Bob Ehrlich facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bob Ehrlich
Ehrlich in 2024
60th Governor of Maryland
In office January 15, 2003 – January 17, 2007
Lieutenant	Michael Steele
Preceded by	Parris Glendening
Succeeded by	Martin O'Malley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 2nd district
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Helen Bentley
Succeeded by	Dutch Ruppersberger
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 10th district
In office January 14, 1987 – January 11, 1995 Serving with Wade Kach, Ellen Sauerbrey
Preceded by	Thomas W. Chamberlain, Sr.
Succeeded by	Emmett C. Burns Jr. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam Joan Neverdon Parker
Personal details
Born	Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (1957-11-25) November 25, 1957 (age 67) Arbutus, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Kendel Sibiski ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	2
Education	Princeton University (BA) Wake Forest University (JD)
Signature
Website	Official website (archived): https://web.archive.org/web/20111213155622/http://www.bobehrlich.com/

Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as the 60th governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. Before becoming governor, Ehrlich was a Republican who represented parts of Baltimore County in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1987 to 1995. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Maryland's 2nd Congressional district from 1995 to 2003.

Ehrlich was the first Republican to be governor of Maryland since Spiro Agnew in 1969. He served one term. He lost his re-election bid in 2006 to Democrat Martin O'Malley. In 2010, Ehrlich ran for governor again but lost to O'Malley. After that, he announced he would "return to private life."

Early Life and Education

Robert Ehrlich was born in Arbutus, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. His mother, Nancy, was a legal secretary, and his father, Robert Sr., sold cars. He went to Gilman School and then to Princeton University. At Princeton, he played football and was the team captain. He earned a degree in politics in 1979. Later, he went to Wake Forest University School of Law and became a lawyer in 1982.

After law school, Ehrlich worked at a law firm in Baltimore. He became interested in politics. In 1986, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. He represented parts of Baltimore County from 1987 to 1995.

Family Life

Robert Ehrlich married Kendel Sibiski in 1993. They have two sons named Drew Robert Ehrlich and Joshua Taylor Ehrlich.

Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives (1995–2003)

Ehrlich during his time in Congress

In 1993, the representative for Maryland's 2nd district, Helen Delich Bentley, decided not to run again. Robert Ehrlich ran for the open seat and won the election in November 1994. As a U.S. Representative, he worked on laws to help people with disabilities keep their jobs. He also supported stronger penalties for gun violence.

While in Congress, Ehrlich was part of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee. He also served on subcommittees dealing with health, telecommunications, and the environment. In 1999, he voted to remove President Bill Clinton from office during Clinton's impeachment trial.

Ehrlich won all his elections for Congress by large amounts. In 2002, he decided not to run for Congress again. Instead, he chose to run for governor. Dutch Ruppersberger took his place in Congress.

Running for Governor in 2002

In 2002, the Democratic Governor, Parris Glendening, was finishing his second term. Many people in Maryland, especially in rural areas, were unhappy with some of his policies. There was also a large state budget problem.

On March 15, 2002, Ehrlich announced he would run for governor. He criticized Governor Glendening's actions. He connected his opponent, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, to Glendening's record. Ehrlich promised to increase school funding, balance the state budget, and protect the Chesapeake Bay. His running mate was Michael Steele, an African-American who was the head of the Maryland Republican Party.

During the election, Townsend faced criticism for her choice of running mate. She picked Admiral Charles R. Larson, who was new to politics and had recently changed parties. Governor Glendening's unpopularity also hurt Townsend's campaign.

Even though Maryland usually votes for Democrats and had not elected a Republican governor in almost 40 years, Ehrlich won the election. He received 52% of the votes, while Townsend received 47%. He became the sixth Republican governor in Maryland's history.

Governor of Maryland (2003–2007)

Ehrlich speaking at a health summit around 2004

As governor, Robert Ehrlich focused on five main areas: "fiscal responsibility, education, health, and the environment, public safety, and commerce." He was against raising sales and income taxes. He supported allowing slot machines to help raise money for the state.

