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Martin O'Malley Gets Voted Right Out Of The BandBaltimore’s Irish-American mayor puts down the guitar to go for the governor's mansion Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley is one of those rare politicians you can identify with. In the five year’s that he’s been running America’s 12 largest city, he’s managed to maintain a life on the side that actually looks like fun. Several nights a week, he’s climbed local stages to play rock n roll with “O’Malley’s March,” an ensemble of friends he’s been doing gigs with for 25 years. As the chief songwriter, the mayor has worn his Irish-American heritage proudly, penning songs with titles like “Breastplate of St. Patrick” and “Farewell Clonbur.” When O’Malley announced on his band’s website this spring he would stop playing gigs, political observers wondered what was up. Opponents had attacked his rock and roll image many times, but that hadn’t stopped him from winning re-election. CNN, in fact, called him “the most popular big-city mayor in America.” Time Magazine, dubbing him a “wonk n’ roller,” recently included him in its list of the “5 best big-city mayors.” On September 29th, it became clearer why his schedule will be full, when he announced he’ll be making a run for governor of Maryland. An independent poll by the Baltimore Sun indicates he should win the democratic primary handily. The race against Maryland’s current governor, Republican Bob Ehrlich, should be much tighter.
The Mayor’s musical has had its complications. His band’s website sometimes carried warnings that “due to security reasons, we cannot post whether Martin O'Malley will be at all performances.” On the other hand, music fans are sometimes easier critics than voters. In a newspaper review of one performance, one female fan assessed the mayor, saying simply “he’s a babe.”
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One of O’Malley’s key challenges will be to expand his popularity beyond his home town. Only 15% of Maryland’s population lives in Baltimore, so he’ll be introducing himself to a lot of voters for the first time. His Irish-American heritage is not a particularly large asset in Maryland. Getting elected in Baltimore has, in fact, depended heavily on his ability to appeal to African-American voters. But his musical endeavors have drawn lots of publicity, giving him a good deal of name recognition in the Baltimore/Washington area. Some writers have already compared him with Bill Clinton, whose saxophone playing helped raised his profile with younger voters.