Today more than 200 business leaders from every corner of the state announced their support for the O’Malley-Brown ticket, stressing Governor O’Malley’s focus on jobs and economic development in challenging times. The roster of supporters cuts across business sectors and ranges from Fortune 500 executives to small business owners.
“We’re thrilled with the tremendous support we’re receiving from the Maryland business community. Job creators are backing our campaign because they know we are making the tough choices to invest in the future and position our state for future economic success,” said Governor Martin O’Malley.
The announcement of business community support builds on a series of television ads emphasizing O’Malley’s efforts to boost small businesses and create 21st century manufacturing jobs in Maryland.
Baltimore business leader Mark Fetting had this say about his endorsement of O’Malley: “Governor O’Malley’s leadership has helped steer Maryland through very difficult times in a fiscally responsible manner. As a chief executive, I understand the tough decisions he’s had to make, and how those decisions have put Maryland in a strong position to grow out of this recession.”
ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 21, 2010) – Governor Martin O’Malley issued this statement today following the announcement that, for the second straight month, Maryland experienced net job growth. In April, Maryland’s unemployment rate dropped .2% to 7.5%, marking the first monthly decline in the state’s jobless rate since December 2007.
“Today’s announcement is another positive sign for families and businesses in Maryland. Building on our progress in March, Maryland created thousands of jobs in April as we come through the national recession. While there is still more to do, this second straight month of jobs gains shows that our economy is turning in a positive direction.
“We will continue to focus our energies on creating jobs, saving jobs, and helping our small businesses create and save jobs, delivering results for the people of our state and moving Maryland forward.”
Maryland’s unemployment rate is now approximately 25 percent below that national rate, which rose last month to 9.9 percent. The addition of 8,200 jobs last month marks the highest three-month jobs gain for Maryland in at least 20 years. The O’Malley-Brown Administration continues to leverage the enormous job-creating potential of our State, including strategic tax cuts for businesses that hire unemployed workers, and investments in important growth sectors of our economy, a world-class workforce, and America’s #1 ranked public schools.
Bob Ehrlich loves to talk about how he wants to create jobs in Maryland. However, as is typical of Bob Ehrlich, he lacks details, substance and a good record to stand on. Instead he’s just rooting for the economy to sour so that he can keep using the same stump speech. Whatever he’s got in mind, let’s hope he doesn’t do what he did at his law firm during the last few years.
Last Friday, The American Lawyer announced its Am Law 100 list – a list of the top grossing law firms in the nation. Notably, Bob Ehrlich’s law firm – Womble, Carlyle Sandridge & Rice – was among the five firms that fell off The Am Law Daily Top 100 list, having posted a 5% drop in revenue in 2009. According to The Am Law Daily:
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, which posted a 5 percent drop in gross revenue on a 1.6 percent decline in head count. “Almost all the drop in revenue was on the transactional side,” says managing partner Keith Vaughan. “There was just a lot less deal activity.”
Bob Ehrlich is sure to come up with plenty of excuses for his law firm’s poor performance. He can’t blame the economy because he doesn’t want to acknowledge that we’re actually digging out of a global recession (perhaps he didn’t get the memo that Maryland led the nation in adding 38,500 jobs in March). He’s likely to try to blame Governor O’Malley for Womble’s poor performance much like he’s now trying to pass the buck on his record spending that left Maryland with a structural deficit. Then again, Bob Ehrlich lives in a fantasyland.
In reality, Bob Ehrlich only cares about preserving his own job, not creating jobs for Marylanders. After voters fired him four years ago for his poor performance, he used his connections to land a cushy job as the head of Womble Carylye’s Baltimore office. After this latest performance review, Bob Ehrlich knows the gig is up at Womble Carlyle so he decided to run for Governor again. After two failed stints as a manager, it’s clear that Maryland can’t afford Bob Ehrlich.
