Michael Steele Runs For U.S. Senate

Lt. Gov. Michael Steele announced his candidacy in the heart of Prince George's County, the richest majority Black county in the country and the poorest county in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. Steele rose to political fame when Congressman Robert Ehrlich ran for governor of Maryland and chose him as his running mate and Lt. Governor. That team beat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in the 2002 governor's race and set the stage for Steele's senate run. The October 25, 2005 announcement was not a surprise and AAEA president Norris McDonald attended the event. (Photo with Steele in background and with Governor Ehrlich)

The Ehrlich/Steele administration passed The Chesapeake Bay Initiative, a $2.50 monthly surcharge on every homeowner in the state to finance the modernization of wastewater treatment plants. They also improved the minority contracting program.