Owings seeks governor's seat

Announcement finally official after courthouse press conference

Friday, Jan. 8, 2010

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by DARWIN WEIGEL Former state delegate and Maryland Secretary of Veterans Affairs George W. Owings III announced his campaign Wednesday to challenge Gov. Martin O'Malley in the Democratic Party primary in September. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by DARWIN WEIGEL Former state delegate and Maryland Secretary of Veterans Affairs George W. Owings III announced his campaign Wednesday to challenge Gov. Martin O'Malley in the Democratic Party primary in September.

On a bitterly cold day, former state delegate George W. Owings III heated up this year's campaign season by formally announcing his bid for Maryland's top elected office.

Surrounded by a crowd of more than 100 supporters that included a large number of Republicans on the Calvert County Circuit Courthouse lawn in Prince Frederick, the ex-Calvert County lawmaker wasted no time in bashing Gov. Martin O'Malley's fiscal management, assailing his treatment of the business community and criticizing his efforts to repeal the death penalty.

"The time to return to a day of good government is upon us," he said.

Owings, 64, of Dunkirk, served in the General Assembly for 16 years, the last 10 as House Majority Whip, espousing conservative views on hot-button issues like abortion, gun rights and tobacco. He left the legislature in 2004 to become veterans affairs secretary under Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a job he held through the first four months of the O'Malley administration before being replaced.

Casting himself as a moderate alternative to O'Malley (D), Owings conceded his longshot status, but said he intends to run a sound campaign that will spell out the differences between the two men and give voters a clear choice in next September's primary election.

"It's easy to stand here and just throw stones," he said. "That's not what I'm about."

For instance, he said the state's budget needs a thorough overhaul that would "focus on necessities, not the luxuries."

But Owings did not restrain his criticism of the current governor.

Owings pledged to embrace a business community that he alleged has been made to feel unwelcome by O'Malley. He specifically pointed to a $1.4 billion package of tax hikes pushed by the governor during a special legislative session in 2007 that predated the recession and has so far failed to fix the state's long-term fiscal woes.

As revenues tanked and the economy worsened, O'Malley made a series of budget cuts that Owings said have had devastating consequences.

"Even the most vulnerable citizens of our state could not escape the butcher's knife," he said.

And a shortfall of at least $1 billion remains for fiscal 2011.

Additionally, he criticized O'Malley for winning only modest credits for Baltimore Gas & Electric ratepayers, failing to deliver the long-term rate relief that he promised during his first gubernatorial campaign.

The campaign slogan that O'Malley used in his 2006 defeat of Ehrlich — "Leadership That Works" – has ended up being a "veiled and empty promise," Owings said.

Owings further chided Maryland's troubled slots program and O'Malley's "personal involvement" in pushing to repeal the state's capital punishment statute for the last two years.

"There are some crimes that exceed rationale, that exceed compassion and are worthy of the most punitive sentence we can mete out," he said, mentioning the alleged kidnapping and murder last month of an 11-year-old Salisbury girl as one example where prosecutors should be able to seek the death penalty.

Owings conceded that it will be an uphill battle to defeat a well-funded incumbent in a Democratic primary who has the support of most elected Democrats. But he said he has heard enough frustration from moderate members of his party to be convinced that voters might back someone new.

Audience members agreed and said Owings' candidacy should not be taken lightly.

"It's obvious that there is a disturbance within the Democratic Party," said Thomas E. "Tim" Hutchins, a former Republican state delegate from Charles County. He believes Owings can pick up support from various constituencies throughout the state.

Although Owings remains close to Ehrlich, he said the ex-governor did not ask him to get in the race to weaken O'Malley ahead of a potential rematch in the general election if Ehrlich decides to run.

Owings told reporters that he would name a running mate next week who hails from one of the "Big Three" Democratic jurisdictions — Montgomery and Prince George's counties and Baltimore city – to help balance the ticket.

As Owings announced his entry in the gubernatorial race, top Democratic officials sought to discredit his party credentials.

In remarks sent to reporters and later posted to the Maryland Democratic Party's blog, chairwoman Susan W. Turnbull called him a "loyal appointee of Bob Ehrlich" and suggested that Owings has a vendetta against O'Malley for his dismissal.

"This ‘challenge' sounds a little too personal and it makes you wonder whether George Owings is still reading from Bob Ehrlich's talking points," she wrote.

The strong Republican presence at Owings' kickoff event included former St. Mary's County Commissioner Thomas F. McKay, who ran unsuccessfully for state senate in 2006.

"The Republicans from Southern Maryland just want good conservative leadership in Annapolis and if it means supporting a Democrat to be successful," he said as his words trailed off. "It's kind of easy to support guys like George no matter which party they are."