About a month ago, there were several dairies about a possible Hillary Clinton run for the 2016 presidential nomination, both of which drew numerous comments, for and against a possible Clinton nomination.
In my comment, I opined that Clinton would probably be the nominee, and have a good shot at winning the presidency, but that we needed others to also run for the nomination to flush out her views on economic, foreign policy and social issues. I also stated that there news reports indicating several potential nominees were considering taking the plunge and I felt confident several would step up to the plate.
It looks like the first potential challenger may be making his moves to do just that - Governor Marin O'Malley of Maryland. I really didn't know much about O'Malley so I did some digging around and here is what I found.
Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American politician and the 61st and current Governor of Maryland. First elected in 2006, he defeated incumbent Governor Robert Ehrlich, and again in a 2010 rematch. Prior to being elected as Governor, he served as the Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007, having previously served as a Baltimore City Councilor from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the Chair of the Democratic Governors Association from 2011 to 2013.
As Mayor, he focused his attention on public safety, and by implementing crime response reform, violent crimes in Baltimore were reduced by nearly 40%. As Governor, in 2011 he signed a law that would make certain undocumented immigrants eligible for in-state college tuition on condition;[2] and in 2012, he signed a law to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland. Each law was challenged to a voter referendum in the 2012 general election and upheld by a majority of the voting public.
Clearly O'Malley is a grass roots politician, having served on city council in Baltimore, then as mayor, prior to running for and elected governor of Maryland on two separate occasions. Clearly, O'Malley has an deep understanding of how state and local governments operate, but more importantly, he has extensive executive experience serving as both mayor and governor, for the last 15 years.
In O'Malley's first term as mayor, he focused on Baltimore's crime rate, specifically, its high murder rate:
During his first mayoral campaign, O'Malley focused on a message of reducing crime. In his first year in office, O'Malley adopted a statistics-based tracking system called CitiStat, modeled after Compstat, a crime management program first employed in the mid-1990s in New York City. The system logged every call for service into a database for analysis. The Washington Post wrote in 2006 that Baltimore's "homicide rate remains stubbornly high and its public school test scores disappointingly low. But CitiStat has saved an estimated $350 million and helped generate the city's first budget surplus in years."[22] In 2004, CitiStat accountability tool won Harvard University's "Innovations in American Government" award.[23] The system garnered interest from Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty[22] as well as crime officials from Britain.[24]
But there was also push back over O'Malley's claim that crime had dropped significantly in Baltimore during his run for governor in 2006:
While running for governor in 2006, O'Malley said violent crime in Baltimore declined 37% while he was mayor. That statistic came from an audit of crime that used questionable methodology and became the subject of controversy; O'Malley was accused by both his Democratic primary opponent Doug Duncan and his Republican opponent Gov. Bob Ehrlich of manipulating statistics to make false claims. The Washington Post wrote at the time that "no evidence has surfaced of a systemic manipulation of crime statistics," but that "there is no quick or definitive way for O'Malley to prove his numbers are right."[26]
I was able to find the Washington Post article from 2006 and here is the link to the article, which goes into much more detail:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
There have also been several controversies regarding O'Malley as well:
Land developer controversy
Major land developer Edward St. John was fined $55,000 by the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor for making illegal contributions to the O'Malley campaign. The Washington Times reported later that the Governor's administration had issued a press release touting a new $28 million highway interchange leading from Interstate 795 to one of St. John's properties. Governor O'Malley's spokesman said there was no "quid pro quo" and a spokesman for the County Executive said the project had been a county transportation priority since before both O'Malley and the executive were elected.[27]
"MD4Bush" incident
In early 2005, Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich fired aide Joseph Steffen for spreading 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 partisan 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.[28]
9/11 — budget comparison
During a conference at the National Press Club, where Mayors from across the US gathered to denounce President George W. Bush's proposed budget, O'Malley compared the budget to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In his speech, O'Malley said: "Back on September 11, terrorists attacked our metropolitan cores, two of America's great cities. They did that because they knew that was where they could do the most damage and weaken us the most, years later, we are given a budget proposal by our commander in chief... And with a budget ax, he is attacking America's cities. He is attacking our metropolitan core." O'Malley was criticized by Republicans and fellow Democrats for his statement, but in an interview later said he "in no way intended to equate these budget cuts, however bad, to a terrorist attack."[29]
