Gov. Martin O'Malley got an early endorsement for his re-election bid Friday when the Maryland League of Conservation Voters announced its support for him and Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown.
It's so early in the political season that few challengers have announced their intentions to run. But Cindy Schwartz, the group's executive director, said, "It seemed clear to us no one was going to run with a better environmental record."
She pointed to the governor's record on issues including the Chesapeake Bay, global warming, land conservation, clean energy and public transportation.
The governor's campaign manager, Tom Russell, said O'Malley has been working with environmental advocates on priorities.
The campaign chief also noted that the endorsement comes just days after the release of O'Malley's 2011 budget, which included twice the funding for the Bay Trust Fund over the previous fiscal year, though Schwartz said the decision to endorse the governor was made before that announcement.
But also Friday, the Home Builders Association of Maryland released a poll showing voters questioning the emphasis on the bay during troubled economic times.
Pollsters from Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies asked 816 Marylanders who were likely to vote in the 2010 general election which should be the higher priority: "Taking steps to create jobs and improve Maryland's economy, or taking steps to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay?" Statewide, 77 percent said jobs.
The poll comes as builders are facing new regulations that require them to do more to control runoff that pollutes the bay, which they say will cost consumers more. The poll focuses on voters' willingness to pay extra for cleanup. Majorities said they would not want to pay large sums and that the state should wait until the economy is better before enforcing new rules.
"The poll tells us that all Marylanders care about the environment, but at this juncture jobs supersedes heavy-handed regulations," said Michael Harrison, director of government affairs for the builders' association.