Robert. L. Ehrlich Biography Quotes 7 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Robert Latham Ehrlich Jr., widely known as Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., was born in 1957 in Arbutus, Maryland, a blue-collar community in Baltimore County. He grew up in a working-class environment that shaped his pragmatism and his emphasis on upward mobility through education and work. He attended Princeton University, earning a bachelor of arts in 1979, and played varsity football while there. He went on to earn a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1982, laying the foundation for a legal and public service career rooted in advocacy, negotiation, and policy.

Entry Into Public Service
After law school, Ehrlich returned to Maryland and practiced law, building local ties and a reputation for diligence and constituent service. He entered elected office in the Maryland House of Delegates in 1987, representing a Baltimore County district through 1995. In Annapolis, he developed a center-right profile focused on fiscal responsibility, education, and public safety. Those years also introduced him to a network of Maryland leaders, including future governor Martin O Malley on the other side of the aisle and long-serving Democrats such as Parris Glendening, whose tenure as governor would eventually precede Ehrlich s own.

U.S. House of Representatives
In 1994, Ehrlich won election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland s 2nd District, succeeding Helen Delich Bentley. Serving from 1995 to 2003, he worked on issues spanning health care, transportation, and business regulation. He became known for constituent-focused casework and a willingness to engage across the aisle on discrete policy areas, even as he upheld Republican positions on taxes and spending. His congressional tenure connected him with Maryland s delegation, including figures such as Steny Hoyer and Ben Cardin, and positioned him as a credible statewide candidate. When he left Congress to run for governor in 2002, he was succeeded by C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger.

Governor of Maryland
Ehrlich s 2002 gubernatorial campaign emphasized economic development, education reform, and avoiding broad tax hikes. He selected Michael S. Steele as his running mate; their victory made Steele the first African American elected statewide in Maryland and Ehrlich the first Republican governor of the state in 36 years, following the long Democratic stretch since the era of Spiro T. Agnew. Ehrlich served from 2003 to 2007 with Steele as lieutenant governor and Larry Hogan as his appointments secretary, a role that would later elevate Hogan s profile before his own gubernatorial career.

As governor, Ehrlich prioritized a series of initiatives he framed as both reformist and pragmatic. He signed Maryland s charter school law in 2003, opening the way for public charter schools in the state. In 2004 he approved the Bay Restoration Fund, often called the flush tax, aimed at upgrading wastewater treatment plants and reducing nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. He advocated legalizing slot machine gambling to support education and balance the budget without broad-based tax increases, a policy that sparked years of debate in Annapolis and returned in later administrations.

Ehrlich also focused on transportation planning, higher education funding, and initiatives intended to expand opportunities for small and minority-owned businesses. His administration worked to streamline processes inside state government and sought to cultivate a business-friendly environment while maintaining core social services. In a state dominated by Democrats, his term included frequent negotiations with legislative leaders, as well as high-profile disagreements that reflected Maryland s partisan balance.

Election Battles and Return Campaign
In 2006, Ehrlich sought a second term but faced a formidable challenge from Baltimore mayor Martin O Malley, who teamed with running mate Anthony Brown. Ehrlich s campaign highlighted fiscal stewardship and environmental action; O Malley emphasized education and management reforms. O Malley defeated Ehrlich, and the office transitioned in January 2007. Four years later, in 2010, Ehrlich attempted a comeback with Mary Kane as his running mate. The rematch once again favored O Malley, who secured a second term. Those two races, and the presence of figures such as Michael Steele, Anthony Brown, and Mary Kane around them, set the contours of Maryland politics for a decade.

Legal and Public Roles After Office
After leaving the governorship, Ehrlich returned to the private sector as an attorney and consultant in the Baltimore-Washington region, advising clients on government relations and regulatory matters. He remained active in public discourse, writing and speaking on fiscal discipline, education, and bipartisan problem-solving. He hosted a talk radio program on WBAL in Baltimore, frequently joined by his wife, Kendel, where the couple discussed state and national policy with callers and newsmakers. Ehrlich also authored a book, Turn This Car Around, reflecting on governing in a blue state and arguing for practical reform over partisan gridlock.

Personal Life
Ehrlich married Kendel Sibiski Ehrlich, an attorney and former prosecutor who served as Maryland s first lady during his term. Kendel played a visible role in administration outreach and public health initiatives and later worked in public service roles of her own. The couple have two sons, Drew and Joshua. Family life, Maryland sports, and community events remained central to Ehrlich s public persona and aided his ability to connect with voters across traditional political lines.

Legacy and Influence
Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is remembered as a Republican governor who governed in a strongly Democratic state by emphasizing practical results, cleaner waterways, and educational choice within the public system. The Bay Restoration Fund and Maryland s charter school framework are among the most durable policy markers of his tenure. His partnership with Michael Steele helped reshape perceptions of statewide Republican politics in Maryland, while his collaboration with and opposition to leaders such as Parris Glendening and Martin O Malley defined a period of competitive two-party politics in the state. Ehrlich s post-government voice as a lawyer, commentator, and author kept him engaged in debates over the balance between fiscal prudence and social investment, and his mentorship of colleagues, including Larry Hogan, echoed in a later era of Maryland leadership.

Our collection contains 7 quotes who is written by L. Ehrlich, under the main topics: Justice - Leadership - Parenting - Human Rights - Gratitude.