Our Party looks like, fights for, and works on
behalf of all Marylanders
Maryland has a long history of Democratic leadership at all levels of elected
office and the results of our service to Maryland are profound and impressive.
Maryland Democrats have
produced a progressive record by championing the principles of fairness,
justice, opportunity and diversity. Women and minority
participation within our Party has increased steadily and produced dynamic and
powerful leaders at the local, county, state and federal levels.
Our inclusiveness is not a campaign slogan: We strive
for it everyday and it makes us stronger and more effective.
The Democratic
Leadership Team: Representing Your Priorities and
Values
Statewide Officeholders:
Governor Martin
O'Malley
was the
only gubernatorial candidate in America to defeat an incumbent
Governor on November 7, 2006. Prior to that day Gov. O'Malley
served 7 years as Mayor of Baltimore. During his
two terms as mayor, Baltimore became a national model for improvement in public
safety, government efficiency, education and economic
development. Martin O’Malley believes the foundation of Baltimore’s comeback
begins with public safety and a commitment to making every neighborhood an even
safer place to call home. While Mayor, Gov. O'Malley championed a
computerized tracking system, CitiStat, which has shifted Baltimore’s way of
“doing government” from an antiquated patronage-based system to a contemporary,
high-tech, performance-based system that zeroes in on areas of
under-performance, using computerized databases to track targets and
results. He is installing this innovation in
government accountability to state government for the first time.
Lt. Governor Anthony Brown was elected to his
first statewide office on November 7, 2006 after serving his native
Prince
George’s County as a Delegate in the Maryland House
for two terms where he rose to the position of Majority Whip. Anthony
continues to serve his country as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. In 2005,
Anthony again proudly answered his country’s call to duty, and was deployed as a
reservist to Iraq as a part of Operation Iraqi
Freedom. In Fallujah, Kirkuk and Basra, Anthony worked with local and military officials to
deliver humanitarian assistance and rebuild a war-torn Iraq. In
recognition of his distinguished service Anthony has earned the Bronze Star
Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf
Clusters and Iraq Campaign Medal.
Attorney General Douglas
F. Gansler was elected on November 7, 2006 to succeed the retiring J. Joseph
Curran, Jr. as Maryland’s Attorney General. For eight years prior to becoming
Maryland Attorney General, Mr. Gansler had been Montgomery County’s chief
prosecutor, where he launched innovative and successful programs to fight gangs,
punish criminals, and protect the public. He has an unparalleled record of
experience as a State’s Attorney, former Assistant United States Attorney and
private litigator.
Comptroller Peter
Franchot was elected to
serve as Maryland's 33rd State Comptroller on November 7, 2006. Prior
to his election to statewide office, Peter served as a Delegate from Montgomery
County for 20 years. During his time in the House of Delegates, he was a member
of the Appropriations Committee, and served as the Chair of its Transportation
& the Environment Subcommittee. Using this experience and expertise,
Peter has pledged as Comptroller to be a strong fiscal watchdog for Maryland
taxpayers and an independent voice on the Board of Public Works.
United
States Senators:
Maryland's Democratic United States Senators work very hard to promote
the interests of Maryland and its citizens in Washington and around the State of Maryland. Under their leadership, legislation has been
enacted to expand Maryland's
economy and provide new jobs, clean up our environment, expand assistance for
education, housing and public safety, and improve our transportation
infrastructure.
Senator Barbara Mikulski was elected to the United States Senate in
1986. Maryland's Senior Senator serves as Ranking Democrat of the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, and is also the
Ranking Democrat on the Retirement Security and Aging Subcommittee of the
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
Senator Mikulski was the first Democratic woman to hold a Senate seat not
previously held by her husband; the first Democratic woman to serve in both
houses of Congress; and the first woman to win a statewide election in Maryland. Senator Mikulski's
pioneering efforts and her advocacy on behalf of women candidates has helped
elect nine Democratic women to the United States Senate during her tenure, and
has made her the unofficial "Dean of the Senate Women."
Senator Benjamin L.
Cardin was elected to the United States
Senate in 2006.
Senator Cardin serves on five
critical senate committees: Foreign Relations, Environment and Public Works,
Judiciary, Budget and Small Business. He also is Ranking Member on the Commission on
Security and Cooperation in Europe (the U.S. Helsinki
Commission). In addition, he is Chair of one of the three
international committees of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly that deals with economics and the
environment. In 2001, he was named by Worth Magazine as among the top "100
people who have influenced the way Americans think about money." In 2004, he was
named to Treasury and Risk Management’s list of "100 Most Influential People in
Finance." Previously, Sen. Cardin represented Maryland's Third Congressional District in the House
of Representatives from 1987 to 2006 and served as Speaker of the House in
Maryland's General Assembly.
United States House of
Representatives:
Democrats currently
hold six of Maryland's eight
seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2002, Maryland was the only state where Democrats won two
congressional seats from Republicans: Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger
brought Maryland’s Second Congressional District into
the Democratic column after 18 years of Republican control, and Congressman Chris Van Hollen won
Maryland’s Eighth
Congressional District seat after 16 years of Republican dominance.
