Gov. Robert Ehrlich hoped he was making history again Thursday when he named Disabilities Secretary Kristen Cox, a blind woman, as his running mate for re-election.
“She met the two-pronged test ? personal compatibility and philosophical compatibility,” Ehrlich said at an Annapolis news conference. “Her intellect is stunning, but it?s nothing compared to her drive and her energy.”
“She?s a working mom just like the first lady of Maryland,” the governor noted, as Cox stood by his side with her 10-year-old son, Tanner, and her husband, Randy, holding their 1-year-old son Riley.
“Randy?s going to be doing a lot more diaper changing,” said Cox, 36.
“You can tell why I love this governor,” Cox said. “He stands up for people who tend to marginalized. ? We share the philosophical approach of empowering people.”
Cox, who has a degree in educational psychology and a certificate in special education, called Ehrlich?s record on education “impeccable.”
“Most politicians don?t stand up and make disabilities an important part of their platform,” Cox said. “Sometimes we [Republicans] get varnished that we only care about business” but she and Ehrlich “absolutely embrace inclusion.”
“Lifting up the disenfranchised is a priority for me and this governor,” she said. “In the next four years, you just watch out.”
She said her selection made her feel “humble, very blessed and little nervous.”
The choice was popular with Republicans. “Our activists like her,” said John Gibson, executive director of the state GOP. “They?re quite pleased with the selection.”
Michael James, of Ocean City, a Republican candidate for delegatewho attended the event, said, “I think it?s exciting that the governor is going to shed light on how capable people with disabilities can be at all levels.”
James has a daughter with cerebral palsy.
The campaign of Mayor Martin O?Malley, Ehrlich?s Democratic opponent, had a subdued reaction to his new running mate.
“Ms. Cox has been a respected advocate on disability issues,” said communications director Hari Sevugan. “We look forward to learning her record and position on other issues important to Maryland?s working families, including whether she agrees with Bob Ehrlich in his opposition to an increase in the minimum wage, his opposition to having mega-corporations pay their fair share for health care and his opposition to the best deal available for [Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.] rate-payers.”
