Talk:Martin O'Malley

Minor Adjustment

Really people, Wiki is not supposed to be used for campaigning.

Although much of both this article and Ehrich's seems to be influenced heavily by the current election (from both sides), I only changed one thing that was just ridiculous:

The line at the end (using an opinion column as the source) read something like "His ads contained downright lies" I changed to be less bias by simply saying he has "come under criticism" for "negative campaign ads."

If I had time or the knowledge, I would redo both O'Malley's and Ehrlich's completely...or better yet just delete them both because every time I look at them they are slanted in a new direction. You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Look at the ".org" on the URL. I say again, this is not supposed to be a political website!!!

What happened to the old picture?

Can we go back to the one where he doesn't look like Terry Schiavo? -Taco325i 23:42, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

I am currently seeking permission from the State of Maryland to use his official state portrait. Irteagle102704 01:34, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

That may not be acceptable. The state still retains extensive restrictions on its publications, including official photos, and if it can't be used beyond Wikipedia, it therefore can't be used here at all. --tomf688 (talk - email) 02:06, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

You could hide in the bushes in front of his house in the morning, and snap a candid when he comes out to get his paper. -Taco325i 03:13, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, we'll see how the State of Maryland replies to my request, I know Delaware granted permission to use their Governor's official photo on her Wikipedia page, so I hope Maryland will say the same... Irteagle102704 05:52, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Also, due to the current lack of a picture, I will post one that I took of him at his inauguration, until a better one is found... Irteagle102704 05:57, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the photo, irt. It will probably end up having to be these types of photos we have to use (or if O'Malley were to be photographed by the federal government at an event, like Ehrlich's). I emailed the state a long time ago and, while the Archives said I could use the images, I don't think they mean beyond Wikipedia or for commercial purposes. The state itself is quite adamant about its copyright, as you can see at the Maryland Governor's site: "All information on this site is property of the State of Maryland. No one is authorized to reuse any part of this site without written consent. Please contact the Web Development Team if you have any questions." That pretty much means Wikipedia cannot use their official portraits. --tomf688 (talk - email) 20:30, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

What happened to the footnotes?

All of the footnotes -- [1], [2], etc -- are missing; the links go to anchors on the page, but the anchors (and the entire reference section) is gone... Fmanjoo 19:48, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't see evidence that the O'Malley page ever used footnotes and a Reference section to cite sources. Instead, it continues to use embedded HTML links. See How to cite sources. --Adavidb 20:25, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Hmm, however I do see some footnotes within the article, without a footnotes section to display them. I'll add a References section to allow migration to that style. ==Adavidb 10:42, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Murder statistics

User:Taco325i edited the article and replaced Murder with Homicide. This has made those crime statistics invalid. -- Cameron Dewe 02:55, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

We need a picture

Seems odd that Elijah Cummings has one and the Governor doesn't.

68.49.1.207 11:40, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

O'Malley not the inspiration for Tommy Carcetti character

Seems like there is some (wishful) thinking that the Tommy Carcetti character on "The Wire" was inspired by Martin O'Malley. I immediately questioned this assumption, as I always saw much of the fictional Clarance Royce mayo character on "The Wire" to be partly influenced by O'Malley, as the questions of the legitimacy of the crime statistics from Royce's "ComStat" paralleled the controversies surrounding O'Malley's "CitiStat"; Further internet research revealed an interview with "The Wire" creator David Simon, where he is quoted as saying that Carcetti is not O'Malley, but that O'Malley was one of several inspirations. I have edited the article to relect this, and have sourced the David Simon interview. --Goosedoggy 19:30, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

Actually David Simon's has since admitted that O'Malley WAS the inspiration for Carcetti as the final season of the Wire winds down tomorrow. Double check that one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.54.85.118 (talk) 03:30, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Crime Rate

Why does the article claim NYC has the lowest crime rate of large American cities, when the reference article is titled San Jose Remains Safest City? The article places NYC as the 5th lowest crime rate. The other crime statistic list has San Jose ranked as Safer than NYC. Since San Jose has a larger population than Baltimore, it makes logical sense that any crime comparison should include such like sized cities. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.181.45.65 (talk • contribs) 06:53, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Term as governor

