Anthony Brown's Announcement Speech

Mitchellville, Prince George’s County, December 12, 2005

Thank you, Mayor O’Malley, thank you, Senator Currie, thank you everyone.

Martin, thank you for that kind introduction. You can see why I’m energized to be a part of the O’Malley-Brown team. Martin O’Malley is going to be a great Governor.

Senator Currie, for nearly 20 years in the legislature, you have served with dignity, lived with integrity and led by example. Thank you for being my mentor, my partner, and most of all, thank you for being my friend.

I’m extremely grateful to see so many of my friends from Prince George’s County this morning. I am here, today, because of your help. And we’re also joined by more than a handful of friends from Baltimore and other parts of our state. Thank you for being here and for your support.

I’m proud and excited to be here this morning to join Martin O’Malley as his partner in getting Maryland back on track … to bring opportunity to Maryland’s families … to make our state even stronger … and to bring back to Annapolis leadership that works.

Martin, you have energized Baltimore with your leadership, you have inspired all of us with your candidacy, and now you honor me with your confidence. And so today, I am proud to stand with you and accept your offer to serve as Maryland’s next Lieutenant Governor … and to serve as your partner when you, Martin O’Malley, become the next governor of the State of Maryland.

Since I may be a new face for many people in our state – a new face with some old-fashioned values – I would like to offer just a few words about who I am.

Some people know me as Delegate Brown, or Attorney Brown, or even Colonel Brown. In fact, this may be the first time a colonel has been excited to become a lieutenant!

But first and foremost, I’m a proud husband and father to my wife Patricia and our children Rebecca and Jonathan. And I’m so pleased that they are here with me this morning.

They are my foundation and my future.

Today, I stand on the shoulders of a father and mother whose faith was our foundation, who insisted on excellence, and who, by their example, inspired me to a life of service.

I’m a first-generation American. My father grew up in Jamaica. He came to this country to get a college education. He spent most of his career as a doctor working in the poorest hospitals in New York State, caring for some of the most underserved communities. And my father told me: “Son, you need to serve somebody before you can serve yourself.”

And my mother, who has joined me this morning with my brother Chris, was born in the foothills of the Swiss Alps in a small town called Altdorf. She inspired me and Chris, and our brothers and sister Geraldine to pursue our dreams. A dream of individual achievement that she taught us could be fulfilled through hard work and determination.

Our parents also taught us that the greatest thing we could possess was not a material good, but a good education.

On the day of this announcement, I am so thankful and reminded more than ever – only in our America would the son of immigrants have this opportunity to serve.

Even before I ran for office, I’ve tried to make an impact, here, in our community … to heed my father’s advice and help as many people as I can during this short life.

My parents encouraged me to get a college education. That’s why, as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Prince George’s Community College, I worked with others to open the doors of higher education to students who had never dreamed that far, whose parents had never attended college, and never believed their children would, as well. We built new classrooms. We recruited new leadership to take the College to the next level. And in Prince George’s County, we took pride in keeping tuition affordable … to open up more opportunities to get ahead – rather than raising costs and reducing hope.

For the last three years, our governor has closed the door of opportunity in higher education to many in our state, and when we’re elected, Martin O’Malley and I pledge to re-open them.

When we’re elected, we will restore the great Maryland tradition that, when it comes to our public colleges and universities, funding must be high and tuition low – and not the other way around!

Since taking office, I’ve worked with Adoptions Together, a nonprofit adoption agency, to place foster and adoptive children into caring, loving and permanent families. Like all of you, I know that the most important thing in a child’s life is having loving parents.

I’ve worked hard to reform Maryland’s adoption and foster care laws – because I know that the only sure way to a stronger society, a stronger Maryland, is to have stronger families.

Thanks to many of the people in this room, I’ve had the opportunity to serve you in the House of Delegates, bringing together people with different views and beliefs – from across the state … to compromise, to build consensus, and to move our state forward on difficult issues.

We must return to an understanding that compromise is not a dirty word; it’s how we make progress together. And Maryland needs to get back to making progress.

I’ve had the privilege to serve our country in the Armed Forces with many patriotic and dedicated Americans.

