O'Malley Says He Won't Run For Governor
 

Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 6, 2002; Page A01

BALTIMORE, June 5 -- Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley ended months of speculation today by announcing that he would not run for governor, but the mayor did not endorse the
frontrunner, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and criticized his own Democratic Party as "adrift."

At a noontime news conference at a downtown hotel, O'Malley said that deciding not to run for governor was "the most difficult political decision of my life."

"Difficult because it is counter to my nature to back down from tough fights -- especially when so much is at stake," he said. "Difficult because my party is adrift. Difficult because the
pursuit of justice has too often taken a back seat to the accumulation of power. Difficult because so much of our future progress as a people depends on the relationship of our city and
state."

O'Malley was the last prominent Democrat considering running against Townsend, who has seen such other potential challengers as Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan
and Prince George's County Executive Wayne K. Curry fall by the wayside. Maryland voters now will see an extended campaign through November's general election between Townsend
and the GOP's U.S. Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

Ehrlich had hoped for a divisive primary to bloody the Democratic nominee. In a state where Democrats far outnumber Republicans, Ehrlich is looking for any advantage he can find as he
heads into the November election. But with O'Malley out of the race, Townsend, who has raised more than $5 million for her campaign, can set her sights exclusively on Ehrlich.

Ehrlich might get some benefit financially from O'Malley's departure from the race. Some conservative Democrats, business leaders and gambling proponents who otherwise might have
given to O'Malley might contribute to the Republican instead.

Townsend called O'Malley's decision to stay out of the race "a good thing for the Democratic Party."

"My instinct has been all along that [O'Malley] would keep his promise to the people of Baltimore," she said. "I'm excited about working with the mayor to make the city of Baltimore a
fabulous city."

Since the beginning of the year, O'Malley had been publicly mulling a bid for governor, holding high-profile fundraisers and opening a campaign headquarters as recently as last week.
He also has been critical of Townsend, lamenting "a vacuum of leadership in the state Democratic Party." And he has taken shots at legislative leaders for not doing more for Baltimore as
he tried to position himself as the outsider candidate in a party that has dominated Maryland politics for generations.

A first-term mayor, O'Malley did offer a fresh face and a potential threat to Townsend, who has become the establishment candidate. He is 39, a charismatic campaigner who fronts his
own Irish rock band and has received national attention for his new management programs in the city.

Dozens of city officials and supporters, as well as his wife, Katie, who is a district court judge, joined him at today's announcement. O'Malley never uttered Townsend's name. But in a
reference to his party's mascot, he said, "I've carried a lot of water for this donkey, and I will be supporting the Democratic party's nominee in the fall."

He also said he made his decision not to run without any outside pressure. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear: I was not promised financial or political support in the future for not
running," he said. He said he was staying to finish his agenda for the city.

O'Malley quickly left the hotel after his 10-minute speech and was not available for questions.

Townsend confirmed O'Malley's statement that there were no deals. She said she didn't know what his decision would be until she saw him speak on television; Baltimore television
stations carried portions of his announcement live.

Still, there have been occasional communications between the two camps, most recently through House Appropriations Committee Chairman Howard P. Rawlings, an influential Democrat
from Baltimore.

Two weeks ago, O'Malley gave Rawlings a list of things he would like the next governor to do for Baltimore, including provide more money for drug treatment and for economic
development. Rawlings, who backed O'Malley for mayor but has endorsed Townsend for governor, delivered that list to the lieutenant governor.

On Tuesday, Townsend's campaign called Rawlings to let him know that Townsend would announce her support for most of the items on the list during two appearances Thursday in
Baltimore.

"As you can imagine, they're the same things that I've always been dedicated to: drug treatment, crime reduction," Townsend said at a campaign rally at an Annapolis restaurant where
she received the endorsement of the mayor of Annapolis, Democratic lawmakers from Anne Arundel County and a host of other officials.

Rawlings said that O'Malley did not ask him to deliver the list to Townsend but that he gave it to her so she would know what the mayor was thinking.

Aides said the list was not part of O'Malley's decision-making. "None of these things should come as any surprise to anyone who had followed the work of this mayor's administration
and advocacy in Annapolis," said O'Malley spokesman Steve Kearney.

O'Malley made his decision about a week ago. His thinking clarified as he visited an old friend and member of his band who was dying of cancer.

" 'Your problem, Martin, is you're drawn to the toughest fights,' " O'Malley said his friend told him. " 'But serving Baltimore, now, is the tougher of the two fights you weigh.' "

Some analysts have speculated that in a majority-African American city, O'Malley was considering a run for governor because he fears his chances of reelection should a strong black
candidate emerge.

NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, who attended O'Malley's announcement and once considered a run for mayor himself, disagreed. "If he deserves reelection, he will get it. It's going to
be based on something more valuable than race" as voters evaluate the mayor's record, he said.

O'Malley's decision heartened Townsend supporters.

"It's a relief," said Del. Joan Cadden (D-Anne Arundel). "He would have divided the city. I still think she would have won. But it would have divided the city and absolutely divided my
county."

"He made the right choice for his constituents and for the interests of the state," said Sen. Philip C. Jimeno (D-Anne Arundel), who said a Townsend-O'Malley matchup would have been
"very bitterly divisive."

On the downside, Jimeno said, with O'Malley out, "a lot of money will open for Ehrlich," especially from gambling interests.

Ehrlich said today that he had seen an surge in contributions in recent days as rumors began circulating that O'Malley had decided he would not run. "These are folks who if they wanted
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend as governor, they would have given her early money, and they were not giving her early money," he said.

                                                 © 2002 The Washington Post Company