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Editorās note: Maryland Matters reporters sat down with some of the candidates for governor at the recent Maryland Association of Counties conference. Interviews with these candidates have appeared over the past few days. And we will bring you interviews with other gubernatorial contenders as the campaign unfolds.Ā
- One-on-one with Kelly Schulz: Commerce secretary brings business focus to gubernatorial bid
- John King: Government should be a āforce for good in peopleās livesā
Wes Moore likes to say he comes āfrom a long line of preachers and teachers.ā
But over a coffee recently in Ocean City, one particular preacher in his lineage came to mind: his grandfather.
His grandfather was the first on his motherās side to be born in the U.S.
But his great-grandfather, a vocal minister, was run out of the country by threats from the Ku Klux Klan, resettling his family in Jamaica.
Years later, Mooreās grandfather would return ā āHe always said I was born here and no one has the right to take away my American-nessā ā and become the first Black minister in the Dutch Reformed Church.
But despite a righteous life that revolved around giving back to others, his grandfather was unable to accumulate wealth, something thatās held in common by too many generations of Black Americans, Moore says.
āThis is a person who devoted his entire life to his family, his entire life to his country, who was maybe the most patriotic man Iāve ever met in my life ā and he wasnāt able to hand over anything to his children and grandchildren,ā Moore said.
Moore sums up his focus in seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2022 alliteratively: āWork, wages and wealth will really be the north stars.ā
What does that mean? Those concepts touch on everything a state administration should be focused on, from the training that students will receive in schools to getting rid of transportation deserts, to thinking of housing in new ways, and eradicating health care bills as the leading cause of bankruptcy in the state.
āWe can be so much better when you think about the assets that this state has,ā Moore said.
He notes that Prince Georgeās County āhas a real stake to claimā for being the nationās highest-income African American jurisdiction, but still struggles with issues like high foreclosure rates and low wealth.
āAnd itās a core distinction between saying we have high income and saying we have high wealth. Those are two different things,ā Moore said.
The pandemic has brought issues of inequity into stark relief. In the coming weeks, Moore plans to release a set of equity-focused policy proposals on the campaignās core topics of work, wages and wealth.
āFor some people this past year was an inconvenience. And for some people this past year was catastrophic.ā
One policy Moore wants to enact quickly is an acceleration of the stateās move to a $15 minimum wage.
āThe fact that we are talking about putting together a $15 minimum wage by 2025 is absurd,ā Moore said of the stateās current policy. āIt will not [take] until 2025 in my administration. Itās something that Maryland should have already had done.ā
Moore said the state also needs more direction when it comes to universal plans for improving peoplesā lives.
āWe have a state that is asset rich, and strategy poor,ā Moore says, listing some of the things that make Maryland great: the Chesapeake Bay, Johns Hopkins, NASA, and more. āWe have all these assets that are sitting there and no strategy about how theyāre interacting, how theyāre coordinating, how we have a school system thatās actually preparing our students to take advantage of those assets.ā
While recognizing the governorās limited ability to drive education policy in Maryland ā with a state school board and superintendent, as well as elected local school boards ā Moore said he would drive support for education reform as governor.
āConstitutional indirect responsibility does not mean abdication of responsibility,ā he said, alluding to Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.ās veto of the multi-billion-dollar Blueprint education reforms. āā¦The constitutional responsibility of the governor to be able to think about our educational system has never been more pronounced.ā
There are some issues with the implementation of the Blueprint ā particularly the large local contributions required of Prince Georgeās County and the city of Baltimore, he said. But āaddressing those things in the operationalization and implementation should not come to the detriment of actually getting stuff done.ā
The plan includes universal best practices that all Maryland children deserve, Moore said, not just the wealthiest ones.
āWe should be implementing a universal pre-K system in the state. All the data continues to reinforce that the earlier we can get kids inside of classrooms, in a structured educational environment, it is the best thing not only for the child, but it is the best thing for the family.ā
The Blueprint will be the ācore driver of ā¦ the future of the stateās economy, the future of the stateās workforce, and whatās the future of the stateās prospects,ā he said.
Moore has never held elected office, but āmy entire professional career I have been involved in government: state government, local government, federal government,ā he said, noting his careers as an Army paratrooper and officer, head of an organization that guided first-generation and disadvantaged college students, and running one of the largest nonprofits in the country, Robin Hood, which he left earlier this year to run for governor.
Some of the things heās most proud of during his four years at Robin Hood āwerenāt just the allocations of cashā but changes in public policy, including an adjustment to make the child tax credit fully refundable.
āLiterally we cut the child poverty rate in almost half in the stroke of a pen,ā Moore said.
Earlier this year, he advocated for a bill to provide state financial assistance to close the āappraisal gapā in some neighborhoods, or the gap between the cost of construction or renovation of a home versus the potential sale price, a dynamic exacerbated by historic red-lining practices.
āIāve worked with state government, for my entire professional career, and Iāve been public service, my entire professional career,ā Moore said. āI just havenāt been a politician.ā
dgaines@marylandmatters.org
Ā our interview this week with Republican Kelly Schulz.Ā Ā our interview this week with Democrat John King.
