Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D)’s visit to Montgomery County on Tuesday included a ribbon-cutting at the new Choice Hotels headquarters at North Bethesda’s Pike & Rose, a stop at a fundraiser for President Joe Biden at a Bethesda estate—and a press conference. Here’s what he had to say in response to reporters’ questions:
On the Washington Commanders potentially moving to Washington, D.C.:
“I’ve said I want the Commanders to stay in Maryland. I want the Commanders in Prince George’s County. We have already, as a state, allocated $400 million that’s going towards the Blue Line [transit] corridor because we believe in a larger development and creating the live/work/play environment. The Commanders need to stay in Maryland. But those global goals that we laid out to get the Orioles deal done, which we’re very proud of…are the same global goals that we will approach that will approach other negotiations.”
On the 30-year deal the Orioles signed to stay at Camden Yards:
“There were three goals that we had for the Orioles deal. The first goal was that we were going to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and making sure that we’re protecting every taxpayer dollar. The second goal was that we wanted to create winners, not just on the field, but off the field. And we had to make sure we kept them here for the long term. We were not going to do a short-term deal, and we were not going to do some one-year extension, because not only are they unimaginative, but those kinds of deals are also dangerous, and you don’t have to look any further than what is happening in D.C. to see how dangerous it is if you don’t have a long-term deal.
“Honestly, I think what’s happened with the Wizards and the Caps is just a perfect illustration why short-term deals are just bad. You have to lock these up because…these are private entities, and they can move and choose to go wherever they go. And so that’s why one of the criteria that I had when I became the governor on day one, I took the idea of the Orioles signing a one-year lease…off the table.”
On Maryland’s $3 billion transportation cuts:
“Having a world-class transportation system is a very high priority for our administration, and it’s also a reason that we know things like… Maryland paying its fair share into WMATA is incredibly important because the vast majority of riders that are using WMATA are actually Maryland residents.
“The other thing that we know, though, is we have to make sure we have a business model that works. You know, the challenge is that the way we fund the transportation in our state has been the same business model that we’ve had now for over a decade, and we have not been able to see growth, but we’ve been able to see just massive increase in costs. So, we’ve got to fix this business model.”
“We’ve got to make sure that we’re coming up with long-term sustainable solutions to have a world-class transportation system. And our administration is prioritizing not just simply kicking the can down the road, but we’re prioritizing actually getting it right. And that’s our focus.”
On the state of Maryland’s economy:
“If you look at just the past 11 months since our administration came on board, Maryland has jumped 20 slots in economic competitiveness. Maryland now has the lowest unemployment rate in the entire country. We are focused on creating pathways for work, wages and wealth. Those are the three things we’re trying to make sure there’s pathways for every Marylander… Maryland’s economy is moving and we’re not going to stop.”
