The month before Maryland’s gubernatorial election in 2014, polls indicated the Republican nominee Larry Hogan would lose to Democrat Anthony Brown by double digits — Hogan won by 5 points! One of the greatest eight-year periods of economic growth for Maryland was soon underway. I want to share some of my memories of working alongside “the Gov” and an incredible group of cabinet secretaries. We had a “playbook” and, as the Gov often said, “We did exactly what we said we were going to do” — and it worked!
Two weeks after the election, I got a call from the late Jim Brady, a close friend and Hogan’s campaign chair in 2014. Jim, who was always to the point, said, “Have you ever thought about being secretary of commerce? The governor and I think you could be pretty good at it.” I responded, “Jim, that wasn’t on my radar screen.” Two weeks later, I met with Hogan at his transition office in Annapolis and said yes to the opportunity. He said, “Mike, we ran on ‘Change Maryland.’ The previous administration had 43 tax and fee increases, more people were leaving our state than moving in and our economy is stagnant.” I gave him a copy of my favorite book, “The Little Engine That Could,” the second greatest book ever written, instilling positivity and resilience —“I think I can, I think I can.” As I walked out of his office, he said to me, “We will open Maryland for business.”
We had our work cut out for us. Maryland was ranked 49th overall for economic growth. The Hogan administration inherited a $5.1 billion structural deficit and, eight years later when he handed the keys to Gov. Wes Moore, there was a surplus of $5 billion. With the current administration’s commitment to the unfunded $30 billion Blueprint for Maryland Education and the Red Line, also unfunded and a multibillion-dollar investment, the future deficits will be staggering.
When the Gov came into office, he immediately put the brakes on new taxes and at the same time eliminated many wasteful and unnecessary regulations — considering there are over 10,000 regulations in Maryland government, he had plenty to choose from. In the early part of my first year, I read an article that said there were over 500,000 businesses in Maryland — from a three-employee ice cream shop in Cumberland to Marriott and McCormick. What they all had in common was they were our “customers.” The light bulb was totally illuminated. Hogan created a “culture of yes” and we ran all over the state asking everyone, “How can we help you?” The Gov often said that if Maryland were to grow, all 23 counties and Baltimore City needed to be successful. Hogan never lost sight of that and from Garrett to Worcester County we did all we could to help them achieve their potential.
The Hogan administration also created a commerce sub-cabinet composed of the departments that touched “customers” the most – Planning, Housing and Community Development, Environment, Transportation, Labor and Commerce. As a team, we agreed on three priorities — workforce development, job creation and customer service. In less than six months, the governor stood in front of a packed room on the second floor of the State House and outlined the Maryland government’s “Customer Service Promise.” We could not find another state with anything like it. The stars aligned for us. Maryland saw soaring job growth and was on the radar of companies looking to grow and expand. Confidence is a critical factor for where companies choose to locate, and Governor Hogan made them believe that Maryland would be a great state for their business.
Larry Hogan, the Gov, will be an outstanding U.S. senator for Maryland. He loves Maryland and has consistently led with common sense, and what he believes is best for the greater good of the many. He will be a strong, fiercely independent leader of the highest character. Thanks, Gov, for the opportunity to be on your team. We really did open Maryland for business.
Mike Gill ([email protected]) was twice secretary of commerce during the Hogan administration and also served twice on the Board of Regents for the University System of Maryland. He is currently chairman of Evergreen Advisors.
This post was originally published on here
