O'Malley to Travel State To Thank His Supporters
Governor-Elect to Reprise Theme of Unity

By John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 6, 2007; B02

Martin O'Malley (D) announced plans yesterday for a "One Maryland Inaugural Tour and Celebration" in the week leading up to his swearing in Jan. 17 as the state's 61st governor.

The tour, which will also feature Lt. Gov.-elect Anthony G. Brown (D), is scheduled to begin with a town hall meeting Tuesday in Montgomery County and wrap up a week later with a gathering in Annapolis of several hundred high school students, according to O'Malley's inaugural committee. Other stops are planned in Anne Arundel County, Southern Maryland and Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore.

"They are going on the tour because they feel it's important to thank the people who supported them during the campaign, and they campaigned on the theme that we're all in this together, and we're one Maryland," said O'Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese. "It's the way they intend to govern."

The entertainment lineup for the inaugural gala at the Baltimore Convention Center will include 1970s R&B superstars Kool & the Gang; retro swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy; Irish rockers the Saw Doctors; and Latin star Eddie Palmieri Jr.

O'Malley, who until recently fronted a Celtic rock band, has been an opening act for the Saw Doctors.

Tickets for the black-tie-optional gala are $50 and can be bought online at http://www.mdinauguration.com.

O'Malley's swearing-in and inaugural parade will take place in Annapolis.

Besides O'Malley and Brown, Tuesday's town hall meeting will include O'Malley's nominee for transportation secretary, John D. Porcari, and Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D). The meeting will start at 8 p.m. at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington.

© 2007 The Washington Post Company