On their 100th day in office on Friday, barrier-breaking Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller (D) will be where they have been a lot so far in their terms — on the road.
Between the two of them, the Moore-Miller team has been to every county in the state at least once since their inauguration on Jan. 18 (and Miller will have personally been to all 24 jurisdictions herself by the end of the day Friday, her staff said).
Moore has traveled as far out as Lonaconing, in Allegany County, marking the first time since 1996 that a sitting governor had visited the town.
“When I said we were going to represent the State of Maryland from the sandy beaches of the Eastern Shore to the rolling hills of Western Maryland, I meant it,” Moore said after the visit. “Our administration is going to raise the voices of all Marylanders, with the goal of creating a more competitive and equitable home for all.”
On Friday, Moore and Miller will, in fact, be together on the Eastern Shore, visiting Salisbury University and the Salisbury Regional Airport before meeting for a 100th-day celebratory lunch at Snapper’s Waterfront Cafe and Tiki Bar in Cambridge.
In brief comments about his first 100 days in office on Thursday, Moore said he was proud to have “changed the tenor” in Annapolis, focusing on working with legislators during his first General Assembly session.
Moore said each of the ten bills he sponsored passed with some bipartisan support — even if some of the measures were diluted versions of his initial proposals. Those bills included measures to accelerate the state’s move to a $15 minimum wage (lawmakers stripped a provision to index future increases with inflation), increase tax breaks for military retirees, and expand tax credits for low-income Marylanders.
The governor regularly invited lawmakers to Government House, hosting breakfasts for guests ranging from a couple of legislators to larger caucus groups.
“I think we’re showing there’s a new tenor of partnership in Maryland, that we can debate issues, yet at the same time, we can focus more on ‘Is it a good idea?’ than ‘Where did the idea come from?’” Moore said.
And perhaps most personally to the governor, he has attempted to cement in the first 100 days his reputation as the “service governor.” He signed into law this week a paid service-year option for Maryland high school graduates that will be guided by a new $18-million investment in the Department of Service and Civic Innovation.
Moore saw the confirmation of his full Cabinet — save for one member appointed after the legislative session ended — and has a budget that will guide state government in his mold beginning July 1.
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