Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Democratic Gov. Wes Moore made history Wednesday, officially assuming office as Maryland\u2019s first Black chief executive during a ceremony at the state\u2019s capitol building in Annapolis.<\/p>\n
But for Moore \u2014 the nation\u2019s third Black governor and the only one currently serving \u2014 the road to the office was about more than breaking the glass ceiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis journey has never been about making history,\u201d said Moore, an Army veteran, author and former nonprofit director, during his inaugural address. \u201cIt\u2019s about marching forward. Today is not an indictment of the past. Today is a celebration of our collective future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore was sworn in using two Bibles, one of which belonged to abolitionist Frederick Douglass. The new governor wasn\u2019t Maryland\u2019s only history-maker Wednesday: His lieutenant governor, Aruna Miller, became the state\u2019s first woman of color and first immigrant to take on that role. And earlier this month, Anthony G. Brown became Maryland\u2019s first Black attorney general, while Brooke Lierman became the first woman to serve as comptroller.<\/p>\n
The son of a Jamaican immigrant, Moore ran on a pledge to \u201cleave no one behind,\u201d campaigning on a set of progressive policies such as raising the minimum wage, increasing clean energy initiatives and reforming education and policing \u2014 many of which he touched on during his address. Marylanders have been offered a number of \u201cfalse choices,\u201d Moore said, including the choice between \u201ca competitive economy and an equitable one,\u201d and people \u201cfeeling safe in their own community and feeling safe in their own skin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore swept the election in November, trouncing Republican challenger Dan Cox by 33 percentage points<\/a> in a race for the seat left open by former Gov. Larry Hogan, who had met the state\u2019s two-term limit. Democrats were whispering of a potential future presidential run for Moore before the 44-year-old even won the election, likening the political newcomer to former President Barack Obama<\/a>, who aided Moore on the campaign trail. <\/p>\n Oprah Winfrey, who gave a rare endorsement of Moore, introduced him on Wednesday. With Moore, Winfrey said, \u201cMaryland\u2019s best days lie ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd there\u2019s so much more to come,\u201d Winfrey added. \u201cHe\u2019s just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n Moore’s speech included messages of hope and calls to end \u201ctoxic partisanship.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIf we are divided, we cannot win. If we are united, we cannot lose,\u201d Moore said as he closed his remarks. \u201cOur time is now to build a state that for those who came before us, that they fought for. This is not a slogan. It is a fulfillment of a hope.\u201d<\/p>\n