During Ehrlich's time as governor, Maryland's unemployment rate was lower than the national average. It dropped from 4.5% in 2003 to 3.9% in 2006. The state added 98,000 private sector jobs.

Ehrlich created a special Department of Disabilities within his cabinet. This was the first time a state had a cabinet-level agency just for people with disabilities.

In 2004, Ehrlich signed the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act. This law helped fund improvements to water treatment plants. The goal was to reduce pollution flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. This law was seen as very important for protecting the Bay.

Ehrlich also opposed President George W. Bush's decision in 2006 to let a company from the United Arab Emirates manage six U.S. port operations. This included the Port of Baltimore. In 2006, he signed a law that stopped police from having quotas for traffic tickets.

The "Wal-Mart" Health Care Bill

In January 2006, Governor Ehrlich vetoed a bill called the "Fair Share Health Care Bill," also known as the Walmart Bill. This bill would have required large companies with more than 10,000 employees in Maryland to spend at least eight percent of their payroll on employee health care. If they didn't, they would have to pay that amount to a state health program. Walmart was the only major company in Maryland that did not already meet this eight percent.

Ehrlich vetoed the bill because he believed it went against federal law. He said it would hurt businesses and was a step towards "government-run health care." However, the Democratic lawmakers in Maryland passed the bill anyway, overriding Ehrlich's veto. Critics of Walmart said the company's low wages forced employees to rely on state healthcare. Later, in July 2006, a federal judge overturned the Maryland law. The judge ruled that the law violated a federal act called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

2006 Gubernatorial Election

Governor Ehrlich ran for a second term in 2006. He did not have any opponents in the Republican primary election. On November 7, 2006, Ehrlich lost the election to Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. O'Malley won with 53% of the votes, while Ehrlich received 46%. Ehrlich's term as governor ended on January 17, 2007.

After Leaving Office

A month after leaving office, Ehrlich and some of his former staff opened an office for a law firm in Baltimore. His wife, Kendel, took a job as a consultant for BankAnnapolis.

In March 2007, Ehrlich supported former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for president. He was the chairman of Giuliani's campaign committee for the Mid-Atlantic region. From 2007 to 2010, Ehrlich and his wife hosted their own radio show on WBAL-AM Radio.

2010 Gubernatorial Campaign

Ehrlich campaigning for governor in 2010

Ehrlich receiving support from the Fraternal Order of Police

On March 30, 2010, Robert Ehrlich announced he would run for governor again to challenge the current governor, Martin O'Malley.

In June 2010, Ehrlich received support from basketball player Greivis Vásquez. On June 30, 2010, Ehrlich announced that his running mate would be Mary Kane. She had served as Maryland's secretary of state under Governor Ehrlich. He easily won the Republican primary election.

His former lieutenant governor, Michael Steele, who was then the chairman of the Republican National Committee, came to Maryland to support Ehrlich. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney also attended a fundraiser to support Ehrlich. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani campaigned with Ehrlich in Maryland.

In the general election, Ehrlich lost to O'Malley again. O'Malley won with 56% of the votes, and Ehrlich received 42%. In December 2011, Paul E. Schurick, who managed Ehrlich's 2010 campaign, was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy. This was related to a scheme to discourage voters using fake phone calls.

Supporting Presidential Candidates

In October 2011, Ehrlich was chosen to lead Mitt Romney's campaign in Maryland for the 2012 presidential election.

After first supporting John Kasich in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Ehrlich later supported Donald Trump in May 2016.

After Politics

Ehrlich with Larry Hogan in 2017

As of December 2020, Robert Ehrlich works as a senior counsel at King & Spalding, a large law firm in Washington. He works with their team that focuses on government advocacy and public policy.

In August 2022, the Maryland Republican Party announced that Ehrlich would lead their "2022 Victory Campaign." This campaign aimed to support the party's candidates in the elections that year. However, the Republican candidates, Dan Cox and Michael Peroutka, lost by a large margin to the Democratic candidates, Wes Moore and Anthony Brown, on November 8, 2022.

Election History

See also

In Spanish: Robert Ehrlich para niños

• Government of Maryland