This entire section is filled with POV and unsubstantiated statements. For example, the entire section about the proposed tax increases. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.81.39.219 (talk) 21:46, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

I've made various updates to the section and removed its POV banner. If someone decides to restore the banner, please be more specific here about what changes are sought. —Adavidb 03:56, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

I'm not a real Wikipedian, nor am I a partisan in Maryland political battles (I first stumbled across this article while reading up on the Wire and David Simon, and I live on the West Coast of Canada), so pardon any errors of policy or propriety I make. I believe that the last few sentences of the "Term as Governor" section may contravene Wikipedia policies on neutral point of view, spelling and grammar. The comments about "Democrates" holding a metaphorical gun to the head of Marylanders, for example, or the lack of "benifit" to the middle class from a tax increase. I also believe adding the "Thanks Marty" sign-off to the tax increase discussion is inappropriate and adolescent. 208.181.199.108 01:37, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

Recent edits such as these you described have been reverted by me and others. —Adavidb 07:38, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

These sentences should also be reworded for POV (emphasis mine).

The plan would raise total state tax collections 14%[34] yet supposedly only 17% of the population would pay higher taxes. A Maryland Senate panel has modified the tax proposal, making it even more costly to taxpayers.[35][36]

--67.81.39.219 (talk) 06:13, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for specifying your concerns. I removed the rest of the one sentence after '14%'. The other sentence now includes a direct quote from one of its two sources. —Adavidb 07:41, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Did he really raise state sales tax 20% or tax collections by 20%? What is the sales tax rate - can't be 20% or higher. (alr) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Areback (talk • contribs) 19:36, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

The state sales tax rate went from 5% to 6%; the additional one percent was one-fifth of the former rate, thus a 20% increase. —Adavidb 03:37, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

It's still disingenouous, that's not the way the average reader thinks about percentages and sales tax. 74.103.78.244 (talk) 02:43, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

The same is true of the claim he raised income tax by 15% using a percentage of a percentage is not the standard method.

Um, I spent 10 years in business journalism, and it was very common practice to use those exact methods when reporting statistics. So, a country's per capita GDP grows 10% if it increases from $50,000 to $55,000. The same would go for an increase in sales tax (although we rarely discussed such topics), if it increased from 5% to 6%, that would be a 20% increase in the effective sales tax rate. We would do the same when writing about actual revenue collections, that is, report the percentage by which it either increased or decreased. However, if you want to make it absolutely clear, you can specify that it was raised one percentage point from 5% to 6%, that should be both politically neutral and factually accurate, and also well within common practice when writing about government policy and economic statistics, although I might also be interested to know what happened to revenues as a result of the increase. That said, I was a business journalist and editor, not a Wikipedian. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.36.204.105 (talk) 03:50, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

-Whomever is removing the statement regarding the Senate Bill 277 that Governor O'Malley just signed, it is a matter of great importance and possibly the defining moment in how he will be remembered. Senate Bill 277 legalizes automated traffic enforcement - speed cameras- throughout the state of Maryland. Speed Cameras are highly controversial - banned in 13 states across the country (two states have banned them in the past two months) and Arizona and Louisianna are in the process of trying to ban them. In all probability they will be on the ballot along side O'Malley in 2010 and I think I have tried to be fair and informative without being insulting. Basically, don't delete it. Let's have a truthful record of what transpired, even if speed cameras are highly unpopular and that may impact the governor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thetruthspeaker09 (talk • contribs) 07:55, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

It needs a reliable source citation for verifiability, not just a claim here of its significance. —ADavidB 02:11, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Seriously, the only thing under "Legislative Accomplishments" is a tax hike? Who's running this, the Ehrlich campaign? 74.103.78.244 (talk) 02:43, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

NPOV tag

There are lots of items throughout the article that are phrased in either Pro-O'Malley or Anti-O'Malley which should be cleaned up to neutral phrasing. Some depend on reviewing what the cited sources actually say, and I do not have time to do fact checking today. -- The Red Pen of Doom 22:40, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

O'Malley's March

I'm curious as to why the references to his musical career were removed? 130.167.237.89 (talk) 18:14, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

It's there at the bottom of the article, could potentially be expanded though considering that the band is still active: [1][2][3]. Kmusser (talk) 15:16, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Martin O'Malley/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Hurricanehink (talk · contribs) 23:50, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