O'Malley's first term as governor focused on budget issues, and adopting his Citstat program in Baltimore and implemented it as governor:
First term
Martin O'Malley's inauguration
Budget
Governor O'Malley called a special session of the General Assembly November 2007 to close a projected budget deficit of $1.7 billion for 2008–2009.[41] In response, O'Malley and other lawmakers passed a tax plan would raise total state tax collections by 14%.[42] In April 2009, O'Malley signed a traffic speed camera enforcement law, a bill which he supported and fought for in order to help raise revenue to try to balance the deficit facing Maryland. Through strong lobbying by O'Malley, the bill was revived after first having been defeated. After a second vote, the measure passed.[43]
Democratic Party
O'Malley was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association for 2009–2010, and on December 1, 2010, he was elected Chairman for 2010–2011.[44]
Crime
Soon after entering office, O'Malley closed the Maryland House of Correction in Jessup, a notoriously violent maximum-security prison facility.[45]
Since taking office O'Malley has adapted the CitiStat program he devised for Baltimore and applied it to the state of Maryland. This new program is called StateStat. O'Malley has said that President Obama has looked at StateStat as a potential model for tracking stimulus funding.[46]
Over the years as Chair of the Democratic Governors Assocaition, O'Malley took other republican governors to the woodshed over Medicaid expansion, and other issues, but he is infamous for his clashes with for republican governor of Virginia (and potential soon to be convicted felon) Bob McDonnell. Watch this frist clip of O'Malley taking down a clearly rattled Bob McDonnell:
http://bcove.me/...
And here is another clip to their duel over Medicare expansion:
http://www.politico.com/...
O'Malley's emphasis as governor shifted sharply to address cultural and social issues in Maryland:
Second term
Immigration
In a debate during the 2010 campaign, O'Malley referred to undocumented immigrants as "new Americans", as he endorsed tougher enforcement against illegal immigration by the federal government.[47] In May 2011, O'Malley signed a law that would make the children of undocumented immigrants eligible for in-state college tuition under certain conditions.[48] The law provides that undocumented immigrants can be eligible for in-state tuition if students have attended a high school in Maryland for three years and if they or their parents have paid state income taxes during that time.[2] In response, Delegate Neil Parrott created an online petition to suspend the law pending a referendum vote that would be held during the 2012 general election.[49] On November 6, 2012, a majority of state voters passed referendum Question 4 by 58%.[50]
Same-sex marriage
O'Malley voiced his support for a bill considered by the General Assembly to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland. O'Malley, a Catholic, was urged by the Archbishop of Baltimore Edwin O'Brien not to support the bill in a private letter sent two days before O'Malley voiced his support.[51] "I am well aware that the recent events in New York have intensified pressure on you to lend your active support to legislation to redefine marriage," O'Brien wrote. "As advocates for the truths we are compelled to uphold, we speak with equal intensity and urgency in opposition to your promoting a goal that so deeply conflicts with your faith, not to mention the best interests of our society."[51] O'Malley responded, "I do not presume, nor would I ever presume as Governor, to question or infringe upon your freedom to define, to preach about, and to administer the sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. But on the public issue of granting equal civil marital rights to same-sex couples, you and I disagree."[51]
The Maryland House of Delegates approved the bill by a 72–67 vote on February 17,[52] and the Maryland Senate approved the bill by a vote of 25–22 on February 23.[53] The bill was amended to take effect on January 1, 2013, allowing for a voter referendum.[54] O'Malley signed the bill on March 1, 2012.[55] After signature, referendum petitioners gathered the support required to challenge the law.[56] Referendum Question 6 was passed by 52.4% of the state's voters on November 6, 2012.[57][58]
Capital punishment
O'Malley, a long-time opponent of capital punishment,[59] signed a bill on May 2, 2013, that repealed the death penalty in Maryland for all future offenders.[60] The repeal does not affect the five inmates currently on death row in Maryland and O'Malley has said that he will consider commuting their sentences to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole on a case-by-case basis.[61]
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
In the meantime, O'Malley is clearly working hard to organize a presidential bid:
So far, the Maryland governor has taken many of the steps he’d need to launch a presidential campaign. During his meeting with political supporters from across the country at the Hilton Baltimore, O’Malley outlined in a PowerPoint presentation his plans to fundraise and campaign for Democratic candidates and continue to build his political network over the next several months.
