Ehrlich, O'Malley Likely to Set Different Tones in Annapolis

Candidates' Records Show Contrasting Governing Styles

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) vetoed 86 measures that came out of the General Assembly. Legislators overrode about a quarter of the vetoes. (By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)

On Tuesday, Maryland voters will do more than pick a winner in the governor's race. They will play a large role in setting the tone in Annapolis for the coming four years.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s tenure, by all accounts, has been a conflict-filled affair, marked by frequent clashes between the state's first Republican governor in a generation and entrenched Democratic leaders in the General Assembly.

The election of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley would hardly guarantee harmony between the executive and legislative branches. But both O'Malley's policy proposals and his record as a Democratic mayor working with a Democratic but often-fractious City Council suggest that his relationship with state lawmakers would be far different.

Whether that is a good thing is a matter of perspective: Ehrlich and his supporters argue that the governor has helped limit the excesses of a legislature dominated by Democrats. "I think the lesson has gotten through to the leadership in Maryland that you can't just go off and do your own thing," Ehrlich said in an interview.

His detractors, among them O'Malley, argue that Maryland deserves better than a state government "that only makes progress by overriding a governor's veto."

In his four years, Ehrlich vetoed 86 Democratic initiatives, including high-profile bills he considered a burden on the business community that would raise the minimum wage, force Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health care and provide doctors with insurance relief. Lawmakers have overridden about a quarter of those.

During his seven years as mayor, O'Malley has vetoed only one City Council bill, affecting access to a parking lot.

"Compromise is not a dirty word," the mayor told an audience of mostly senior citizens last week in Ocean Pines. "It is how a free and diverse people come together to find common ground."

O'Malley, who has never trailed in the polls since entering the race, has been criticized by some in his party for running a cautious campaign devoid of bold policy proposals. Little of the agenda he has put forth is likely to rile legislative leaders, provided he can find a way to pay for it.

The priorities O'Malley has identified include pumping more money into school construction, holding the line on college tuition, establishing an affordable housing trust fund and providing tax incentives for small businesses to join health insurance purchasing pools.

O'Malley has also voiced support for many of the Democratic initiatives that Ehrlich vetoed, including a $1 increase in the minimum wage and the so-called Wal-Mart bill.

Ehrlich has talked far less during the campaign about what he would do with another term, focusing instead on his record and trying to persuade voters that O'Malley has not done enough to tackle crime and education in Baltimore.