Governor Wes Moore Shares Vision for Inclusive, Equitable, and Resilient Economy in Maryland During Bloomberg CityLab Plenary Session in DC

Patrick Herron October 19, 2023 at 8:37am

Per the State of Maryland: Governor Wes Moore today shared his vision and top priorities for Maryland at the 2023 Bloomberg CityLab plenary session in Washington, D.C.. The three-day event, organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with the Aspen Institute, brings together more than 500 innovators, business leaders, artists, and activists to discuss and discover replicable solutions to pressing issues.

“I want the people of Maryland to know that we care deeply about their communities,” said Gov. Moore. “I want to see issues first-hand and I want communities to be at the table when we talk about how we’re going to fix them—that is how we are going to make this Maryland’s decade.”

Bloomberg CityLab was founded on the principle that the most important innovation is happening at the local level.
During the session, Governor Moore discussed with MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart how success in communities across Maryland—whether in cities, small towns or rural communities—is deeply interwoven. The governor expressed his vision to make this Maryland’s decade through the action that the Moore-Miller Administration is taking to usher in a new era of economic development that is resilient, inclusive, and equitable. Key to the administration’s approach to spurring innovation are critical investments in transportation and elevating service.

Governor Moore announced the relaunch of the Baltimore Red Line to significantly enhance east-west connectivity across the Baltimore region. Shaped by more than ten years of study, engineering, environmental analysis, and substantial community participation, the relaunch of the Red Line project will improve transit efficiency, increase access to work and activity centers, provide connections to existing transit and other transportation modes, offer more commuter choices, and support economic development and community revitalization.

“Better east-west transit in Baltimore has been identified as a need for more than a decade. The Baltimore Red Line project incorporated several important community needs identified through an extensive community involvement process,” said Gov. Moore. “Revitalizing the Red Line shows our commitment to economic development, transportation, climate action, and equity. The project will be an investment in residents’ access to jobs, education, services, and opportunities.”

Governor Moore’s SERVE Act created the first-in-the-nation service year option to boost community service among young people, allowing them to give back to their communities and be paid for their work and provide training options to act as a bridge to employment, additional service opportunities, or continuing education. Through the new Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation, service opportunities will help address priority issues facing Maryland including climate, education, health, and workforce expansion.

“We’ve got to be a state that serves together, we’ve got to be a state that works together. That’s why the Serve Act was so important,” said Gov. Moore. “Maryland is now the first state in this country that has a service year option for our high school graduates. The first state away from political dismissiveness, and divisiveness. If we serve together, we’ll stay together. And if we stay together, it is service that will save us.”

To learn more about Bloomberg CityLab, visit https://citylab.bloomberg.org/.