House Majority
Leader, Congressman Steny Hoyer is the senior member of the Maryland Democratic
House Delegation and has represented Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District since
1981. In
November 2006, Congressman Hoyer was elected by his colleagues in
the Democratic Caucus to serve as House Majority Leader in the
110th Congress. His election as Majority Leader – which is the second-highest
position in the House – makes him the highest-ranking Member of Congress from
Maryland in history.
Congressman Albert R. Wynn has represented Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District since being
elected in 1992. Congressman Wynn currently serves on the powerful and prestigious
Energy and Commerce Committee, where he is a member of the Subcommittee on
Energy and Air Quality, the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the
Internet, and the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Waste.
The Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over a wide range of issues,
including telecommunications, trade, utility regulation, energy, health,
securities and biotechnology. Rep. Wynn is a member of the Democratic Message
Group, and a Deputy Democratic Whip (a party organizer in Congress.)
Wynn also Chairs the Congressional Black Caucus Task Force on Campaign Finance
Reform, and the Caucus Minority Business Task Force.
Congressman
Elijah Cummings has represented Maryland’s Seventh Congressional District since
April
1996. He serves on the House Government Reform Committee, is
the Ranking Member of the Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources
Subcommittee and is a member of the Wellness and Human Rights Subcommittee.
Congressman Cummings also serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, the Subcommittee on Highways & Transit and the Subcommittee on
Railroads. In addition to his standing committee assignments, Congressman
Cummings is a member of the Joint Economic Committee, the co-chair of the House
AIDS Working Group, and a member of the House Task Force on Health Care
Reform. He is the Immediate Past Chair of the Congressional
Black Caucus.
Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger has represented Maryland’s Second Congressional
District since being elected in 2002. Congressman
Ruppersberger was the first Democratic freshman ever to be appointed to the
powerful House Select Committee on Intelligence. The committee oversees the
collection and analysis of intelligence information from all around the world to
ensure our national security and prevent potential crisis situations -
especially terrorist activity. Congressman Ruppersberger was
hand-picked by the Democratic Leadership and named an Assistant Whip. In this
prestigious position he meets regularly with the House leadership to help set
legislative priorities and to ensure the passage of key measures. Congressman
Ruppersberger serves on the Government Reform Committee, the investigative arm
of Congress, where he works to prevent government fraud and waste and to craft
reforms to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs. The
Congressman was also elected by his freshman Democratic peers to represent them
on the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.
Congressman
Chris Van Hollen has represented Maryland’s Eighth Congressional District since being
elected in 2002. Rep. Van Hollen is Chairman of the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and serves on the House Committee on
Ways and Means as well as the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform. He is the Vice Chairman of the bipartisan Renewable
Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, Co-Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Task Force and Vice Chairman of the Democratic Task Force on Budget and Tax
Policy. . Rep. Van Hollen has been recognized for his efforts and
leadership in a range of areas of including education, foreign policy,
environmental protection, protecting the rights of federal employees and civil
rights. Roll Call newspaper named him one of the “rising stars” in Congress and
the Washington Post noted that Van Hollen “has distinguished himself as a shrewd
legislative player.”
Congressman John
Sarbanes was elected on
November 7, 2006 succeeding Senator Ben Cardin as the representative from
Maryland’s 3rd
Congressional District. Rep. Sarbanes has nearly two decades of experience in
health care and education from the private, public and non-profit sectors. He
served as Chair of the Health Care Practice at Venable, one of the nation's
leading law firms, where he represented non-profit hospitals and senior living
providers in their mission to deliver high quality care to the people of
Maryland. For nearly twenty years, Rep. Sarbanes has worked to improve public
education having recently completed a seven-year tenure as special assistant to
the State Superintendent of Schools, serving as liaison to the Baltimore City
Public Schools under the City-State Partnership.
Maryland General Assembly:
Of the
188 members of the Maryland General Assembly, 137 are
Democrats.
Under the leadership of Senate
President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, Democrats hold 33
of 47 seats in the Maryland State Senate. Senator Miller is the longest
serving Senate President in the history of Maryland and is currently the longest serving State
Senate President in the nation. His leadership and influence are also
demonstrated on the national political scene where he serves as Chair of the
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
In the House of Delegates, Democrats occupy 98 of the 141 seats. In 2003,
Speaker Michael E.
Busch from Anne Arundel County was elected to lead the House of Delegates
where he has been a member since 1987. The former teacher quickly established
himself as a strong, progressive leader.
Maryland's Democratic legislators are as diverse as the
districts they represent and by working together they achieve remarkable results
for citizens in every corner of the state. In 2002, Democrats crafted and put
into place historic education reform legislation known as the "Thornton
Commission," a formula that provides resources to students facing particular
challenges and helps them overcome those obstacles, such as poverty, so they may
achieve in school and in life.
Local Leadership:
Democrats hold
leadership positions in many of Maryland’s counties and municipalities:
·
Chief
Executives for 5 of Maryland's 7 largest jurisdictions –
o
County Executive Isiah "Ike" Leggett of Montgomery County
o County Executive Jack
Johnson of Prince
George’s County
o County Executive Jim
Smith of Baltimore County
o Mayor Sheila Dixon of Baltimore City
o County
Executive Ken Ulman of Howard County
· Mayors of Baltimore, Annapolis, Ocean City, Rockville, Bowie and a majority of county council and
commission members
