FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Feb. 2, 2022
Wes Moore releases statement on Governor Hogan’s State of the State address
BALTIMORE (Feb. 2, 2022) – Democratic Candidate for Governor Wes Moore today released the following statement in response to Governor Larry Hogan’s State of The State Address.
“The many Maryland families who’ve struggled to put food on the table, and gain access to life-saving benefits were met with a negligence of the urgency necessary to meet this moment from outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan. In his final State of the State address, Gov. Hogan’s remarks and proposed budget is a clear reminder to Marylanders in every corner of the state that help is not on the way in the final months of this administration.
Let’s be clear about what the Governor is calling for when it comes to education — He is trying to block a historic investment in the Blueprint for Maryland’s families, which the legislature passed and passed again to override this Governor’s veto. The Governor is trying to strip $140 million in education funding – almost entirely from two majority Black jurisdictions, Baltimore City and Prince George’s County. This comes at a time when Maryland ranks 37th in the nation in unemployment, meaning we are failing to prepare Marylanders to step into good jobs and preventing them from being able to provide for themselves and their families.
In addition to leaving our children behind, the Governor continues to fail to lead on public safety. Crime is not a Baltimore problem alone – it is a statewide problem that Governor Hogan has failed to lead on. Under the Governor’s watch over the last four years, 11 counties in Maryland have seen an increase in murders – that’s half the jurisdictions in this state. 14 counties have had an increase in rapes over the past four years. While the Governor has tried to pass the blame to municipal leaders, violent crime has risen across the state under his watch. Our local leaders need a partner, and that partnership has not been there.
What the Governor said about public safety tonight is too little too late to address how violent crime has risen under his watch. We will not get out of this by tinkering with sentencing guidelines – after the crime has been committed. We need to fund proven community based violence intervention programs. We need to ban ghost guns to help police trace and track perpetrators of violent crime. We need to fix our broken parole and probation systems. We need to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the legislature and with municipal and community leaders to make our communities safer.
Families across Maryland need leadership and action when it comes to education, public safety, and our economy. That is exactly what I am committed to delivering as Governor.”
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