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Maryland's Major-Race Candidates Focus on African American Vote
Irvin Skinner speaks to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and running mate Kristin Cox in Baltimore.
(By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)
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O'Malley zeroed in on the percentage of state procurement dollars going to black-owned firms, which he put at 3.4 percent.
"If you were really committed, you could do 3.4 percent in 10 blocks of Mitchellville," O'Malley said, referring to an upscale section of Prince George's County.
The figure cited by O'Malley came from a study this year commissioned by the state that examined fiscal 2000 through 2004. More recent data compiled by the Ehrlich administration put the figure for African American firms at 4 percent in fiscal 2005, down slightly from the year before.
Ehrlich spokeswoman Shareese DeLeaver said the governor has focused more attention on the issue than his Democratic predecessors and is "making real strides."
O'Malley also stopped yesterday in Rockville, where he was joined by Rep. Chris Van Hollen and other Democratic officials seeking to make the case that O'Malley would be better for the environment than Ehrlich.
In the Senate race, Cardin rolled onto his opponent's home turf yesterday to talk about his support for a universal health care system. His stop in Prince George's came one day after Steele announced endorsements from five Democratic County Council members and from Wayne K. Curry , the county's first black county executive, who also is a Democrat.
In remarks at the Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly, Cardin thanked County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and the Prince George's legislative delegation, although no delegates were in attendance yesterday. Cardin plans to spend time in the county every day this week.
"I feel very confident that we'll do extremely well here," said Cardin, who finished a distant second in Prince George's to former NAACP president Kweisi Mfume in the September primary.
The Cardin campaign also released a series of radio ads yesterday featuring prominent black Democrats, including Rep. Albert R. Wynn and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings .
During a speech to a government class at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Steele talked about how his father suffered from alcoholism and was abusive toward his mother. He said his mother worked for minimum wage after his father died so she could pay for his schooling.
"The only limits you have are ones you place on yourself," Steele told the standing-room-only crowd. "The power of turning hope into action, it is my story. It is your story. Do not lose sight of why you are here. Some of you are the first in your family to [go to] college, just as I was in mine."
Steele also discussed the discrimination he faced trying to find a job as young black man.
Staff writers Ovetta Wiggins and Ann E. Marimow contributed to this report.
