Martin O'Malley

Gov. Martin O’Malley on in the Capitol with his mother, Barbara who is a receptionist for U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski.: Politicker Photo

WASHINGTON – Gov. Martin O’Malley testified to the U.S. Senate
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security on Thursday.

Committee Chair U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) interviewed O’Malley about performance based evaluation systems, specifically StateStat and CitiStat. O’Malley was a key architect of both programs.

O’Malley emphasized the government’s ability to track “inputs,” such as public funding. However, the governor also pointed to the need for state and federal government to monitor “outputs,” which would effectively publicize how government in making use of the inputs.

44% To 28%; 27% Undecided

Andy Harris: Campaign Photo

A new internal campaign poll, obtained by PolitickerMD.com, shows state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) with a 16-point lead over his opponent, state's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) in Maryland's 1st Congressional District.

44.3 percent of those polled by the Harris campaign said they will or are likely to vote for Harris, while 28.3 percent said the same of Kratovil. Another 27.3 percent remain undecided.

This survey of 300 registered voters was conducted just over a week ago on July 15, and has a margin of error of 5.65 percent. The results show Kratovil's support eroding from his campaign's April poll in which he trailed Harris by only nine points, 43 percent to 34 percent with 23 percent undecided.

The Maryland League of Conservation Voters, a non-profit environmental group, has awarded Gov. Martin O’Malley (D-Baltimore) the letter grade of an “A-”, the groups highest grade to date for a governor.

“We are very pleased to give Governor O’Malley and his Administration an A- for their strong environmental actions,” said Executive Director Cindy Schwartz in a statement. “This is the highest grade we have ever awarded a governor, and this Administration has truly earned its high marks. Not only has the O’Malley Administration pro-actively worked to reduce pollution, help Marylanders use less energy, and protect the Chesapeake Bay, Governor O’Malley has also instilled an environmental ethic across all of his Agencies.”

Gov. Martin O’Malley released the following statement on Friday regarding an ongoing American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit over police surveillance of anti-war and anti-death penalty activists while Republican Bob Ehrlrich was governor.

“While these events happened in 2005 and 2006 under the previous administration, the Maryland State Police, under the O'Malley-Brown Administration, does not and will not use public resources to target or monitor peaceful activities where Maryland citizens are exercising their First Amendment rights,” O’Malley said in a statement.

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore) swore in Maryland’s 17th Secretary of State on Wednesday. Attorney John McDonough of Prince George’s County will be taking over for Interim Secretary of State Dennis Schnepfe, who has been serving since January 2007.

McDonough began immediately after being sworn in Wednesday, though Maryland law requires he be confirmed by the Senate during the next legislative session.

“I want to congratulate John McDonough on this appointment, and thank him for accepting this extraordinary responsibility as Maryland’s Secretary of State,” Governor O’Malley said in a statement.

“I am confident in John’s ability to serve the people of Maryland in this role, and look forward to having him as a member of our Executive Cabinet."

It looks like the No Child Left Behind act is working, despite the controversy that followed when it was implemented in 2002. It should also be noted that students are improving on the Maryland School Assessment tests, despite the fact that Governor Martin O’Malley (D) wanted to push state school superintendent Nancy Grasmick out of the door, earlier this year. My how the tables have turned.

Scores are up twenty percent in reading and math since 2003 and the minority achievement gap is narrowing, despite a headline in The Gazette proclaiming, “Blacks, Hispanics left behind in school, report says” from a couple of weeks ago. The fact is The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post, parent publication of The Gazette, report that Black and Hispanic students are in fact NOT too far behind their white counterparts.

The Associated Press is reporting that John McDonough, a Prince George's County attorney and longtime campaign aide to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville), will be appointed secretary of state tomorrow by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore), his final cabinet appointment.

State Republicans have repeatedly criticized O'Malley for the salary of Dennis C. Schnepfe, who has served as an interim since January 2007, saying that making the appointment would save Maryland taxpayers money. Schnepfe's longevity in state government entitles him to a salary of $94,000 a year, while state law mandates the secretary of state be paid $78,750, on the lower side of cabinet salaries.

But the position is a largely ceremonial one: the secretary’s duties are largely relegated to ceremonial tasks like attending trade conferences on behalf of the state and occasionally attesting to the authenticity of the governor’s signature on documents. The office does not hold the power it does in other states as a certifier of elections.

ANNAPOLIS - Gov. Martin O’Malley announced Thursday the appointment of former U.S. Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti to chair the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment. O’Malley and Civiletti were joined by Lt. Gov Anthony Brown (D) and state House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Annapolis).

Comptroller Peter Franchot's (D-Takoma Park) attempt to move a Board of Public Works meeting, which is scheduled for the same day as the annual J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake has officially failed. But the attempt leaves open the possibility of holding future BPW meetings in locations other than Annapolis.

On June 26, Franchot sent a letter to Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore) and state Treasurer Nancy Kopp (D-Bethesda), requesting that the BPW meeting be rescheduled, seeing as it interfered with the Tawes Crab and Clam Bake.

"Given the typical starting time and length of BPW meetings, and assuming a realistic travel time of at least 2.5 hours from Annapolis to Crisfield, it is likely that those of us who are participating in the July 16 meeting would miss most - if not all - of this year's gathering," Franchot wrote in a letter to O'Malley and Kopp.

Franchot suggested the consideration of an alternative location in order to allow attendees of the BPW meeting to arrive at the Tawes festival at a more suitable time. One suggestion was Salisbury University, which the comptroller argued would provide the necessary infrastructure to conduct the meeting. But his reasoning went further, suggesting a different location would give residents of the lower shore "a rare opportunity to observe this unique Maryland institution in action, and to gain a better appreciation of its extraordinary range of responsibilities."