Today at 10:30 a.m. the General Assembly will officially certify what residents have known for months: Martin O?Malley and Anthony Brown won the Nov. 7 election.
At the about the same time, hundreds of state police troopers in full uniform will begin forming a cordon to escort the new governor, lieutenant governor and their families from Government House, the governor?s residence, across State Circle and up the steps to the Governor?s Reception Room on the second floor of the State House.
By this point, the music will have been going on for more than 90 minutes on some of the temporary platforms built in the last few days on the steps of the State House.
The Maryland Air National Guard band starts playing at 9 a.m., followed by a half-dozen choral groups from across the state.
Outgoing Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich was invited but will not attend the ceremonies because he had no formal role, Ehrlich spokesman Shareese DeLeaver said.
By noon, the seven red-robed judges of the Court of Appeals and all the other dignitaries will be escorted to what will be a standing-room-only Senate chamber.
“We?ve got 141 members of the House who are going to crowd in around here,” Senate President Thomas Mike Miller told the senators Tuesday.
Despite the smaller size of the chamber, Miller explained the official swearing-in has been held in the Senate since 1776 because the body “emerged from the governor?s council.” Chief Judge Robert Bell will swear in the lieutenant governor and then the new governor, an event to be re-enacted outside at about 1 p.m.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Baltimore City, will be the master of ceremonies for the outdoor event; Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith will welcome the crowd on Lawyer?s Mall; former Attorney General Joseph Curran, O?Malley?s father-in-law, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance; and Sen. Barbara Mikulski will introduce O?Malley.
After the ceremony and O?Malley?s 20-minute inaugural address, the new first family will review a 1 1/2 -hour parade with units from all 24 jurisdictions in the state and then greet well-wishers at a public receiving line in their new home for another 90 minutes.
The official inaugural celebration will take place at the Baltimore Convention Center from 7 to 11 p.m.
Martin Joseph O?Malley
1963: Born Jan. 18, eldest of six children; turns 44 on Thursday
1963-81: Grew up in Bethesda and Rockville
1981: Graduated from Gonzaga High School, Washington
1982-83: Worked on Gary Hart presidential campaign
1985: Graduated from the Catholic University of America in D.C.
1986: Field director for successful Senate campaign of Barbara Mikulski
1988: J.D., University of Maryland Law School, hired as assistant state?s attorney in Baltimore City
1990: Ran for state Senate, lost by 44 votes; married Catherine Curran, daughter of Attorney General Joseph Curran
1991: Elected to Baltimore City Council
1999: Elected mayor, re-elected 2003
2001: Catherine Curran O?Malley named district court judge
2006: June: His major primary opponent, Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan, drops out of race; Nov. 7 elected governor
