2013 has been an incredible year for our grassroots organization; we’ve added over 40,000 new members this year alone, bringing our current total to over 70,000 fed-up Democrats, Independents, and Republicans from every corner of the state. We’ve also been working non-stop throughout 2013 to continue raising awareness of the issues our state faces and the economic decline that the last seven years of misguided policies have given us. Here’s a look at some of our most important stories from this year:
January: Change Maryland hit the ground running in 2013, releasing a statewide analysis of county-level employment based on figures from the U.S. Department of Labor. By comparing the annual year-end average of employment against previous years, the group found that the largest population centers in the state (Prince Georges, Baltimore County, and Baltimore City) lost the most jobs from 2007 to 2011.
February: In February, the group hosted the Change Maryland Business Summit on Improving Maryland’s Economic Competitiveness. The summit was attended by over 400 business, economic, and policy experts from across the state, and focused on finding solutions that would enable Maryland’s private sector to grow.
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March: Change Maryland continued its focus on the legislative session in March, responding to Governor O’Malley’s push for an increase in the gas tax as well as his signature offshore wind legislation. In both cases, the group continued to reiterate the negative effects both pieces of legislation would have on the state’s economy.
April: In April, news broke of the corruption within the state-run Baltimore City Detention Center, in which it was found that prison employees were smuggling drugs and other contraband to incarcerated members of the Black Guerilla Family gang, as well as engaging in inappropriate activities with them. The story broke while Governor O’Malley was away on a political trip to Middle East, and Change Maryland called for the Governor to return immediately to Annapolis to address the situation.
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May: In May, Change Maryland finalized its list of the 40 consecutive tax, toll, and fee hikeslevied by the O’Malley-Brown Administration since 2007. The group found that these 40 tax increases would cost taxpayers $20 billion by 2018.
June: In June, Change Maryland reached an impressive milestone: Using Facebook as one measurement of support, the group surpassed Governor O’Malley, the candidate for president..
July: While Governor O’Malley attempted to claim the state had recovered 99% of jobs lost since the national recession, Change Maryland was there to immediately refute his outrageous claim. The group pointed out that the unemployment rate on the day that O’Malley took office was 3.7%, meanwhile on the day O’Malley made his claim the unemployment rate was 7%, an increase of more than 100%.
August: In August, Change Maryland responded to Governor O’Malley’s “Better Choices” forum, a self-congratulatory effort where the governor attempted to tout his success in job creation. The group once again led the voice of opposition and published factual data to refute the governor’s false claims.
September: In September, the group finished the summer months strong with 55,000 members.
October: Never content with resting on its laurels, the group continued it’s strong growth throughout the month of October, during which it responded to several important happenings. One was the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s attempt to push through the controversial Phosphorus Management Tool, an intrusive regulation without a proper economic impact study that would put undue burden on Maryland’s farmers.
November: In November, Change Maryland hosted its Fall Harvest Party, a wildly successful event that attracted over 1,200 enthusiastic supporters. Many in attendance called the event one of the most exciting and diverse political event in recent history.
December: Change Maryland finished out 2013 strong by releasing its initial findings from an investigation into the relationship between donations to the Democratic Governor’s Association from state contractors and the benefits those contractors received from the O’Malley-Brown Administration. The group’s findings indicate a disturbing trend of “pay-to-play” politics and cronyism that rewards well-connected elites while ignoring the needs of average Marylanders.
