Gubernatorial Candidate Wes Moore visits Morgan in HBCU tour
Wes Moore, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, stopped by Morgan State University on Thursday for his HBCU campaign tour.
Wes Moore enters the University Student Center to a round of applause.
October 22, 2022
Wes Moore, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, visited Morgan State University on Thursday to discuss his campaign and pressing issues for Morgan students.
“I think it’s important to be able to have a conversation with Morgan students about the importance of HBCU in our state’s future,” said Moore.
Moore’s visit to Morgan was one stop on his plan to tour Maryland’s four Historically Black colleges and universities.
Though Moore did not visit Morgan as a guest of the university, he met privately with University President David Wilson and his cabinet.
“It’s good being back at Morgan and so, I mean, every opportunity that I will have, to come not just visit but to support Morgan, I’m going to,” he said.
During his visit to Morgan, Moore stopped by the University Student Center to answer questions from students on his campaign promises.
Upon Moore’s entrance, Wilson introduced Moore as the “next governor” of Maryland to the audience of students that gathered to listen.
“We at Morgan of course, we don’t endorse candidates,” said Wilson, despite his initial introduction.
“And so I think what I said was that we were on the cusp of making history of Morgan and should that actually materialize, Mr. Moore would indeed be the next Governor of the state of Maryland,” Wilson said.
In September, the Spokesman held a gubernatorial forum for the Democratic and Republican candidates to which Moore declined and Cox accepted.
On Thursday, Moore reasserted that he has avoided debating his oponent in an effort to not promote Cox’s views.
“Where I actually want to spend my time is going in and talking to voters and not debating with Dan Cox whether or not Joe Biden is the president of the United States,” said Moore, who went on to explain that he refuses to share the same stage with someone who hasn’t accepted the 2020 election results.
Moore worked as an investment banker with Citigroup which acquired a predatory lending company seven years before his hiring.
When asked about a plan for ending predatory lending practices in Maryland, Moore mentioned his pride in his company BridgEdu, which aimed to assist under-resourced students across Maryland get into college and stay in college.
Launched in 2014, by Moore, BridgEdu ultimately served 672 students before it was sold and shut down in 2019 due to universities deeming it inneffective, according the Baltimore Banner.
“Working in partnership with the attorney general’s office to be able to not just go after the bad actors, but add a measure of, you know, a measure of supports for those who have fallen victim to that,” said Moore who went on to detail what the Governor’s office can do about it specifically.
“[The governor’s office can] make sure that we are eliminating the pipelines and pathways for these practices to take place so we do not have the challenge of students who are going to face that in the future…so those are all things that…will happen from a Moore-Miller administration,” said Moore.
Moore said that he was excited to be back at Morgan and share his plans with the student body. Moore said in the future he will take every opportunity to not only visit but also support Morgan.
“And that means when we’re talking about work, it means preparing students for the jobs of now and the jobs of the future,” said Moore when detailing how he plans to support Morgan.
He then described his “service year” plan which is a program that equips students who choose not to go to college after high school with the skills and connections to get a job.
Moore also plans to attack the racial wealth gap by addressing unfair appraisal values, restoring historically red-lined neighborhoods, and increasing first-time homeownership to better life after graduation from college.
When asked about his intent for pursuing the gubernatorial position, Moore explained that he doesn’t see the governor’s office as a stepping stone for the presidency like past government officials and past presidents such as Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.
“I don’t see other goals besides making the place at my birth, making my hometown the best place possible,” said Moore, “I’m excited about being the state where we can head, where Maryland does not have to be the tail, Maryland is ready to be the head.”
The inspirational feeling that Moore brought with him was felt across campus.
“I really hope that this encouraged people to vote and really show what Black votership is all about,” said SGA President, Jaden Dawson.
Jordan D. Brown and Lillian Stephens contributed to this article.
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