Governor of Maryland
For a full list of governors of Maryland, see List of Governors of MarylandThe
Governor of Maryland,
as of 2006 Robert L. Ehrlich, heads the
executive branch of the government of the
U.S. state of
Maryland and is
Commander-in-Chief of the state's military forces. He or she is the highest ranking official in the state.
Like most state chief executives in the United States, the Maryland
governor is elected by the people to serve a four-year term. A governor is constitutionally prohibited from serving more than two
consecutive terms, but in practice, once leaving office no former governor has ever returned run for a third term.
To run, a person must be at least 30 years old and a resident and registered voter in Maryland for the five years preceding the election. The governor, like all state-wide officials in Maryland, is elected in even-numbered years in which an election for
President of the United States does not occur.
The governor has power to
veto laws passed by the state's legislature, the
General Assembly, and also has a
line item veto, which can be used to strike certain portions of appropriations bills. The legislature can override a veto by three-fifths (60%) vote of the total number of members in each house.
The governor's
cabinet is known as the Executive Council. In addition to the cabinet, the governor also chairs the powerful Board of Public Works, whose other two members are the Comptroller and the Treasurer. This Board has broad powers in overseeing and approving the spending of state funds.
The appointment powers of the governor are extensive as he or she appoints almost all military and civil officers of the Stateā"subject to the advice and consent of the
Senate. In addition to appointing the heads of major departments, boards, and commissions of the State government, the Governor appoints certain boards and commissions in each
county and in
Baltimore City, as provided for by law. The Governor also commissions
notaries public and appoints persons to fill vacancies in the offices of
Attorney General and
Comptroller (both of which are normally elected by the people) and seats in the General Assembly. Any officer appointed by the Governor, except a member of the General Assembly, is removable by him for cause.
The governor is
commander-in-chief of the military forces of the State, the
Maryland National Guard, except when such forces are called into the national service by the
President of the United States, as well as the
Maryland Defense Force. In times of public emergency the Governor has certain emergency powers as defined by law.
Additionally, the Governor may grant
pardons to persons convicted of criminal acts against the State, commute the sentences of prisoners of the State, and remit fines and forfeitures for offenses against the State.
During the
colonial period, Maryland's Proprietors, the
Lords Baltimore, who generally remained in England, designated who would serve as governor on their behalf. Between 1692 and 1715, when Maryland briefly was a royal colony, the Crown appointed the governor. The Lords Baltimore regained control of Maryland in 1715 and chose a governor for the colony until the
American Revolution.
|
Thomas Johnson, the first Governor of Maryland after independence. He served from 1777-1779 |
Under the
Maryland Constitution of 1776, the Governor was chosen annually by joint ballot of both houses of the General Assembly. In 1838, by constitutional amendment, voters began to elect the Governor every three years from one of three rotating gubernatorial districts, eastern, southern, and western. At each election, only voters from a single gubernatorial election district selected the Governor. Under the
Maryland Constitution of 1851, the Governor's term of office was lengthened from three to four years. Finally, the short-lived
Constitution of 1864 the rotating gubernatorial election districts were eliminated. Since the election of 1868, the Governor has been elected by all the voters of the State.
In 1971, the office of
Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, which existed for only a few years in the 1860s, was recreated by constitutional amendment. The Lt. Governor, who only has those duties that the governor assigns to him or her, is elected on the same ticket and to the same term as the governor, and succeeds to the governorship if there is a vacancy in that office.
To date, Maryland has yet to have a female governor. However, women were the runners up in each of the last three gubernatorial elections (1994, 1998, and 2002). So far, no Lt. Governor of Maryland has ever gone on to be elected in his or her own right as governor.
Spiro T. Agnew, who was Governor of Maryland from 1967-1969, later served as
Vice President of the United States under
Richard Nixon.
From
1777 to
1870, the governor lived in
Jennings House. Since 1870, the governor has lived in
Government House, a
Georgian mansion adjacent to the
State House.
"Marty Bass for Governor" - There is a grassroots political campaign to have local TV personality
Marty Bass elected as Governor of Maryland as a
write-in candidate. The campaign may be a
practical joke or
hoax.
*
List of Governors of Maryland*
Government of Maryland*
Lt. Governor of Maryland* Maryland State Archives. (
29 October 2004). Maryland Manual On-Line: A Guide to Maryland Government.
Governor. Retrieved
17 May 2004.
