If the vociferously “pro-business” Ehrlich administration had a strong suit, it was considered to be economic development, an area that was little emphasized during the O?Malley campaign. But even in this field where some Democrats felt Gov. Robert Ehrlich?s secretary of economic and business development should be kept on, the O?Malley transition work group found a lot of work needed to be done.
“There wasn?t a real strategic plan for DBED,” said Harbor Bank President and CEO Joseph Haskins, who serves as a co-chair of the work group. The group said the department needed a series of strategies “to ensure Maryland?s status as a national leader in technology, life sciences, defense and entrepreneurship” and found that economic research capabilities required strengthening.