When I graduated from college on an ROTC scholarship, I spent five years on active duty. I spent most of my time working along side extraordinary men and women, from every imaginable background, from all corners of this vast country. We all believed that what we were doing was important. We occasionally let ourselves believe that we were part of something bigger than what we did on any given day. For us, serving our country was based on a willingness and a passion to serve others by serving in our nation’s military.

And it is those experiences – in the military and in the legislature – that have proven what I’ve known to be true all my life … America’s diversity truly is our greatest strength.

My upbringing and my experiences have shaped my values. They’ve shaped my vision for our state. And Martin O’Malley shares my values and vision … he shares our values and vision.

Martin, like me, is a husband and a father – he understands the triumphs and struggles of Maryland’s families. He’s a man of integrity, compassion and vision. He has the courage to take on tough challenges – and he has the determination and endurance to get the job done.

And Martin O’Malley is a proven leader – just look at Baltimore’s progress. Today, crime is down in our State’s largest city – to the lowest level since the 1960s – and we’re leading America’s big cities … test scores and graduation rates are up … and a city that had been shrinking for the last 50 years is now creating jobs, attracting investment and beginning to grow and rebuild again. Baltimore is coming back.

Martin O’Malley restored hope to Baltimore, by working in partnership with everyone in the city, by making everyone a part of the comeback of a great city. It’s that sense of partnership that Martin O’Malley will bring to Annapolis, to get Maryland working again.

As Martin and I talked about our plans and dreams for Maryland’s future, it became very clear to me that Martin O’Malley has a deep-rooted passion for public service … I feel that energy. I sense that purpose he has … and I share that passion and purpose.

Together, we are going to travel to every part of our state, earning your support … and we are going to work hard, each and every day, for Maryland’s families. And as my mother taught me, hard work is how we get ahead.

We are going to get Maryland moving again … In Annapolis, we should be fighting for the people who elected us, not fighting against each other.

We are going to work to make opportunity available to every child … every parent … every senior – we can’t look for loopholes to not fully fund the Thornton education reforms, or choose to raise tuition beyond the reach of working families. And we will connect that quality education to quality jobs … and secure retirements. Maryland needs more opportunity for all of our people.

We are going to make our state strong again. We need to do everything we can to improve public safety, including getting State agencies into the game, to make every neighborhood in our state safe. Every child … every senior … everywhere in Maryland … should be safe.

As many of you know, I just spent almost ten months in Iraq.

I didn’t need to travel to Baghdad to witness Maryland as a world leader in healthcare – the home of two major medical research institutions, with a community hospital system that is second to none, and a world-renowned trauma system.

I didn’t need to visit Iraq’s port city of Basra to appreciate Maryland’s excellent transportation infrastructure, including an extensive interstate system, the Baltimore-Washington/Thurgood Marshall International Airport, and the Port of Baltimore – which is a top-ranked port in America.

But I did spend almost a year away from my family. And when I returned, I realized that what we have in Maryland, and what makes us strong as a nation, is an abiding trust in one another. A faith that we are all committed to each other, regardless of our differences. And it is this faith and trust that will be the foundation of our success in Maryland.

In order to achieve that success, we are going to restore, to Maryland, leadership that works – we all want the same better future for our children, and we need to find a way to set aside barriers of race … of class … of party … and of place … to work, together, to get there. Maryland needs leadership that works.

I am deeply honored that Martin O’Malley has offered me a true partnership, and when we’re elected, it’s a partnership that we’ll extend to the General Assembly, to local elected officials, and to the people of Maryland. And it’s that sense of partnership that’s been missing in Annapolis for the last three years, the old-fashioned idea that yes, we’re all in this together.

I have faith in all of you. I have faith in this strong state. And I have faith in this great nation.

And my pledge to you, today, is that no one will care more, no one will fight fiercer, and no one will work harder for the kind of Maryland in which we all believe than Martin O’Malley and Anthony Brown. Maryland should be the strongest state in America, and Maryland will be the strongest state in America.

Together, we can win this election for the O’Malley-Brown Team, and we can win this election for the people of Maryland.

Thank you.

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