• The lede seems a bit short. Perhaps go into more detail of what he did before governorship?
• You never actually say the birthdate in the heart of the article. Maybe mention it in "early life"?
• The end of the second and third paragraphs of the "early life" section are unsourced.
• "In 1991, he was elected to the Baltimore City Council to represent the 3rd District. He served from 1991 to 1999." - given how short these are, perhaps merge these sentences? Unless, can you get any of what he did while on the council? This is a fairly important step in his political career. Was there anything here that led to his candidacy to mayorship?
• "O'Malley announced his decision to run for Mayor of Baltimore in 1999, after incumbent Kurt L. Schmoke decided not to seek re-election." - source?
• Did anything of importance happen during his mayor election? Any debates? Any advertising? How did he win so easily? He also won a majority of votes in the primary - how did he do that?
• "The Washington Post wrote in a 2006 that Baltimore's "homicide rate remains stubbornly high and its public school test scores disappointingly low. But CitiStat has saved an estimated $350 million and helped generate the city's first budget surplus in years, O'Malley said."" - so is this quote by O'Malley or the W. Post? If the former, then you should say that, but at the same time, isn't there someone else you could use to describe his tenure?
  • I think I get it now, but maybe take it out of quotes and say "according to O'Malley", or something, for the last bit, to clarify the whole thing wasn't a quote by O'Malley. --♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 04:26, 1 December 2012 (UTC)
• Did O'Malley do anything during his second mayorship, aside from run for governor?
  • Did he? --♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 04:26, 1 December 2012 (UTC)
• "The Washington Times reported later that the Governor's administration had issued a press release touting a new $28 million highway interchange leading to one of St. John's properties." - what highway?
• "In 2002, Esquire magazine named O’Malley "The Best Young Mayor in the Country," " - how old was he then?
• Most of the first paragraph of "Elections" in "Governor of Maryland" is unsourced.
• The Baltimore Sun mentions how O'Malley dealt with "rising crime, failing schools and shrinking economic prospects", but the article only details how he dealt with crime, nothing about the other two.
  • Anything about this? --♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 04:26, 1 December 2012 (UTC)
• Two of the paragraphs in "Budget" are unsourced.
• I think you should mention both Maryland houses' vote totals in favor of same sex marriage. It was a pretty major part of his 2nd term, so a bit more detail would be good. Also, when did he sign it into law?
• "Standing in for 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during a Democratic convention on June 2, 2007 in New Hampshire" - I'm not sure I understand this. What sort of Democratic convention?
• "O'Malley expanded "his exposure among the party elite and activists." - who said this quote, and why is it notable?
• "to state district judge Catherine "Katie" Curran O'Malley" - shouldn't this say former, since she is no longer a judge?
• "O'Malley appeared in the film Ladder 49 as himself. The History Channel's documentary First Invasion: The War of 1812 featured O'Malley in a segment regarding the British attack on Baltimore in 1814." - source?
• I notice some references aren't cited properly, such as 26, 27, 28, and 29.

Those are the main things. I'll put the article on hold for now. Good luck addressing these, and if you have any questions, feel free to lemme know. --♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 23:50, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

I think I've touched upon all these issues, please let me know if there's anything else I can do or forgot to. Thanks. Grammarxxx ^{(What'd I do this time?)} 07:23, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

Much better already. Just a few small other things. --♫ Hurricanehink (talk) 04:26, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

I've fixed the newspaper quotes, as for his mayorship, I feel the information included accurately portrays his work as mayor, before and after re-election. But upon further inspection, I'm afraid his work then has either been lost to time, or it's been deeply buried by his work as Governor, it's almost impossible to find an article with Mayor instead of Governor attached to his name. Grammarxxx ^{(What'd I do this time?)} 00:10, 2 December 2012 (UTC)

Martin O'Malley, the ballad singer

This Martin O'Malley is on Irish radio this minute singing a ballad song! It's great, and can be found here. He's saying how he was brought up in a home steeped in Irish music and culture and that his great grandfather, also Martin O'Malley, was from Kilmilkin in the Maam valley on the Galway/Mayo border. He seems very humble. 89.101.41.216 (talk) 08:23, 21 June 2013 (UTC)