I was very disappointed this November when Marylanders turned back on the excellent Mike Steele in favor of the reprehensible former Mayor of Baltimore, Martin O’Malley. It was the “Elect a Shithead” year, so I guess he qualified.
Marylanders gained some insight into their new governor last week when the state’s Public Service Commission, controlled by Gov. Martin O’Malley, approved a 50 percent rate increase for residential customers of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. The approval comes less than a year after a bitter gubernatorial campaign between Mr. O’Malley and incumbent Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
Recall that Mr. O’Malley lambasted Mr. Ehrlich’s PSC for approving a 72 percent BGE rate increase – an increase that the Maryland General Assembly later scaled back to 15 percent. Mr. O’Malley told voters that Mr. Ehrlich and his commission were in the pockets of BGE. If Mr. O’Malley were elected governor, he promised, his administration would stand up to greedy energy companies and protect consumers.
Doing the math reveals the conceit: When the O’Malley PSC’s 50 percent increase is layered on top of the General Assembly-approved 15 percent hike, the result is a 72.5 percent BGE rate increase. (Example: On a $100 electricity bill, the original 15 percent increase raises it to $115. Add 50 percent of $115 – $57.50 – and you get a total bill of $172.50.)
Why is anyone surprised? I lived in Maryland for three years and saw right through O’Malley. He’s a Big City slickster and a liar who impresses the media while not really doing anything noteworthy. He did improve the efficiency of Baltimore’s government. But he has a tendency to fib on crime stats and taxes, and alternated passing the buck for anything bad that happened while claiming credit for anything good (a proceed aided by Baltimore’s unique “no is in responsible for anything” education system).
When I lived in Baltimore, the roads were terrible, the city was in paralysis anytime it snowed and the Mayor was running around telling everyone how much crime had improved. This was true, but only because it would have been hard to make things worse.
Not that he’s alone in these tendencies, of course. But it’s hard to get more blatant political shitheadism than his grandstanding on BGE.