Wes Moore sworn in as Maryland’s first Black governor
Published:Wednesday | January 18, 2023 | 4:40 PM
ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (AP) — Wes Moore, an African-American of Jamaican heritage was sworn in as the first Black governor of Maryland on Wednesday, pledging to work for greater inclusion and economic equity while also focusing on improving education, fighting crime and climate change.
Moore, after being introduced by Oprah Winfrey in front of the Maryland State House, noted that the state is one of the wealthiest in the nation, but he also described it as “asset-rich and strategy poor.”
“It is time for our policies to be as bold as our aspirations and to confront the fact that we have been offered false choices,” Moore said. “We do not have to choose between a competitive economy and an equitable one.”
The 44-year-old Democrat, who won in a landslide in November, also committed to fighting violent crime. Many Maryland residents have grown weary in their faith in government's ability to keep them safe, he said.
In Baltimore, Maryland's largest city, homicides surpassed 300 for the eighth year running last year. Gun violence remains high, despite repeated promises from elected officials and new anti-violence initiatives.
Moore said the state can build a police force “that moves with appropriate intensity and absolute integrity and full accountability, and embrace the fact that we cannot and will not militarise ourselves to safety.”
“We do not have to choose between being a safe state and a just one,” Moore said. “Maryland can, and we will, be both.”
Moore, who has not held public office before now, won a crowded Democratic primary in July before going on to win the general election by more than 30 percentage points against Republican Dan Cox, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Moore is a best-selling author and former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty non-profit. He also is a Rhodes scholar and a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan.
Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.