September 30, 2010; Washington, DC -- The Greater Washington Board of Trade, the largest business organization representing regional interests throughout the Greater Washington region, today announced its endorsement of Martin O’Malley for re-election as Governor of the State of Maryland. After extensive interviews with the Gubernatorial candidates, the Board of Trade leadership threw its endorsement behind Governor O’Malley because of his demonstrated understanding of the key issues facing businesses and his track-record of including the business community in fashioning solutions to the region’s most pressing challenges.
“The Board of Trade endorses Governor O’Malley for a second term after a careful assessment of which candidate would best address the critical regional issues and the crucial role of business,” said Jim Dyke, Chair of the Board of Trade and partner of McGuireWoods LLP. “The Governor has been a strong and vocal supporter of many of the Board of Trade’s strategic priorities, and has proven himself to be a leader in advancing the policies that are good for Maryland, the region, and for business – from transportation to education to emergency preparedness.” Dyke added, “Governor O’Malley has always been responsive to our input and has personally been involved in discussing these regional issues with our leadership.”
“As demonstrated by his unwavering support of light rail for the Purple Line and his dedicated follow-through on the soon-to-open Inter-County Connector, Governor O’Malley has focused on improving the region’s transportation infrastructure,” said Jim Dinegar, president and CEO of the Board of Trade. “Furthermore, he and his executive team have operated with a regional mind-set on several other pressing issues important to business leaders, as particularly evidenced by their strong support in the fight for rail to Tysons and Dulles and close coordination on Inauguration emergency preparedness. And, while the Governor’s economic development initiatives throughout Maryland have helped strengthen the entire Greater Washington region, the Board of Trade strongly urges him to redouble his economic development efforts as both Maryland and the region press forward in this challenging recovery climate.”
As the leading regional business organization, the Greater Washington Board of Trade addresses business concerns that stretch across the District of Columbia, Suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. Pro-business and bipartisan, the Board of Trade develops positions on issues with the basic premise that sound, reasonable policies will benefit the economy and the community at large. Top priorities for the Board of Trade center on the fiscal health of the state and local jurisdictions, transportation, emergency preparedness, sustainability and energy innovation, and the needs of the region’s workforce.