Both candidates for governor said in their short speeches Friday they would fully restore highway user revenue funding in their first term and would create a bright future for Maryland. However, Brown said his and Hogan’s plans to create a better future for the state are different.

Brown said he would focus on the economy and universal pre-K education.

“My question for Marylanders is simple,” Brown said. “What kind of future are we going to choose for our state? Do we want to invest in universal high-quality pre-K education, that’s what the residents of your cities and towns want … or will we choose instead to give a large tax giveaway to the smallest group of Maryland’s largest corporations, choosing the privileged few over our children?”

Hogan, a resident of Anne Arundel County and a small business owner, said there are only three Fortune 500 companies in the state, down from 13 several years ago. Jobs have been lost, and Maryland ranks 49th in all state economies and third in the nation in foreclosures, he said. His priorities, if elected governor, would be jobs and growing the economy.

“The incumbent administration has loaded their bloated budgets on the backs of local governments, small businesses and struggling Maryland families,” Hogan said. “They picked the lock box and siphoned a billion dollars from the Transportation Trust Fund.”