Baltimore Sun Op-Ed: Moving Maryland Forward – A Vision for the Future
The Baltimore Sun
Tuesday, October 29, 2030
Over the last four years, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Burbank and I have worked together to move Maryland forward. We have made important progress working with the legislature, local officials and Maryland’s citizens. Now our thoughts turn to the future. My running mate, John Hurson, and I have a very clear vision to take Maryland to the next level. It is a vision based on our philosophy that government can, and does, make a positive difference in people’s lives.
Education for a lifetime
Providing a good education for Maryland’s children remains our top priority. The past four years have brought dramatic improvement to our schools. We have increased annual K-12 education funding by $1.4 billion, or 20%. We have invested a record $2 billion in school construction, building or modernizing 9,000 classrooms. Student achievement continues to rise. We are working to reduce class sizes and have committed State funding to help local districts hire 1,500 new teachers in high-shortage subject areas and schools. And we have provided unprecedented support for early childhood education, expanding pre-K access to an additional 53,000 children.
To widen the doors of educational opportunity, we provided every Maryland high school student graduating in the top 20% of their class with two years of free classes at community colleges and vocational schools. We have expanded student financial assistance to 15,000 additional students, and this year, Maryland colleges and universities froze college tuition rates for the first time in 20 years.
Over the next four years, we will build or renovate an additional 9,000 classrooms, intensify our efforts to turn around underperforming schools and work to ensure universal access to pre-K education. We will also continue our efforts to ensure that every student who wants to go to college can go to college.
Expanding access to health care
Working together, we have expanded health care coverage to over 180,000 previously uninsured Marylanders. We passed the landmark All Kids program, making Maryland one of only three states to guarantee affordable health insurance to every child. For the first time in recent memory, the number of Marylanders without health insurance is declining. Over the next four years, we will work with the legislature to develop a plan to ensure that every Marylander has access to quality, affordable health care.
Tough on crime
Under the leadership of Lt. Gov. Burbank, we have fought aggressively against crime. We passed the nation’s toughest anti-gun violence. We eliminated parole for violent offenders, toughened sentences and community supervision for violent sex offenders, passed the strongest laws against domestic violence in the nation, and launched an unprecedented community policing initiative to put 1,500 additional police officers on the streets. As a result of our efforts, violent crime in Maryland has dropped nearly 19 percent, a rate more than 8 times faster than the national average. We will continue to provide our law enforcement officers with the tools they need to protect our communities.
Fiscal responsibility and making government work again
Working together, we turned $8.2 billion in projected shortfalls into a $1 billion annual surplus. And, as a result of our efforts to make State government work again, Maryland has been recognized as the best managed state in the nation. We will continue to insist upon accountability in State government and be judicious in the expenditure of taxpayer dollars.
Fostering economic opportunity
Over the last four years, nearly 244,000 jobs have been created in Maryland. Over this period, Maryland has created jobs at a faster pace than all but two states. Our unemployment rate is at a 12-year low and ranks sixth lowest in the nation. And our economic progress continues to benefit every region of the state. We are proud of our success and remain committed to continuing to create new jobs and new opportunities for Marylanders in every area of our state.
Protecting Maryland’s environment
We are committed to protecting our air and water from polluters and unchecked development. That is why we are rehabilitating 60,000 acres of wetlands, planting 600 miles of trees along waterways and setting aside thousands of acres for open spaces. I am proud that we have permanently preserved nearly 100,000 acres of pristine forests, farmland, marshes and wetlands from future development. Eventually, our goal is to preserve and protect 200,000 acres from development.
We will continue to protect the heart and soul of Maryland -- the Chesapeake Bay. In addition, we will revitalize established neighborhoods through our anti-sprawl program known as smart growth. Already, neighborhoods like Highlandtown feel the positive effects of smart growth. Businesses and families are returning and soon will become a strength in our already booming economy.
Forward Together
We have a vision of a fair, inclusive, just and compassionate society. It is because of that vision that I hope you will send Lt. Gov. Burbank to the United States Senate, where she will fight passionately for Maryland’s working families. And I hope that you will give me and John Hurson the opportunity to serve you for the next four years. Working together, we can build that One Maryland we seek. Working together, we will move forward together.
The author is the Democratic governor of Maryland.
