Annapolis, Maryland
June 28, 2006
Thank you, Anthony.
I’m honored and privileged to be your friend and partner in this campaign.
You’ve brought courage, candor and wisdom to our struggle, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you’ve done, and will do in coming months and years to get this State moving forward once again.
275 days ago, I was joined by my family, my friends, and many of you that are here today as I announced my candidacy to become your next Governor.
I talked that day about my concern for the future of our great State… and how I saw a people with so much potential, and so much strength, actually slipping backwards under an Administration that has failed to capture the vast opportunities that lie before us…. because it was fighting for the big corporate interests and George Bush instead of for our families.
And in the days since, I’ve had the chance to hear stories from every corner of our state… stories of hardship… stories of triumph… and stories of families that give of themselves each and every day to support this community we call Maryland.
Anthony and I have been sitting at kitchen tables across the state listening to families.
And each story I’ve heard has strengthened my resolve, fortified my determination, and reassured me that the choice I made 275 days ago was the right one.
We’ve heard more stories in the last 275 days than I could possibly recount for you here… and they are all different and uniquely personal to the people who told them.
But… my friends… there is one element that they all share in common…
The story we hear too often is one of a family that works hard and plays by the rules but is still struggling to get by. The story we hear too often is, that despite the challenges facing our hardworking families, our governor seems indifferent to our fate.
As my running mate, Anthony Brown, so eloquently illustrated just a few moments ago… we simply cannot afford another four years like the four we just had … and we can no longer afford to be content to merely coast into the 21st Century.
The hardworking families of Maryland deserve leadership that believes that if you work hard and play by the rules you should get ahead.
The hardworking families of Maryland deserve leadership that understands their hopes and dreams as well as their struggles and fears.
The hardworking people of Maryland deserve leadership that will work just as hard as they do every day and will never… ever… stop fighting for progress.
And above all… the families of Maryland deserve leadership that will be on their side – not the side of the big corporate interests.
So…. That is why we are filing our candidacy today… That is why we are running.
We are running to increase opportunity, to strengthen our hardworking families and to expand our middle class.
We are running for the family from Baltimore County who hoped that their daughter would be the first in their family to graduate from college… She can travel as far as her dreams will take her, but her parents don’t know how they’ll afford to pay tuition.
We are running for the single mother in Dundalk, who works two jobs and doesn’t see her son until she comes home and he’s already in bed… she’s got all the drive and talent in the world, but is struggling to keep pace with ever increasing bills.
We are running for the small business owner in Bowie whose ingenuity has provided for his family for years… he doesn’t know how he’ll keep his doors open if health care costs keep rising as they have.
We are running for the Dad in Silver Spring who feels lucky that he has a job he likes and has a beautiful family… but he spends hours each night in traffic and congestion that robs him of the all important dinner-time conversations and little league games that are the backbone of many American families.
My friends, we are running for Maryland’s families… and we won’t stop fighting because we know Maryland can do so much better!
Maryland is a strong state, plain and simple. We are a proud and capable people with enormous resources and potential… but because our governor stands with the corporate interests and George Bush more than he does with us…. we aren’t harnessing that potential in ways drive progress and move our people forward.
Maryland has always been a place where those who work hard and play by the rules could get ahead in life… and that’s what we’ll be again… but we’ll need your help.
We don’t just need your vote…. although that would be nice.
We need your voice to help spread our message of hope and opportunity at the family table and across the backyard fence…
We need your hand to knock on doors or pass out literature and reach the thousands of Marylanders who share our dissatisfaction with the current governor but don’t know what to do…
We need your steadfast dedication to making Maryland as strong as it should be …
Because when we wake up on the morning of November 8, with our feet sore, our voices hoarse, our eyes bloodshot and our will stretched to its limit… we’ll know we’ve struck a blow for progress that will have been heard throughout this great nation…
And we’ll know that we’ve got a brighter, better and stronger four years ahead for each and every one of us.
In a few moments we will walk side-by-side, family-by-family, to file our candidacy.
And Anthony and I promise you, if you entrust us to be your next Governor and Lt. Governor, we will be on your side, and fighting for your family, every single day.
Thank you for joining us today… thank you for all that you’ve done… and thank you for all that you will do to make to the governor’s office back on the side of Maryland families again.
Now what do you say we go make this official…