He’s also visiting key primary states like New Hampshire and Iowa. Last week, he attended an event for South Carolina Democratic gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, and Wednesday he’ll be inside the Beltway headlining a fundraiser for Bakari Sellers, a Democratic candidate for South Carolina lieutenant governor.
O’Malley has made no secret that he is considering a presidential run, but he has held off making an official announcement.
While Clinton is the obvious front-runner — several Democratic lobbyists, political operatives, local officials and others have said supporting O’Malley in a primary could be more politically advantageous since Clinton already has a slew of long-time advisers. And, his liberal legislative victories on everything from gay marriage to pushing through legislation that makes Maryland’s gun laws among the toughest in the country are also attractive to the party activists.
http://www.politico.com/...
O'Malley has been spending time in the state of Iowa this year, most recently in June of 2014:
The good news for O’Malley is that he appeared to be taken seriously during a two-day swing through this state, whose first-in-the-nation caucuses give it disproportionate influence in deciding the Democratic presidential nominee every four years. Almost every party activist interviewed after O’Malley’s appearances said they would welcome an alternative to Clinton in the 2016 White House race, despite polls that show her the overwhelming choice of Democrats nationwide.
“I’ve always liked Hillary, but it’s early enough that I could still be swayed,” said Carl Keeton, 58, a meatpacker from Ottumwa who was among the 370 delegates who heard O’Malley at a party convention on Saturday and rewarded his 25-minute speech with a standing ovation. “He seems young and energetic, and it’s good to have a choice.”
Others went further, saying they were inspired by an address in which O’Malley urged the activists to work to recapture “the America that we carry in our hearts” and touted his accomplishments as mayor of Baltimore and governor of Maryland.
“He can reach people on an emotional level, but he’s also accomplished things,” said Sarah Stutler, 49, a delegate who lives in Marion and, like most Democrats O’Malley encountered over the weekend, heard him speak for the first time. Accompanied by his 16-year-old son William, he seemed as relaxed and sociable as he is in Maryland, happily posing for pictures and trading stories with people who approached him at events.
Stutler said she is “in a state of waiting” for a candidate to support and is wary of Clinton, who has said she is not likely to announce whether she will run until 2015. “She’s getting shoved down our throats,” Stutler said. “We’re Iowans, and we don’t like that.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Clearly Democratic base voters are looking towards the future to see who can carry the banner post-Obama:
"It's really about young, up-and-coming Democrats," said Rose Mary Pratt, 66, a retired state worker who turned out on a sunny Saturday morning to hear O'Malley address a group of Democratic canvassers in Beaverdale, one of Des Moines' most liberal neighborhoods. "I'm Hillary's generation. I'm looking for who's our replacement material."
http://www.latimes.com/...
Clearly, O'Malley could be an effective nominee if he decides to run and can win the nomination in 2016. I firmly believe he could win most states that Obama carried in 2012, with Ohio and Florida again being ground zero. I also think he could put North Carolina back in play, and give a GOP nominee real trouble in Georgia.
And who would O'Malley pick as a V.P.? I'll let you decide that in the poll below.
In the meantime, thanks for reading my diary. I know it's long but I really wanted to flush out details on exactly who O'Malley is and I hope you find the diary useful as we get closer to the time when the nomination fights starts up after the fall elections.