Maryland Gov. Erlich chooses running mate
Maryland governor Bob Erlich, who is running for reelection, chose his running mate a couple of days ago. She is Kristen Cox, the current Secretary of the Department of Disabilities. Cox, who is almost totally blind, will be the lieutenant governor if Erlich wins the race for governor. Mrs. Cox, 36, served in the Bush administration in the Department of Education in 2001. She is married and has two children.
It is interesting, but good that Mr. Erlich chose a person with a disability to be his running mate. It shouldn’t surprise me though, because his current Lt. Gov. is Michael Steele, an African American, who was Maryland’s first Black elected statewide official. Mr. Steele has risen to a level of prominence among Maryland Republicans, and is now running for a U.S. Senate seat. If he wins, he will be the first African American Senator from Maryland.
Although I am a Democrat, as a person with a disability, I wish Kristen Cox all the best, and hope that even if she and the governor lose their election bid, that she will have the success that Michael Steele now enjoys. We need more people with disabilities to run for public office. I don’t care what party — in this case I’m strictly nonpartisan — I only care that the person is honest, ethical, compassionate, fiscally responsible, visible, successful, and that he or she don’t forget, or look down on the disability community. If the person follows these guidelines, I’ll be satisfied.
It’ll be interesting to see how this goes. I’ll keep you posted.
July 1st, 2006 at 5:35 pm
She graduated from BYU in Provo, Utah and seems like she would be a great candidate and help forward the cause for people with disabilities