As Martin O'Malley stepped up to address a gathering of Democratic activists last week in Silver Spring, he introduced himself as "probably the first native of Montgomery County elected mayor of Baltimore," adding to great laughter: "Baltimore doesn't know that yet."
O'Malley, whose parents live in Rockville, did not exactly trumpet his upbringing during his rise to power in Baltimore. In fact, a lengthy biography on his official mayoral Web site makes no mention of where he lived until enrolling in the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore.
Now that he is campaigning for governor, O'Malley has started vigorously re-embracing his roots in Montgomery, home to his primary Democratic rival, County Executive Douglas M. Duncan.
The appearance before the Greater Silver Spring Democratic Club was O'Malley's third foray into Montgomery in as many weeks. Nearly 150 people packed a church basement ringed with signs that said, "Organizing Montgomery for O'Malley."
O'Malley had just spent the afternoon in what he described as his "old stomping grounds" of Rockville, visiting the mayor of the city -- an office Duncan once held. As O'Malley and Mayor Larry Giammo walked to a construction site with the media in tow, O'Malley pointed out his father's longtime law office.
O'Malley is trying to make inroads in a county that has elected Duncan three times. If O'Malley succeeds to a significant degree, that could be devastating to Duncan's candidacy. But O'Malley's strategists also are looking to the 2006 general election -- scheduled just two months after the Democratic primary -- in which turnout in the heavily Democratic county will be essential for victory.
"It's clear that Montgomery County has the largest number of general-election votes in Maryland by far, and that potential was not fully mined in the last election by Democrats," said Mark Woodard, chairman of the Silver Spring club, referring to then-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend's 2002 loss to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).
"You've got to think the county executive is going to do very well in Montgomery County" in a Democratic primary, said Woodard, who noted that he remains neutral in the race. "But Mayor O'Malley also has a large number of supporters who are going to organize and work very hard. That's what campaigns are about."
Duncan's camp has tried to appear nonchalant about O'Malley's well-attended incursions, noting that Duncan is making frequent trips to Baltimore to court support, including a lunch meeting last week with Baltimore City Council member Mary Pat Clarke.
"Obviously, the mayor of Baltimore is recognizing the new realities of Maryland politics, where the balance of power is shifting to Montgomery County and the counties around it," said Scott Arceneaux, Duncan's campaign manager. "But Doug clearly has a strong base here."
Duncan boosters also question how well some of O'Malley's positions, particularly his support for legalizing slot-machine gambling at certain racetracks, will play in Montgomery.
Since the last time a Baltimore mayor became governor -- William Donald Schaefer (D) in 1986 -- Prince George's and Montgomery counties have leapfrogged ahead of Baltimore in numbers of registered Democrats.
