A 40-member transition team got its first assignment this week: Compile lists of competent people, important issues and financial strategies for the incoming O’Malley-Brown administration.
“Yes, we have some homework,” said Kamala Edwards, an instructor at Montgomery College and a member of the team. “Mostly, again, to get the word out to highly qualified persons in our communities and circles of friends who would have an interest in public service.”
Gov.-elect and Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley announced just days after the Nov. 7 general election that Lt. Gov.-elect Del. Anthony Brown would head a transition team. Last week in Baltimore, Brown introducedabout half of the group at a news conference and said the team was chosen to represent various cultures, expertise and interests.
The team met for the first time Tuesday to discuss the work needing to be done in the less than two months that remain before O’Malley and Brown take office. The head of the Maryland Democratic Party said the first meeting was refreshing and people were ready to work.
“Very energized, very upbeat and anxious to get going,” Terry Lierman said of the group, of which he is a member. “There’s a lot to do.”
The senior pastor of Bowie’s Greater Mount Nebo AME Church said that as a native Marylander he feels he has a vested interest in working as part of the team to make his home state better.
“It’s an honor,” the Rev. Jonathan Weaver said. “I deem it to be a privilege. I don’t take this role lightly.”
Weaver said he would consult his own resources and contacts to find people who could benefit the administration.
“There is a very large, open window at this point,” Weaver said, “so we’ve been mandated to follow up and present names to the transition for them to consider.”
Edwards, who has taught English and Asian literature at Montgomery, said she wants to talk about the cost of higher education. The native of India also wants to make sure her culture’s concerns and strengths are clear. “The Indian-American community has not often been called to the decision-making table, even though they have the highest levels of professional expertise being doctors and high-tech personnel,” Edwards said. “I think this might be the first time that an Asian-Indian is on a transition team for the state of Maryland.”
