FDA official to be new Md. secretary of health and mental hygiene

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley on Tuesday confirmed reports that U.S. Food and Drug Administration Principal Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein will resign to become the state's secretary of health and mental hygiene.

Sharfstein, who previously served as health commissioner in Baltimore during O'Malley's tenure as mayor there, will replace John Colmers, who has held the post for four years.

"I'm very delighted he's willing ... to come back to Maryland," O'Malley (D) told reporters after cutting the ribbon on a new slots casino near Ocean City. "I'm ecstatic."

O'Malley called Colmers "a very intelligent, very capable guy" who had served in one of the most grueling positions in state government during a period of painful budget cuts.

"When John Colmers told me he was moving on, that was a shocker for me," O'Malley said.

O'Malley said Colmers recommended Sharfstein as a replacement.