Baltimore's long slide in political influence as the state's one-time Democratic powerhouse accelerated this week with the election of the first Republican governor - a suburbanite - in 36 years.
Some in City Hall worry that Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s conservative record as a congressman - combined with a $1.7 billion state budget shortfall - could mean cuts to urban programs.
Expanding health coverage for the city's poor might become harder. So might strengthening gun control legislation, continuing subsidies for the renovation of historic buildings and securing large government grants for inner-city economic development projects.
"I'm nervous about it all," said Mayor Martin O'Malley, a Democrat. "He [Ehrlich] is facing a tremendous fiscal challenge and he's had the luxury of not being specific about issues during the campaign."
Friction is likely to erupt between O'Malley and the governor-elect on several points, according to people in both camps.
O'Malley will be asking for money for his impoverished city, for example, while Ehrlich will be looking to shrink the state's budget. And O'Malley is frequently mentioned as a possible challenger to Ehrlich in four years.
Yet some observers predict that Ehrlich and O'Malley - though of different political philosophies - will get along more smoothly than O'Malley would have with Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, with whom he had a tense relationship.
In fact, say the mayor's allies, Townsend might have viewed O'Malley as a rival and been likely to bankroll his political enemies in the city, such as Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development (BUILD), which has had a close relationship with the Townsend-Glendening administration.
By contrast, Ehrlich and O'Malley have been friendly in the past, talking at least once a month, going to breakfast occasionally and working together on gun prosecution issues.
And Ehrlich has promised to pay for improved law enforcement and expanded drug treatment, which are both cornerstones of O'Malley's administration.
The city's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, among several law enforcement groups, endorsed Ehrlich.
And O'Malley's police commissioner, Edward T. Norris, was one of many who attended a victory party for Ehrlich.
Norris attended "because the FOP endorsed Bob Ehrlich and the president of the union asked me to be there," the commissioner said in a statement issued last night.
"I was and am trying to build a bridge to a key partner in our crime-fighting plan for Baltimore City," he said.
A spokesman for Ehrlich suggested Baltimore will benefit from the new governor's relationship with O'Malley.
"Bob and the mayor have a good relationship, and that will be helpful for the city," said Paul E. Schurick, spokesman for Ehrlich.
"There will be political tension, there will be economic tension, but that's the way it's always been between mayors of Baltimore and governors of Maryland."
Campaign promises
In his campaign Ehrlich, who grew up in Arbutus and who went to the Gilman School in the city, frequently promised to be a friend to the city, pledging more money to hire additional prosecutors and remove lead paint from houses.
O'Malley said he was encouraged to hear Ehrlich promise to "not balance the budget on the backs of local government" and to pay for large increases in school funding recommended by the Thornton Commission.
"If he [Ehrlich] keeps his promises, we're going to be fine," said Democratic Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller.
During a news conference this week, Ehrlich pledged continued state support for the city's most important economic development project: a biotechnology park planned near Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The city had been planning to ask the state for about $15 million next year to help buy and demolish rowhouses north of the hospital.
"You are talking to the co-chair of the biotech caucus in the U.S. Congress, and I believe biotech is part of our future," said Ehrlich.
"Our priorities will be reflected in our budget and biotech - whether in Baltimore City or Montgomery County - will be part of our priorities."
But state Del. Howard P. Rawlings, the powerful Democratic chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, cautioned that the city might face tough financial times because its influence in Annapolis has clearly fallen.
Redistricting last year stripped the city of several state senators and delegates because of its shrinking population.
"We are going to have to work a little harder," said Rawlings. "Even if we had a Democratic governor, we have fewer delegates and senators because of redistricting.
"And the problem is compounded by a governor with a conservative background."
Matters of money
State Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman, chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee whose defeat in September further reduced the city's political power, warned that winning state money for any new projects will become much harder.
"The city was pretty much used to a situation in which, when it asked for money, it got it," said Hoffman.
"I'm not sure that's going to be true anymore."
To make up for its loss of influence, the city will have to work harder to form alliances and partnerships with Baltimore, Howard and Anne Arundel counties, said City Council President Sheila Dixon.
O'Malley recently laid the groundwork for this teamwork by helping the campaigns of Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens and Baltimore County Executive-elect James T. Smith Jr., among other candidates in the area.
David F. Tufaro, a Baltimore developer and former Republican mayoral candidate, predicted that the city will thrive under a Republican governor because the state will no longer be wedded to failed Democratic programs.
The city suffered terribly under 36 years of Democratic governors, he said, because the one-party government couldn't make fundamental reforms to the schools or criminal justice system.
"I think Ehrlich and O'Malley will be a great team," said Tufaro. "They're both pragmatists. And I think they have a lot in common, especially on criminal justice issues."