Maryland firefighters endorse Martin O’Malley for governor

The O'Malley-Brown re-election efforts received an endorsement from The Professional Firefighters of Maryland (PFFMD) earlier today.

Governor O'Malley was honored to receive the endorsement of over 7,000 professional firefighters, fire officers and EMS employees:

"It is truly one of the great honors of my life to have the opportunity to stand beside and behind Maryland's bravest. You represent all that is great and heroic about our state - risking your own lives for fellow citizens you've never met, choosing to run to the front lines of danger so that the rest of us will be safe and secure."

PFFMD cited Gov. O'Malley's commitment to public safety as the primary reason for the endorsement. Firefighters State President Mike Rund said:

"Gov. O'Malley and Lt. Gov. Brown have shown that public safety is and will continue to be a top priority for their administration. This is clearly illustrated by their actions over the last four years, and we're proud to support them for re-election."

Gov. O’Malley visits Maryland servicemembers in Iraq

Governor Martin O'Malley spent two days in Iraq last week, visiting with deployed Maryland soldiers and the men and women of the Maryland National Guard as part of a Department of Defense-sponsored mission.

In an email to his supporters, Gov. O'Malley said,

"Some of our servicemembers [in Iraq] are on their third tour of duty. Their bravery and fortitude is inspiring - and I was grateful for the opportunity to tell them in person how much we all appreciate their service."

While in Iraq, the governor visited with members of Maryland-based Army Reserve A Company of the 323 Military Intelligence Battalion and the Maryland-based Army Reserve 392 Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Task Force Raven. Gov. O'Malley joined Gov. Chet Culver of Iowa for a barbecue dinner with service members from the governors' two states.

Gov. O’Malley introduces emergency bill to protect Maryland families from foreclosures

Earlier today, Governor O'Malley sent an email about the national foreclosure crisis and what we're doing in Maryland to end it.

Take a minute to read the email and then send a letter to your state legislator asking them to support Governor O'Malley's emergency bill to protect our families and communities from foreclosures:

Imagine having to look your children in the eyes and tell them you'll have to leave your home, maybe your whole community, for good.

Over the course of the national foreclosure crisis, thousands of Marylanders haven't had to imagine this ordeal. They've lived it. And every uprooted family, every boarded-up house, affects all of us -- our neighborhoods, our towns and cities, our state.

We can help more families stay in their homes -- by forcing mortgage companies to give homeowners facing foreclosure a chance to negotiate better terms on their loans. Yesterday, Rep. Elijah Cummings and I urged the General Assembly to pass an emergency bill to do just that.

Join us in taking action today. Urge your state legislators to support the bill, and help protect our families and communities from foreclosures:

http://www.martinomalley.com/SavingHomes

Since 2007, we've helped thousands of families hold onto their homes through programs like the Homeowners Preserving Equity (HOPE) initiative.

But thousands more could be saved if we act together to stop huge, faceless mortgage companies from crushing homeowners under their heel because they're more concerned with profits than with helping families stay in their homes.

Writing your legislators will only take a few minutes, and your support of this emergency bill could have an immediate impact.

The emergency bill just needs three-fifths of the votes in the General Assembly to pass and be enacted immediately.

Help make today the beginning of the end of the foreclosure crisis in Maryland. Write your state legislators now:

http://www.martinomalley.com/SavingHomes

Thank you,

Gov. Martin O'Malley