Thank you for inviting me this morning. It’s great to start my day with so many friends. Before I get too far along, I want to thank each of you for the service you do for Maryland.
You know, I’ve often said that in Maryland, small business and minority business is the big business. And I want to commend the work you do to employ Maryland’s workforce and to create opportunities for more Marylanders.
Roland Jones, Ken Clark, thank you for your leadership of the Minority Supplier Development Council and for putting this event together. Herb Jordan, thank you for service to the State of Maryland at the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs.
One of the first things Governor O’Malley and I wanted to do after we came into office in January was return professional leadership to State Government. And Luwanda Jenkins, I want to thank you for agreeing to come back. You are doing incredible work at GOMA. Thank you for that kind introduction and keep up the work you and Herb are doing.
Governor O’Malley and I have set ambitious goals for Maryland. Goals which are guided by our values that there is more that unites the people of this state than divides us; that an honest day’s work deserves an honest day’s pay; that we ought to cherish the dignity and contribution of each person; that our greatest strength is our diversity.
So we’re working with partners from all reaches of our One Maryland to meet our goals, which are:
Yet, despite our strengths: the wealthiest state in the nation; the second-most educated workforce; the largest percentage of minority and women-owned business in the country; a community of renowned colleges and universities; an unemployment rate that is nearly a full percentage point below the national average; and one of the busiest biotech corridors in North America… Despite these strengths, we still have work to do.
Despite these strengths, we are still the fourth most violent state in the country; our roads are the second-most congested in the nation; our SAT scores have dropped below the national average; many of our small businesses are struggling to find the workers to fill their workforce needs…
And our minority businesses are facing higher rates of failure than other businesses. We can and will do more.
Governor O’Malley often speaks of the tremendous opportunities in Maryland, opportunities that are ours for the taking if we show the ability to advance along three fronts:
First, security integration so that our criminal justice system, indeed, resembles and acts as a system rather than parallel lines, parallel cultures and datasets that never meet.
Second, sustainability. Environmental preservation, energy conservation, ‘Smart Growth’ policies that ensure that our development reflects the character of our state and not the other way around.
And, lastly: a commitment to people-driven, workforce creation that will guide our economic development for today and that will give you – Maryland’s minority business leaders – access to the skilled, mobile, diverse and educated workforce you need to succeed.
When Governor O’Malley and I came into office in January he asked me to take the lead on several policy fronts: Higher education; BRAC; and economic development. And I’m realizing more each day how often these fronts cross paths. I’m realizing more and more that BRAC will serve as an economic catalyst in Maryland’s small business communities but in order for us to be fully prepared for all its opportunities, we must have the workforce in place sustain the growth of 60,000 new jobs and 28,000 new households.
We must have the resources available so that the opportunities are shared by all Marylanders...
That is the reality that has led Governor O’Malley, and I’m sure you, to the belief that we can only start the process of building an equipped and diverse workforce by investing in education – education at all levels. And this year, we were proud to invest $400 million in school construction, increase Thorton funding by $580 million, and boost funding for higher education by $113 million.
And in that same commitment, we’re working to establish a world-class educational system that teaches marketable skills from the day our kids enter preschool to the day they enter the workforce.
It means that we will encourage the creation of new lesson plans tailored toward the skills necessary to succeed in the economy our kids will inherit. It means that we will invest and place a renewed priority on STEM programs that get kids on the path toward careers in science and technology at an early age. And it means that we’ll create new mentoring opportunities to expose middle and high school students to business and industry leaders like yourselves to the point that you’ll soon serve as adjuncts to our dedicated teachers…
It also means that we’ll make a greater commitment to adult education to help established professionals meet their full earning potential. It means offering easier and more available access to online course work and distance learning so we can break the barriers that separate rural Maryland from the New Economy. And it means continuing our support – this year a 16 percent increase in funding – for community colleges that are training the employees who are filling your immediate workforce needs.
But you know as well as any that workforce creation goes beyond the classroom.
That it calls up us, working as One Maryland, to preserve, promote, improve and sustain our quality of life so we don’t lose talented people to other states or other countries. So it means that we’ll invest in open spaces – parks, bike paths, ball fields. It means that we’ll work with the private sector and local government to have the amenities – the libraries, theaters, restaurants – that educated people expect and demand from the communities. It means ensuring that our government, that our towns, that our schools, and our business communities are as diverse as our population.
And it means renewing our unshakeable commitment to public safety and security integration.
We’re already doing many of these things – and doing them well. If we weren’t…if we weren’t already investing in comprehensive workforce creation and a sustainable quality of life, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission would have never trusted us with the responsibility to play a national role in our Nation’s defense.
I want to close by returning to my original thought. That we share common goals and a common vision for Maryland. We see a state where our children grow up in good schools and in safe neighborhoods; a state where small and big businesses alike contribute to the progress we make as a people; and it’s a state where we all share the responsibility to preserve the quality of life we’ve come to demand.
As we’re all aware, we have tough choices to make. When Governor O’Malley and I took office in January, the previous administration left us a budget that was balanced in name only. But how we got here no longer matters. It falls upon us to balance Maryland’s budget and during the last eight months, we’ve taken important initial steps to protect that future with greater fiscal responsibility:
This upcoming year, we will submit a budget that is balanced in reality and not just on paper. The days of hidden deficit spending are over. Yet the hard truth is that we can only balance the budget by raising revenue and reducing our rate of spending. These are never popular choices. But our goal is not passing a popularity contest. Our goal is to leave our children and their’s a stronger, healthier, safer Maryland for generations to come.
Thank you.