentary First Invasion: The War of 1812 featured O'Malley in a segment regarding the British attack on Baltimore in 1814.

His Celtic rock band, "O'Malley's March", produced several CDs before dissolving in 2005.

[edit] Electoral history

Maryland Gubernatorial Election 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Martin O'Malley 942,279 52.7
Republican Robert Ehrlich (Incumbent) 825,464 46.2 -5.4

[edit] Sources

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The Original Shannon Tide. O'Malley's March. Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
  2. ^ State Senator District 43 Democratic Candidates. 1990 Gubernatorial General Election Results. Maryland State Board of Elections (2001-06-14). Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
  3. ^ Baltimore City Election Result Summary. Maryland State Board of Elections (2003-11-19). Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
  4. ^ "Editorial: Why not a statewide CitiStat?". The Baltimore Examiner. June 6, 2006. URL retrieved 31 March 2007.
  5. ^ Government Innovators Network: CitiStat. John F. Kennedy School of Government (2004). Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
  6. ^ Martin O'Malley: Biography. Friends of Martin O'Malley. Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
  7. ^ Vekshin, Alison (2002-08-27). Making the Most of It: Two Cities Keep Their Heads Up in Trying Times. University of Baltimore Merrick School of Business Jacob France Institute. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
  8. ^ http://www.baltimorecitycouncil.com/2005budget_final.htm
  9. ^ Martin O'Malley: A Record of Achievement. Friends of Martin O'Malley. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
  10. ^ "DC Ranks High On Most Dangerous City List". W*USA 9. October 30, 2006. URL retrieved March 23, 2007.
  11. ^ "San Jose Remains 'Safest Big City in America'". City of San Jose, California. November 21, 2005. URL retrieved March 23, 2007.
  12. ^ O'Reilly Factor guest claimed violent crime rising under Baltimore Mayor O'Malley; FBI numbers show otherwise. Media Matters for America (2004-07-01). Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
  13. ^ May, Adam (2006-12-28). Baltimore's Murder Rate Up From 2005 And Rising. WJZ-TV. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
  14. ^ Wagner, John. "O'Malley Finds Issue Can Cut Both Ways". The Washington Post. March 3, 2006. Page B05. URL retrieved March 23, 2007.
  15. ^ Toppo, Greg. "Big-city schools struggle with graduation rates", USA Today, 2006-06-20. Retrieved on 2007-11-02. 
  16. ^ Microsoft Word - 2003 Final Rules - Part 1.doc
  17. ^ http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=50222
  18. ^ O'Malley Charged in 1987 With DUI, Found Innocent - washingtonpost.com
  19. ^ http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=50794
  20. ^ Wonk 'n' Roller - TIME
  21. ^ Can The Democrats Seize The Day?
  22. ^ Martin O'Malley: Martin O'Malley: A Record of Achievement
  23. ^ O'Malley rumor controversy - baltimoresun.com
  24. ^ O'Malley's aspirations take flight in Boston
  25. ^ Maryland State Board of Elections
  26. ^ Maryland's terrapins are officially protected from commercial harvesting as of July 1!. Chesapeake Terrapin Alliance. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  27. ^ "O'Malley relieved prison is closed", The Herald-Mail Company, 2007-03-20. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  28. ^ Wagner, John. "As Fill-In, O'Malley Expands Exposure", The Washington Post, 2007-06-03. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  29. ^ Moore, Paul. "Did the Sun Go Too Easy on BGE Rates, O'Malley?" (Abstract), Ideas, The Baltimore Sun, 2007-06-10. Archived from the original on an unknown date. 
  30. ^ Drew, James. "O'Malley warns of high 'cost of delay'", Local Politics, The Baltimore Sun, 2007-10-24. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  31. ^ Martin O’Malley - O’MalleyWatch.com
  32. ^ Lazarick, Len. "O’Malley: Most will pay more", Baltimore Examiner, 2007-11-08. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  33. ^ Dubay, Curtis S. (2007-10-26). Governor O’Malley’s Tax Plan Puts Maryland at Risk in Regional Tax Competition. Fiscal Facts. The Tax Foundation. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
  34. ^ Green, Andrew A. "O'Malley wants to revive tax cuts", Local Politics, The Baltimore Sun, 2007-11-08. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  35. ^ Farrell, Liam. "Senate panel dramatically revises O'Malley plan", HometownAnnapolis, Capital Gazette Newspapers, 2007-11-07. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  36. ^ "Thomas O'Malley; Rockville Lawyer", Obituaries, The Washington Post, 2006-01-06, p. B07. Retrieved on 2007-11-02. 
  37. ^ Vogel, Steve. "Rally With a Retirement Twist", The Washington Post, 2006-05-09, p. B02. Retrieved on 2007-11-02. 
  38. ^ Five Minutes With: David Simon. campusprogress.org (2006). Retrieved on 2006-11-06.

[edit] External links

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Preceded by
Kurt L. Schmoke		 Mayor of Baltimore
1999 – 2007		 Succeeded by
Sheila Dixon
Preceded by
Robert Ehrlich		 Governor of Maryland
2007 – present		 Incumbent
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