O'Malley Begins With Call for Harmony

Governor Cites Work to Do on College Tuition, Health Care, Pollution

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O'Malley Begins With a Call for Unity
Governor cites work to do on college tuition, health care and pollution.

Martin O'Malley pledged to unite Maryland at a time of "great peril and great possibility" as he was sworn in as governor yesterday, returning one-party rule to a capital bitterly divided during the past four years between a heavily Democratic legislature and a Republican chief executive.

"Let us begin anew in our state, where all things are possible, where progress is every citizen's responsibility, in one Maryland, where we move forward together," O'Malley said in a lofty 13-minute address from the State House steps in Annapolis that drew much of the state's political elite and national Democratic leaders, including U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

On a bitingly cold but brilliant afternoon, O'Malley, who served for seven years as Baltimore's mayor, spoke in broad strokes, offering few specifics about plans to make college education and health care more affordable, preserve the Chesapeake Bay and make Maryland a leader in homeland security. He also signaled his support for tighter emissions standards for automobiles and stepped-up oversight of electric utilities.

Among the "perils" O'Malley cited in his address were several that he said were "of our own recent making," including budget deficits, polluted waters, drug addiction and crumbling infrastructure.

A much looser O'Malley addressed his inaugural gala last night and then reunited with his Celtic rock band, O'Malley's March, much to the delight of the thousands in attendance. They opened with a cover of the Bob Dylan classic "The Times They Are A-Changin'." The governor later shared lead vocals with the Saw Doctors, an Irish rock band that flew from Dublin for the event.

At the afternoon ceremony, O'Malley and his lieutenant governor, Anthony G. Brown, a former Prince George's delegate, appeared with their families on an elaborate stage erected on the steps of the State House. Billboard-size U.S. and Maryland flags hung on the walls of the historic building, and a banner proclaiming "One Maryland" -- the theme of O'Malley's inaugural celebration -- stretched overhead.

Former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., whom O'Malley defeated in November, was among the thousands of people seated below. Ehrlich, Maryland's first Republican governor in a generation, declined an invitation to sit on the dais with other dignitaries, instead taking a seat with his wife and his lieutenant governor, Michael S. Steele (R), in the first row of a side aisle.

"This is his day," Ehrlich said of his successor. "I respect tradition. We're sitting here, as it should be."

The dais instead was crowded with Democrats, overjoyed to be reclaiming the governor's mansion. Pelosi, a Baltimore native who represents the San Francisco area, inadvertently created a moment of levity by proclaiming that O'Malley "will be a great governor of California."

Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin sat next to Kweisi Mfume, the former NAACP leader whom he defeated in last year's Democratic primary. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean sat to one side chatting with his Maryland counterpart, Terry Lierman. U.S. House Majority Whip Steny H. Hoyer and other members of the Maryland congressional delegation appeared on the dais.

In the front row sat O'Malley's wife and four children, including 4-year-old Jack, who wriggled in his mother's arms for much of the ceremony before appearing to fall asleep during his father's speech.

Although the address contained no specific policy proposals, it included several nods toward initiatives the state's 61st governor plans to push.