[BALTIMORESUN] Martin O'Malley...former Democratic governor of Maryland and aspiring presidential candidate, known locally as The One-Man Economic Wrecking Crew. O'Malley was elected to his second term driven by union support and near-Stalinesque vote margins in Baltimore city (82%) and Prince George's County (88%)...
, the former Maryland governor who ushered in an era of tech-savvy management and a new brand of progressive politics during more than two decades in public office, announced his long-expected campaign for president on Saturday.
With Baltimore's skyline as his backdrop, the 52-year-old Democrat and former mayor framed next year's election in dire terms, suggesting his administration would serve as a bulwark against GOP efforts to cut the federal government and social programs.
"My decision is made," O'Malley told a crowd of several hundred at Federal Hill Park. "Today, to you -- and to all who can hear my voice -- I declare that I am a candidate for President of the United States."
O'Malley, who got his start in politics on Gary Hart's 1984 presidential campaign, was scheduled to leave Maryland on Saturday for a two-day swing through Iowa and New Hampshire this weekend. O'Malley phoned Clinton ahead of his announcement to personally inform her of his plans, according to a report in Time.
During O'Malley's tenure Maryland approved gay marriage, a minimum wage increase, tougher gun laws, a repeal of the death penalty and several laws to help immigrants who are in the country illegally. His administration guided the state through the Great Recession, which hit Maryland with less force than the rest of the nation.
But O'Malley may be best known as the young, brash, guitar playing councilman improbably elected to lead a majority African American city beset by poverty, abandonment and violent crime. He embraced a new way of thinking about management — relying on data to measure the time it took to fill potholes and fix streetlights — and a tough policing strategy that remains controversial today.