Martin O'Malley: Biography

James Joyce once wrote: Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion. This might serve as a keynote for a biography of Martin O’Malley, the Mayor of Baltimore City, who is now running for Governor of the State of Maryland. The citation, from the premier Irish novelist, trumpets qualities all found in abundance in Martin.

Called one of America’s five best mayors by Time magazine, Martin is a fearless, intelligent public servant who puts people before politics. During his six years as mayor of Baltimore City, he has worked tirelessly with the city’s citizens and public servants to make it a more beautiful, cleaner city where people want to live and businesses want to invest. Proof that the O’Malley Administration’s drive to improve the quality of life in Baltimore is now bearing fruit is seen in the largest decline in violent crime of any big city in the country and in increased achievement and test scores across the board in city schools. This year the City also had a $38 million budget surplus – the largest in Baltimore’s history – and a 5 year, $75 million tax cut which has reduced property taxes to a 30 year low.

Martin O’Malley sums up Baltimore’s comeback this way: “Our story is the story of perseverance, it is the story of hope in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds, and it is the story of hard work and a courageous and diverse people who join together time and time again to triumph over adversity.”

More Work to Do
Martin decided to run for public office, realizing it was an even more direct way to make a difference in people’s lives. In 1990, Martin ran for the Maryland State Senate and was winning by 5 votes on the morning after Election Day, but absentee ballots gave his opponent the election by a scant 44 votes.

A year later he ran for a vacant City Council seat in Baltimore’s 3rd District. This time he didn’t just win – he led the entire ticket. In his two terms on the council, Martin concentrated on housing and public safety issues, was a strong advocate for reducing property taxes, encouraged businesses to return to Baltimore, and protected the interests of the families of the 3rd District. He chaired the Legislative Investigations Committee and the Taxation & Finance Committee, and he became known for his outspokenness and the fierceness of his devotion to his constituents and the City. As a member of the City Council, Martin worked with the people of Baltimore on a daily basis and once again, he heard their calls for a new approach to combating violent crime in the City.

In 1999, Martin announced he would run for Mayor. After a campaign marked by frank and honest dialogue about the City’s fears and hopes and a call to action that “there is more that unites us than divides us,” Martin won a competitive, three-way Democratic primary with over 50% of the vote and was then elected Mayor of Baltimore in 1999 at the age of 36, with 91% of the vote in the general election.

“I feared not trying more than I feared losing.”

Martin O'Malley: A Record of Achievement
During Martin’s two terms as mayor, Baltimore has become 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.

His emphasis on public safety, and the hard work of police and Baltimore neighborhood citizens, has brought about nearly a 40% reduction in violent crime, which leads the nation. Recognizing the relationship between addiction and criminal behavior, Martin led the way for Baltimore to double the money it spends on drug treatment, creating new substance abuse facilities and increasing drug treatment funding. As a result, Baltimore had the nation’s second largest decline in drug-related emergency room visits.

Martin has 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. There is a weekly meeting in which city department managers meet with the Mayor’s office and are brought to task for their results. The power of information technology has been harnessed to manage the complexities of modern urban systems and procedures. CitiStat has saved Baltimore residents more than $160 million by making government more efficient and more responsive. In 2004, Martin’s CitiStat accountability tool won Harvard University’s prestigiousInnovations in American Government award.

“It was not enough to just have dreams, you have to have faith that one person makes a difference. You have to be willing to risk action on that faith. And that’s kind of a core belief of mine, and that’s what kept me in politics.”

Martin takes particular pride in having made it easier for Baltimore’s children to achieve and succeed in their education, a measuring stick in the progress of any modern society. Baltimore schools are on the mend for the first time in a generation. For the past three years, elementary school students have posted higher scores in reading, language arts, and mathematics at every grade level. Three of the top 10 high schools on the Maryland High School Assessment were Baltimore City Schools. And Baltimore’s elementary students’ achievement on state assessment tests is at the top of the largest urban school systems in the United States. Per-pupil spending has increased 14% since 2000, and Baltimore schools have received an unprecedented 37% increase in per capita funding over the last few years, with significant credit going to increased, effective lobbying on the City’s behalf at the state level.

