ANNAPOLIS - Change Maryland, the state's
largest and fastest-growing, independent, nonpartisan grassroots
movement, has surged to 50,000 members, from every single county and
jurisdiction in Maryland. Founded in 2011 by successful business leader
and former Maryland Cabinet Secretary Larry Hogan, the organization's
primary mission is to increase the state's economic performance and job
growth. The group has built a dominating presence on social media with
more people engaged online than the Maryland Democratic Party, the
Maryland Republican Party and all of the potential statewide candidates
of either party, added together. Change Maryland's Facebook page has a
total weekly reach of over 341,153 people. No other citizen group in the
state has ever accomplished what Change Maryland has, in just over two
years.
Nearly half the organization's members are Democrats
and Independents. "The only way to bring about real change in Maryland
is to build a coalition of Republicans, Independents, and fiscally
conservative and moderate Democrats to work together. That is exactly
what Change Maryland has been doing so effectively. We are uniting
people of all parties to work together to bring reform, fiscal
responsibility, and common-sense to Annapolis. This isn't just another
fight between Democrats and Republicans, it's more important than that.
This is a fight for Maryland's economic future, and it's a fight worth
fighting!", Hogan said.
Change Maryland gained national prominence with the
production of numerous economic studies that have shown the impact of 40
consecutive O'Malley-Brown tax increases, that take an additional $3.1
billion annually out of the pockets of struggling Maryland families and
small businesses. The group has highlighted the fact that Maryland is no
longer competitive with other states in the region, that we have lost
6,500 businesses and that our unemployment rate has nearly doubled under
the O'Malley-Brown Administration. A well-publicized taxpayer migration
study by Change Maryland showed that the state had the largest mass
exodus of any state in the region and that 31,000 taxpayers have fled
the state, taking $1.7 billion per year out of Maryland's economy.
Change Maryland hosted an Economic Summit on Improving Maryland's
Economic Competitiveness, which brought together economists,
think-tanks, Federal, State and local government officials, and over 400
top business leaders, to focus on finding solutions to the state's
serious economic problems.
Change Maryland founder and Chairman Larry Hogan is
also the founder, President and CEO of the Hogan Companies, leaders in
economic development who have brought hundreds of companies and
thousands of jobs to Maryland, and have done over $2 billion in business
in the state. Hogan left his business for public service as a State
Cabinet Secretary from 2003-2007, appointing over 7,000 people to all
three branches of state government. In 2010, Hogan was the only serious
challenger willing to take on O'Malley, and was considered by many to be
the presumed Republican nominee for Governor, until former Governor Bob
Ehrlich decided to enter the race. Bob Ehrlich called Hogan one of the
only Republicans in the state with a chance to win. Maryland's most
powerful Democrat, Steny Hoyer called Hogan the toughest opponent he has
ever faced in his entire career.
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