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by David Saleh Rauf
Capital News Service
ANNAPOLIS — The pomp and circumstance are officially over.
Gov. Martin O’Malley, 48, was sworn in Wednesday on the steps of the Capitol in front of a crowd of several hundred, including Maryland’s political and business elite. He kicked off his second term with a cautiously optimistic inauguration speech about Maryland recovering from the recession, while also touching on a wide range of accomplishments since taking office in 2007.
O’Malley, a rising star in the Democratic Party coming off a resounding victory over a former Republican governor, begins his second and final term in the midst of a careful balancing act: He’ll need to address a series of pressing issues facing Marylanders while keeping an eye toward bigger political aspirations.
The challenges facing the state during his second term are plenty. Over the next four years, O’Malley and his administration will tackle issues ranging from projected budget deficits to implementing health care reform, to name just two.
