Thank you County Executive Ulman for hosting us today and for your leadership in Howard County. This is our seventh BRAC Subcabinet meeting and I think I can speak for the entire Subcabinet when I say how much we value the contributions of our partners at the local and county levels.
And, let me reiterate what I feel has become the resounding theme of our meetings all across the State. We recognize what’s on the horizon, we understand our responsibility, and we stand ready for the arrival of 60,000 BRAC jobs and 28,000 new households. A major component of that readiness is on display this afternoon.
It is our ability, as One Maryland, to work across party lines, past local and county borders, and against the tide of what can often appear to be local competition and instead embrace a common goal for the entire state. A goal that cannot be anything short of success.
And a large part of that success is showing off the attributes of our State:
The folks in New Jersey recognize that too. Already, four years before BRAC is fully implemented, a quarter of Ft. Monmouth employees have indicated they will follow their jobs to Maryland. That’s encouraging, especially because we’ve been working with the understanding of past experience that Maryland would have to find bodies for up to 70 percent of the jobs moving here.
If we’ve already convinced 25 percent of the workers to come with their job, I think we can convince a great a deal more as time moves along.
To continue that success, we need to keep working as One Maryland to remain focused on our shared goals:
Because we’ve already been doing these things, because we are built from a tradition that sees a bright future for our children, because we recognize our strengths as a state, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission trusted us to be a national partner in our Nation’s homeland security.
Thank you, again, County Executive Ulman for hosting us today and for being a vital partner in our One Maryland.