I am extremely honored to stand before you today. Four years ago, the people of Baltimore County entrusted me with the responsibility of being County Executive and together we created a partnership to move Baltimore County forward. On November 7th, they renewed our partnership, and I am gratified and humbled by their affirmation of our work together.
Today, as I reflect on the past four years and begin my second term in office, I want to thank the people of Baltimore County and our Baltimore County employees for creating a better Baltimore County. I also want to thank my family who have been with me on this journey that started more than four years ago. To my wife Sandy, and to all of my children and grandchildren, I simply say thank you for your support and your caring.
When I stood here four years ago, it was clear to me that the people of Baltimore County wanted education to be a priority and wanted to be safe and secure in their homes and places of business. It was clear that they wanted to preserve the character and personality of the historic neighborhoods that form the bedrock of our communities while moving them forward into the 21st Century.
My friends, in 2002, we heard this message, and we took the needs and priorities of the people of Baltimore County to heart. Working hand in hand with the County Council and the people and businesses of our County, we have fashioned a renaissance that has touched the spirit and the soul of Baltimore County and created new opportunity for all its families.
From the waterfront of Essex, to the bustling marketplaces of Liberty Road, to East Drive in Arbutus, our communities have experienced a renewed spirit of opportunity as a new generation of homeowners have established roots in our historic neighborhoods and set up new businesses that light up once vacant shopping centers and commercial street corners.
There is new opportunity for the children of Lansdowne who can now explore magical worlds and new ideas in the new Lansdowne Library. There is new opportunity for our school children who attend new state of the art elementary and middle schools and for our children whose schools have been renovated so that roofs don't leak and where the science labs reflect the new millennium. There is greater opportunity for our older citizens who flock to new and improved senior centers.
Leonardo DaVinci once said, “Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.” Those words resonate for us today. The renaissance of Baltimore County has been successful because it is far more than the bricks and mortar of our new community centers and schools. Our renaissance has flourished thanks to the renewed spirit of optimism that has inspired people in every neighborhood of every community of Baltimore County.
I have seen this spirit of optimism in the faces of the families who live around Kingsley Park, in the ringing of cash registers at the businesses of the merchants of our historic downtowns, and in the enthusiastic involvement of our citizens with Urban Design Assistance Teams in Towson, Essex/Middle River, Randallstown, and Dundalk.
We have seen the spirit of our renaissance time, and time again in the generous nature of the people of Baltimore County. From the outpouring of support and assistance on behalf of our waterfront communities following the devastation of Hurricane Isabel, to the generosity and compassion I see in those who volunteer their time everyday at places like the Maryland Food Bank and in our schools, Baltimore County has shown what can be done when neighbors help neighbors. Volunteerism is at the heart of our renaissance. Healthy communities thrive because they have people who care, who get involved, and who watch out for the needs of their neighbors. The selflessness and generosity of volunteers is the fabric that holds communities together throughout America, and Baltimore County is no exception.
Today, in that same spirit of optimism, I recommit myself to this renaissance that we started four years ago, and I ask all our partners and all of our communities to do the same. I see a boundless future of possibilities for our County, but these possibilities can only be realized through the collaboration and consensus that have brought us to where we are today. We have accomplished a great deal, and with your help we will reach even greater heights. We have new schools to build, high schools to renovate, roads to open, and community centers to complete. We will build a state-of-the art Agricultural Center and erect shining new libraries to serve our communities.
I pledge today to continue providing our police officers and fire fighters with the resources they need to ensure our safety. They will have the training and the tools they need to be successful.
We are very proud that Route 43, the Road to Opportunity, is now open for business, and we are moving full speed ahead in preparation for the 10,000 jobs that will be coming into our region as a result of the BRAC realignment. Our investments provide real hope for working families, a dream that must become our common legacy.
We will continue to recognize the fact that workers in our economy are no longer competing across the county, state, or even across the nation. In 2006, we are competing across the ocean. Our policies must reflect the new and increasingly flat world in which we live and must prepare the children of Baltimore County to compete and succeed in the global community which is already upon us.
We have outstanding public schools in Baltimore County. They exist in neighborhoods all across this county. As we continue to work with Dr. Joe Hairston and the School Board, it is imperative that every child in Baltimore County has the opportunity to attend a school of which we can all be proud. Every parent and every child deserves no less.
Baltimore County must also lead the way in search of new and creative ways to educate all of our children. We must continue to attract and retain the best and the brightest to teach in Baltimore County. And we must not forget that for some of our students, the traditional classroom does not allow them to achieve their full potential. It is our responsibility to ensure that those students also have programs that will prepare them to compete for the American dream.
We know that every child must attend a school where the heating system works, you can see out the windows, you have high quality science and computer labs, and libraries with literature that stimulates life long learning. That is why we will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of school renovation and construction funding.
Families in Baltimore County will not accept that the quality of a child’s education be determined by that child’s zip code. As we move forward, we will hold the school system accountable, we will hold parents and caretakers accountable, and we will hold students accountable. And most importantly, we will hold ourselves accountable for the quality of public education in every Baltimore County School. As Proverbs 22 Verse 6 reminds us, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Our schools are laying the foundation for the future of Baltimore County, and we will give that foundation the priority and resources that it both requires and deserves.
In Baltimore County, we have a long history of fiscal responsibility. We are the stewards of the people’s money. We spend wisely, we account for every tax dollar, and we do so in a responsible manner. We are honest about the financial obligations that are facing our County. We will not spend tax dollars today that will not be there tomorrow.
I have spent my entire life in Baltimore County. Sandy and I live in the Reisterstown home that we bought nearly forty years ago, and we understand the importance of Baltimore County’s hometown culture. Names like Dundalk, Essex, Catonsville, and Parkville, Randallstown, Monkton, White Marsh, and Turner’s Station are names that spell home to thousands of families, families from a variety of backgrounds.
Baltimore County mirrors the diversity that is America, with all of its opportunities and challenges. Two years ago, I heard Illinois Senator Barack Obama, make a wise observation about diversity. He said, and I quote, “It is that fundamental belief, I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper, that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family: E pluribus unum. Out of many, one.” It is this uniquely American belief that allows us here in Baltimore County to advocate for our own hometown communities and still come together for the greater good of Baltimore County, our state, and our nation.
Speaking of our State, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out how much I’m looking forward to working with the next governor of the State of Maryland and we appreciate his taking time to join us today, Governor-Elect Martin O’Malley.
This year, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Baltimore County’s charter government and in 2009, Baltimore County will celebrate its 350th birthday. We live in a County with a rich history. It is our responsibility to preserve that past, while at the same time striving to secure our future; as we have done over the past four years, we will continue to put families first, safeguard our communities, and ensure that Baltimore County government is effective and efficient. Our children and our grandchildren will be proud of the Baltimore County they inherit.
It is our turn to shoulder the responsibility that has passed to our generation: to continue the work of 350 years; to honor our heritage; to secure a future of prosperity, of progress, and of pride in the legacy that we leave for the families in years to come who will call Baltimore County home.
As we conclude this morning's ceremony, I ask you to recall the words of President John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address. President Kennedy called a generation to action when he said, "Whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.”
Thank all of you for coming today. May God bless you, may God bless Baltimore County, and may God bless the United States of America.
Courthouse 