Maryland Democratic Party Fires Warning Salvo at Ehrlich

Dear Former Governor Ehrlich,

Running for governor is an intensely personal decision for you and your family, and no one – Republicans or Democrats – should fault you for taking the time to consider your prospects in 2010. As you conduct – in your own words – your “objective analysis,” “hold focus groups” and “look at cross-tabs,” I wanted to make sure that you and your pollster ask the right questions on which to base your decision.

For instance, do voters know that:

1. You increased spending by almost 22% in your last two years in office - exceeding the Spending Affordability guidelines?

2. You raised more than $3 billion in hidden taxes, tolls and fees on Maryland families?

3. You raised taxes on income from manufacturing?

4. You raised state property taxes 57%?

5. You raised the corporate filing fees by $188 million during your first three years in office?

These are very important questions that you should ask in your poll – especially since spending levels in the State of Maryland are lower today than they were during your last year in office. No doubt voters will be very interested in your spending record given the state of the national economy.

Voters and opinion leaders are already aware that you were the only incumbent governor in the country to lose re-election in November. Sure it was a bad year for Republicans after six years of George Bush, but you were the only incumbent governor of either party to lose re-election. So, as you prepare your poll and focus groups, I recommend you ask whether you would, yet again:

· Cut funding for K-12 public education, since you failed to fully-fund Thornton while you were in office.

· Roll-back the progress we have made to make college more affordable by increasing college tuition by over 40% again, as you did during your term in office.

· Start raiding Program Open Space dollars instead of making difficult decisions to balance the budget.

· Block any increase in the minimum wage for hard working Marylanders.

Warm Regards,

Susan W. Turnbull
Chair, Maryland State Democratic Party

P.S. Please also be sure that you ask voters about your flip flop on slots, which you supported for all four years of your Administration as the centerpiece of your budget program, only to oppose in last year’s referendum, which passed with 59% of support from Maryland’s voters.
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George Wenschhof

The battle for the 2010 governorship of Maryland has been engaged early with the Maryland Democratic Party sending out the above open letter to former Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich.

This follows Ehrlich's appearance at a rally in Ellicott City on Tuesday night where over 200 enthusiastic supporters were speculating as to whether he will challenge Governor Martin O'Malley in next year's contest.

The open letter also comes after a recent poll released last week, showed less than flattering numbers for Governor O'Malley. The poll showed O'Malley with a 48% approval rating with only 39% of the voters indicating they wanted to re-elect him. The poll also showed 48% of the voters wanted someone new and in a head to head with Ehrlich, O'Malley led by only 47-40.

While the demographics and voter registration strongly favoring Democratic candidates in the state of Maryland, Ehrlich did win in 2002.

Stay Tuned!

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