...not only do we have a divided legislature MD. voters don't always vote for Democrats.
Comparing Bernie's challenges as mayor of Burlington, Vermont to Baltimore, Md, is absurd. If you do, you can't find Bernie made a fraction of the progressive accomplishments O'Malley achieved as mayor.
...but let's make it clear what O'Malley accomplished in Md.
___The third person to receive the America’s Greatest Education Governor Award from the National Education Association in 2010, Martin O'Malley significantly increased school funding of K-12 public schools in Maryland and expanded school programs, overseeing a rise in Hispanic and African American student test scores with his insistence that underprivileged and minority students be taught by teachers as highly qualified as those who teach economically advantaged students in his state.
O'Malley not only implemented a four-year freeze on tuition for Maryland institutions of higher learning, making higher education more affordable for Marylanders, from 2008-10, he increased college appropriations to offset the freezes, and authorized more than $220 million in state capital funds to community colleges. He also budgeted more than $333 million for grants and scholarships, and in 2011, signed legislation extending in-state tuition to undocumented students. O'Malley also oversaw the reinvigoration of Maryland’s Career and Technology Education and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs statewide, and the launching of the comprehensive Maryland STEM Innovation Network to promote the delivery of high quality STEM education at all levels throughout the state.
____________________________________
Martin O'Malley signed a 2009 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act in Maryland; far ahead of most other states, & the EPA, which set a statewide goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent below 2006 levels by 2020. By 2012, Maryland had driven down greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 10 percent compared to 2006, and by 20 percent compared to "business as usual" projections
In 2011, Maryland League of Conservation Voters gave Gov. O'Malley a B+ overall in their Governor's Report Card (and an A for climate change). In addition to the 2008 Climate Action Plan and the new GGRA Plan, Gov. O’Malley’s key accomplishments include:
•(2008) Amendment to the Maryland Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard doubled the existing standard to require that 20% of Maryland's energy be created by renewable resources by 2022, including 2% from solar energy;
•(2008) EmPOWER Maryland Act set an energy efficiency target and peak demand reduction target of 15% by 2015;
•(2008) Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Program was created using revenues from the Northeast RGGI to offset ratepayers’ electricity bills and invest in energy efficiency programs;
•(2009) Maryland Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act requires Maryland to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 2006 levels by 2020; and
•(2013) Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013 created a fund to build 200 megawatts of wind energy, which Gov. O’Malley intends to use to construct one of the nation’s first offshore wind energy farms off the coast of Ocean City.
_________________________________
In 2012, Martin O'Malley signed a bill legalizing same sex marriage in Maryland, joining seven other states in enacting marriage equality. The law survived a statewide referendum held later that year, which marked the first time marriage rights in the U.S. were extended to same-sex couples by a popular vote.
Gov. O'Malley signed into law the Fairness for All Marylanders Act, extending housing, public accommodations, and employment protections to transgender citizens and visitors of the state.
"We are closer today to creating an open, respectful, inclusive world that we want for all of our children," O'Malley said prior to signing that bill. "This bill gives us another step closer to that vision and to that reality."
read: http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/05/15/md-gov-signs-trans-nondiscrimination-bill-law
As Mayor of Baltimore, O'Malley helped the City become the first jurisdiction in Maryland to prohibit discrimination against transgender individuals in 2002. In one of his first acts as Governor, he signed an Executive Order prohibiting discrimination against transgender state employees in 2007.
At a National Conference on LGBT Equality in 2012, Martin remarked:
“The dignity of a free and diverse people who at the end of the day, all want the same thing for their children: to live in a loving and caring home that is protected equally under the law.”
The governor added that “discrimination based on gender identity is wrong...Passing a law to protect transgender Marylanders from employment, credit and housing discrimination is the right thing to do.”
On the final day of the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change in Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley expressed hopes that Maryland would soon become the seventh state with marriage equality. The governor also talked about his support for efforts to secure gender identity nondiscrimination protections in the state.
____________________________
Although there isn't yet a specific proposal from him in this campaign geared toward women, Martin O’Malley has received a “100 percent” rating from NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland
O’Malley’s high marks from NARAL are proven by his track record. In 2002, while he was serving as mayor of Baltimore, aides confirmed that O’Malley supports legal abortion and fair access without interference from the government until the point of viability. He also supports late-term abortion when the life of the mother is at risk, or when the fetus has a severe abnormality. And according to NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland, O’Malley has not infringed on abortion rights by signing any new abortion restrictions during his tenure as governor.
When it comes to birth control, O’Malley increased access to contraception and pregnancy counseling, particularly among low-income women. In 2012, O’Malley signed the Family Planning Works Act, which greatly expanded reproductive-health access by providing low-income women with free pregnancy counseling and Medicaid-funded contraception, STI testing and cancer screenings. According to RH Reality Check, the act would provide these subsidized medical services to an additional 33,000 women in the state.
O’Malley has also promoted increased support for new mothers (and fathers) by signing the Maryland Parental Leave Act in 2014. The law expands parental leave for working parents, requiring Maryland small businesses to provide at least six weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of an employee’s child. Prior to the law, small businesses were exempted from providing unpaid family leave.
read: http://plannedparenthoodaction.org/elections-politics/newsroom/press-releases/planned-parenthood-action-fund-welcomes-martin-omalley-presidential-field/
Maryland, under Martin O'Malley, tied for having the lowest wage gap between our working men and women of any state in the nation...Maryland currently has the third-lowest poverty rate for women in the nation. Maryland is the No. 1 state in the nation for women-owned businesses -- one-third of Maryland businesses are women-owned. Maryland also ranks third in the nation in percentage of managerial jobs held by women at 42.4 percent. Here's the report, well worth the read-thru: https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/StateOfWomenReport.pdf
________________________________
Kim Propeack, chief of political communication for CASA de Maryland - Maryland's largest immigrants services and rights organization - and director of its political arm says Martin O'Malley has been “a real hero for the immigrant community.”
•As governor, O'Malley signed a bill allowing young immigrants illegally in the U.S. to pay in-state college tuition and to a bill to get driver's licenses.
•He was the first governor to meet with Latino leaders last year and sign up to push House Republicans to bring immigration reform legislation to a vote, which they never did
•He has shown respect that many in the immigrant community say is lacking in debates on immigration by using the term new Americans to refer to immigrants, whether here legally or not. He also established a state council to focus on integrating immigrants.
•He opposed White House proposals to return young Central American children and families who crossed the U.S-Mexico border last summer, saying they would face "certain death."
•On deportations - an issue that still vexes the current administration - O'Malley stopped Baltimore's City Detention Center from holding immigrants without criminal records for deportation by the federal government.
____________________________
I want there to be some demonstrated experience in making those words a reality for actual people; some demonstrated experience in transforming lives through their actions on the promises they're making in this campaign.
That's the reason Martin O'Malley stands tall, in my estimation, in this campaign, over the other announced candidates. He has a demonstrated experience in not only advocating for the progressive changes we need, but actually doing something about them and succeeding.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I don't feel comfortable with anything other than details and a proven record of implementation.
