Speeches
Pelosi Remarks at Maryland Governor O’Malley Swearing-in Ceremony
01/17/2007
Annapolis, M.D. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke this afternoon at the swearing-in ceremony for Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. Below are her remarks:
"Thank you for that kind introduction, Congressman Cummings. To the members of the O’Malley and Curran families and the Brown family: congratulations to all of you.
"It is a great personal privilege as well as an official honor to bring greetings to all of you from the Congress of the United States. Congratulations to the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. I know I speak for our great Majority Leader in the Congress, Steny Hoyer, who is here with us today, along with Congressmen Elijah Cummings, Chris Van Hollen, Al Wynn, Dutch Ruppersberger, and Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin as well as former Senator Paul Sarbanes. We all bring greetings to you and also to our former colleague, Governor Ehrlich – thank you for your service to our country.
"I said it was an official honor and indeed it is. I come here with the pledge to work with the new leadership in Maryland, across state lines, city and district lines, and across party lines to find common ground, for the common good – to work together for all Americans. It is an important challenge that we have, and Martin O’Malley demonstrated as a great Mayor of Baltimore, that he will be a great Governor of Maryland.
"I know something about Baltimore Mayors. My father was Mayor from the time I was first grade until I went away to college. I know he is a happy man today. But I have one former Mayor of Baltimore beaming up on this stage and that’s my brother, Tommy D’Alesandro.
"We’ve all watched Martin O’Malley shine as the Mayor. Every time I visited Maryland and Baltimore I saw those signs that say, ‘BELIEVE.’ People responded by having faith in themselves, in the city, and in Martin O’Malley. They trusted him and now they have made him Governor. They know that their trust is well-founded because his first important decision was to name Anthony Brown the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland.
"I look forward to working with you and with the distinguished Maryland delegation to make sure Maryland, which is always in my heart, is always on our agenda in the Congress.
"I wish Martin O’Malley and Anthony Brown and their wonderful families all of the best. I know that they will do a great job. I pray that God will bless them, their families, their work, and that they will make America stronger. God has truly blessed America with their service. Thank you all for making this magnificent day possible for our country. God bless America, God bless all of you."