Washington business groups backs O'Malley
The Washington Board of Trade, a business-leaders group similar to the Greater Baltimore Committee, today announced its support of Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley.
In the two previous gubernatorial elections, the Board of Trade backed Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. -- giving the O'Malley endorsement more of an exclamation point and providing the governor with new ammunition when Ehrlich attacks him as anti-business.
The announcement comes on a day when the National Federation of Independent Business said it favors Ehrlich because small business growth is a "centerpiece" of his economic plan. The group traditionally backs Republicans.
The Washington Board of Trade said in a news release that leaders interviewed both candidates and chose O'Malley "because of his demonstrated understanding of the key issues facing businesses and his track-record of including the business community in fashioning solutions to the region’s most pressing challenges."
Among the issues the board considered, according to the release, were O'Malley's commitment to the Purple Line light rail project in Montgomery County and continued support of the Inter-County Connector highway under construction.
Jim Dinegar, president and CEO of the Board of Trade, said in a brief interview that O'Malley has been easy to work with -- while Ehrlich hadn't been.
Ehrlich's relationship with the board, Dinegar said, "had its ups and downs. My understanding is that at times he was difficult to work with, even though we had agreement on many of the same issues," Dinegar said, adding that he was not president of the board during Ehrlich's tenure.
O'Malley quickly touted the backing in a release, saying he was honored. "We have made the tough decisions to restore fiscal responsibility in Annapolis, create new jobs, and plan for Maryland's long-term economic growth," O'Malley said.
Comments
Please upgrade your reporting. It doesn't take a lot of effort to mention that Ehrlich's runnig mate's husband chaired this group in 2009. A HUGE slap in the face of Bob Ehrlich.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 1, 2010 11:15 PM