O'Malley Reaches Out to Assembly and Washington Suburbs

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley pledged yesterday to mend the rift between the General Assembly and the governor's office and to represent the entire state, including the Washington suburbs instrumental to his victory.

But even as O'Malley's victory in the governor's race brings Annapolis back to one-party rule, fellow Democrats say he could meet resistance unless he broadens his administration beyond his loyalists and fleshes out his policy planks.

"We have a lot of important work to do in bringing people together in the spirit in which it is required for these next four challenging years, " O'Malley said at an afternoon news conference.

Three hours earlier, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. had called to concede in Tuesday's election and offer transition help.

O'Malley will arrive in Annapolis pledging to be a consensus-builder after four fractious years of divided government under Ehrlich, the state's first Republican governor in a generation. O'Malley will have to contend with intraparty squabbles over such issues as the legalization of slot-machine gambling and a bid to raise the tobacco tax once the Democrats' Election Day euphoria starts to fade.

During his tenure at city hall, O'Malley made his share of enemies, including several of Baltimore's old guard. State Comptroller William Donald Schaefer (D), the last Baltimore mayor elected governor, was among those who thought O'Malley did not show them proper deference.

But by most accounts, O'Malley enjoyed a productive working relationship with members of the City Council, from whose ranks he rose to mayor. In that respect, O'Malley could prove a good fit in the governor's role, said council member Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. (D).

"Obviously, there's been a lot of acrimony in Annapolis," Mitchell said. "Voters have said they're tired of pointing fingers and want people to start solving problems again."

O'Malley will be a newcomer in a town inhabited by a pair of well-established personalities who preside over the legislature's two chambers. It remains to be seen how they will get along.

"I think there will be a different mentality here," House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said yesterday. "I don't think the Senate or the House will be a rubber stamp for anyone. We're looking for an administration that we can reach a consensus with."

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), who has presided over his chamber for two decades, said recently that he, too, expects more productive relations with O'Malley than with Ehrlich but said there is certain to be some "friction" born of personality.

Busch has demonstrated in his shorter tenure that he can be unyielding on issues of principle, most notably efforts in recent years to legalize slots.