Year after year, the Maryland Municipal League (MML) welcomes a bevy of state and local leaders to the stage at its summer conference to discuss Maryland’s future.
Among them Monday was Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who served as the official keynote speaker to a large crowd at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City.
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Before Moore’s warm welcome to the stage, Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan spoke candidly to the eager early morning crowd.
“I always get asked how the summer season is going in Ocean City, and it started off a little slow because of the unpredictable weather,” he said.
Although the flow of seasonal vacationers has been noticeably small since Memorial Day weekend — which is considered the unofficial start of the summer season — Meehan, like the rest of the resort, is optimistic about the coming months.
“I had the opportunity to speak with Governor Moore yesterday, and I thanked him for turning up the thermostat across the state of Maryland,” Meehan said, drawing laughter from the audience.
“Because if there’s one place to be when the heat wave hits our state, it’s right here in Ocean City,” he added. “Sunshine is our friend.”
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Gov. Wes Moore emphasizes four pillars as his priorities
During his general keynote address, Governor Moore highlighted a series of Moore-Miller policy pillars, including the following four:
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Childcare
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Housing
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Education
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healthcare
“These are just four examples of things that we can do together to make sure that we’re going to grow our economy, and make sure that that economy can be a participatory economy,” Moore said.
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The governor also spoke of a disciplined approach to the budget that has benefited and will continue to benefit the state immensely. For the first time in nearly a decade, Maryland passed a budget that is smaller than the previous year’s budget.
He then spotlighted his Moore-Miller government team, noting that it is made up of thoughtful, responsive and ambitious individuals who are committed to serving their state and country.
“In this day and age of political vitriol, political tenor, when election season feels like any other season, and when people seem more concerned with the origins of an idea than whether it’s a good idea, I firmly believe in that service will save us, that service will heal us and that service will make us better,” he said.
Overall, the Governor shared that he is excited about the progress he and his administration are seeing in the state of Maryland, from low unemployment rates to low homicide rates to low violent crime rates and more.
“Maryland is making so much progress because we work together; Democrats, Republicans, Independents, the Eastern Shore (of Maryland), Western Maryland and everywhere in between,” Moore said. “The whole country is taking notice.”
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Ocean City exemplifies ‘the Maryland spirit, the Maryland way’
After his time on stage, Moore expressed his excitement about returning to Ocean City.
When considering the Eastern Shore of Maryland as a whole, he said he believes it is the people who inhabit the city of Ocean City that make it stand out from the crowd.
“I love coming back to Ocean City. People always talk about its contributions to the state when it comes to tourism and industry, and that’s all very true,” Moore said of the popular vacation destination.
“But these are also the nicest people. These are people who are optimistic about the future, care for their neighbors and care for each other. That’s the spirit of Maryland; that’s the way of Maryland,” he added.
The governor also shared his plans to visit local mom and pop store Dumser’s Dairyland while he is in town.
“There’s no way I’m not going to leave without getting some Dumser’s ice cream,” Moore said with a smile. “There is no way.”
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Moore believes Maryland’s future, as well as Ocean City’s, looks exceptionally bright.
“I think we’ll have continued growth,” he said. “There are tremendous assets that you have in Ocean City that benefit the state of Maryland. Ocean City is going to have a very important place at our table, a very important place in the conversation about the future of our state.”
“I enjoy working with local leaders and know that everything we do as a state is because we are going to do it in partnership with Ocean City,” Moore said.
The conference will continue through Wednesday, June 26 in Ocean City.
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Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her for tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.
This article originally appeared in the Salisbury Daily Times: Ocean City’s ‘Maryland spirit’ praised by Gov. Wes Moore in his speech
