Michael Steele received the endorsement of former Prince George’s County Executive and Democrat Wayne Curry, five Democratic Prince George’s County Council members and several other Democratic community and business leaders at Infusions Tea Café in Largo.
Wayne Curry today said [remarks as delived], “This is obviously a historic occasion and I am very happy to be a part of it. I grew up in Prince George’s County. Michael Steele was born here…I am a lifelong Democrat and I am mindful that our emergence as a community has always come along with struggle and strife…this community has been seriously trivialized. We have been neglected, overlooked and disparaged in the sanctums of the Democratic Party…Prince George’s County has been geographically redlined and stratified. It is the place where there is more Democratic voting than any other place in Maryland…”
“The [Democratic] party acts as though when they want our opinion they will give it to us. It’s not going to be like that no more.
“This occasion is special for those who have sacrificed here. We don’t need any TV celebrities to tell us about politics in Prince Georges County…this isn’t the first time we have charged up a hill.
“The person to elect, who is most responsive to the things that will make our future brighter is Michael Steele…He is a good man with a good plan.”
Michael Steele said, “I am humbled by the support of those in my community who have come together in an unprecedented effort of support for my campaign at an unprecedented time in our nation’s history…I said a long time ago that I never wanted this to be so much about party that it forgets people.
“Folks out there didn’t believe me when I said I really wanted this to be a conversation with Maryland, and that we were going to reach across party lines. We will continue to build that bridge and we will build that bridge all the way to Washington, D.C.; and when I go to Washington, all of you will go with me. Leadership needs to listen. When leadership fails to listen, people become disconnected, disinterested, and nothing gets done. But with this coalition of concerned leaders, we are going to listen and get something done, because at the end of the day, it isn’t about us, it is about the people who have trusted us to get something done for them.
“Next Tuesday, we are all going to make history together. And I will be your next United States Senator.”
Wayne Curry became the first African American to serve in Prince George’s County’s highest elected office where he served two terms as county executive from 1994 to 2002.
Prince George’s County Democrats Endorsing Michael Steele
Wayne Curry, Former Prince George’s County Executive
Councilman David Harrington, District 5
Councilman Samuel H. Dean, District 6 and his wife, Donna Dean
Councilwoman Camille Exum, District 7
Councilman Tony Knotts, District 8
Councilwoman Marilyn Bland, District 9
Major Riddick – former Chief of Staff for former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening
Ron Lipscomb – CEO of construction company
Clayton Duhaney – Prince George’s County businessman
Mike Little, Ph.D., Prince George’s County businessman
The Washington Post Wrote That Curry’s Support Is Critical, And Called Him A “Powerful Voice” And A “Symbol . . . Of Rising Affluence And Education Level.” “The support of Curry, the county's first black executive and a wealthy lawyer, is seen as critical because Curry remains a powerful voice for many residents who see him as a symbol of the county's rising affluence and education level.” (Rosalind S. Helderman, “Glendening Endorses Jack Johnson's Rival,” Washington Post, September 8, 2006)
Curry Previously Warned That Prince George’s County Black Voters Might Not Line Up Behind Cardin, Noting That Steele “Is A Very Attractive Candidate.” “But Wayne K. Curry, a former Prince George's county executive, said Cardin can not assume that the county's black voters will line up behind the Democrat this time. ‘It's going to be a different kind of election,’ Curry said. ‘Steele is a very attractive candidate. Flogging him with partisan labels is not going to be enough.’” (Matthew Mosk, “Black Officials Proclaim Support For Cardin,” Washington Post, September 20, 2006)
Curry Stated In April, 2006, That Black Democrats “Have Somewhere Else To Go” And Steele Could Break The “Vices Grip By Democrats Who Feel Entitled To Black Votes.” “Mr. Curry said Mr. Steele's candidacy presents an ‘enormously historic’ opportunity for blacks that ‘may ultimately break this sort of vices grip by Democrats who feel entitled to black votes regardless of how they treat black voters.’ Mr. Steele, who is black, is a Republican. ‘I've been a loyal and devoted Democratic supporter. ... I've been at it for over 40 years waiting for that bus to arrive ... under the virtual totalitarian leadership of the Democratic Party,’ said Mr. Curry, who is rumored to be on the short list of potential running mates for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican. ‘People would say, “You don't have anywhere else to go.” Now we do have somewhere else to go.’” (Jon Ward, “Plans To Knock Steele Labeled As 'Destructive',” The Washington Times, April 7, 2006)
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