Martin also champions an economic development strategy dedicated to investing in all of Baltimore’s people and to improving the quality of life for the people who live and work in the City. O’Malley’s administration has also reversed a long trend by bringing new jobs into the city and by nearly doubling the value of City contracts to minority and women owned firms. Under O’Malley, Baltimore lowered violent crime by nearly 40%—the largest decline among ALL major cities. O’Malley has promoted job growth by attracting over $7 billion in economic development, reversed Baltimore’s decades long population loss, and home values are once again rising. Through better law enforcement, drug treatment, and intervention in the lives of children, drug use has seen a dramatic decline. Under O’Malley, student achievement and test scores in Baltimore are improving for the first time in a generation, and he has rescued the city’s public school system from bankruptcy.

Martin has also managed to achieve national prominence as a leading voice for homeland security for the nation’s cities. Since 2003, he has chaired the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Homeland Security Task Force. In 2004, O’Malley was asked to address a primetime national audience at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. O’Malley used the opportunity to bring attention to the crises facing our nation’s cities in addressing homeland security needs to defend against terrorism. “Sadly and unforgivably almost three years after that fateful day when thousands of moms and dads, sons and daughters didn’t come from work on September 11th, America’s cities and towns, America’s ports and borders and America’s heartland remain needlessly vulnerable.”

In 2004, O’Malley was elected to a second term as Mayor of Baltimore receiving 88% of the vote.
In addition to his duties as Mayor, Martin O’Malley is a Member of the Board of Directors for the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, the Maryland African American Museum Corporation and the Maryland Municipal League. O’Malley is a Member of the Board of Visitors for the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical System; a Co-Chair of the Task Force on Federal-Local Law Enforcement and a Member of the Advisory Board for the U.S. Conference of Mayors; and the Chair of the International Task Force for the National League of Cities.

Among the honors Martin O’Malley and his Administration have received include: the Urban Innovation Award from Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; the Innovations in American Government from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government; the Award for Public Service, from the Center for Irish Program of Boston College; the National Award for Local Arts Leadership from the U.S. Conference of Mayors; the National Association of Counties’ Multicultural Diversity Award for extraordinary outreach to ethnic communities; O’Malley received an honorary degree from Villa Julie College; in 2002 Esquire Magazine named Martin “The Best Young Mayor in the Country” and in 2005 Time Magazine named him one of America’s “Top 5 Big City Mayors.” In August 2005, Business Week listed O’Malley as one of “Five Fresh Faces” to lead the Democratic Party.
Martin and his wife Katie, a District Court Judge, live in Northeast Baltimore with their daughters, Grace and Tara, and sons William and Jack. They are members of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.

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Accomplishments

Strengthening Our Homeland Security
Martin O’Malley believes our local communities are the frontline for America’s homeland security. As Mayor of Baltimore, O’Malley has become a national leader in homeland security and has worked hard to protect both the people of Baltimore and its infrastructure. READ MORE

Making Our Streets and Neighborhoods Safe
Martin O’Malley believes public safety is the most basic responsibility of government and the foundation on which every successful community is built. During his tenure, O’Malley has produced the largest reduction in violent crime in the nation – nearly 40%. READ MORE

Creating Better, Higher-Paying Jobs for Maryland
Martin O’Malley believes that everyone should have the opportunity to work and succeed to the best of their ability. Martin O’Malley’s reforms are empowering entrepreneurs in every community and have resulted in record investment in the City of Baltimore. READ MORE

Improving Our Education System
Martin O’Malley believes the most important opportunity we can provide a child is a first rate education – whether they’re rich or poor. READ MORE

Restoring Fiscal Discipline
In 2005, Martin O’Malley announced that Baltimore had produced a record budget surplus. O’Malley has cut property taxes, made government more responsive, restored fiscal discipline, improved the quality of life and made Baltimore a better place to raise a child. READ MORE

Investing in Local Communities
Martin O’Malley believes that strong communities are the fabric of our state and that government should work to improve the quality of life. O’Malley invested in local communities by rebuilding schools, cutting crime and attracting new businesses and homeowners. READ MORE

Providing Quality Affordable Health Care
Martin O’Malley believes access to health care should be a right – not a privilege. As Mayor, O’Malley has worked to ensure more people have access to quality and affordable health care and he has lowered the cost of prescription drugs. READ MORE

Protecting Our Environment and Natural Resources
Martin O’Malley believes everyone should have the opportunity to breathe clean air, drink clean water and enjoy our treasure, the Chesapeake Bay. O’Malley has led new programs to clean-up the Bay, encouraged Smart Growth and worked to promote clean water. READ MORE

Improving Our Transportation System
Martin O’Malley believes that good transportation planning is the key to attracting new jobs and maintaining a high quality of life. O’Malley is determined to use the best combination of all transportation options to end the state’s traffic gridlock nightmares. READ MORE

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