GOVERNORS: U. S. Governors of Maryland and Michigan: ‘Builders of the Homeland’ promoting education, healthcare, freedom, and rights
AGN.News Team
January 26, 2023
WASHINGTON (AGN.News) – United States governors are facing unprecedented issues as leaders of their states. Many of those issues are unprecedented and have to be addressed on a federal level.
However, many other concerns are local in nature and are state level issues requiring state governors to help resolve them in full cooperation with the federal government.
AGN Life on its 2023 edition
AGN Life, in its 2023 edition, will be highlighting local and state solutions to problems facing the lives of ordinary people in many communities across America.
Currently, our “Americans Are United” series is addressing ‘Builders of the Homeland’ Part 1-7. This new series or edition is highlighting United States governors and their visions for their states.
Many current governors (or mayors) in U.S. states, territories, and the federal district are seeing their populations on the rise. On November 8, 2022 these populations elected their respective governors to lead the executive branch of their state government.
Maryland: The Seventh U.S. state
Maryland, known as the “Old Line State”, “the Free State”, and the “Chesapeake Bay State”, with a population of 6,177,224 in 2020, was admitted to the Union on April 28, 1788 as the 7th state. Its Capitol city is Annapolis. Its new governor is Westley Watende Omari Moore (Wes Moore).
In 1790, the state ceded land for the establishment of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. Since the 1940s, the state’s population has grown rapidly, to approximately six million residents, and it is among the most densely populated U.S. states.
Home to Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (also known as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded on February 22, 1876, Johns Hopkins was the first U.S. university based on the European research institution model. It consistently ranks among the most prestigious universities in the United States and the world.
The university, whose motto is “The truth will set you free”, was named for its first benefactor, the American entrepreneur and Quaker philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Hopkins’ $7 million bequest to establish the university was the largest philanthropic gift in U.S. history up to that time.
Johns Hopkins is organized into 10 divisions on campuses throughout Maryland, including Laurel, Rockville, Columbia, Aberdeen, California, Elkridge, and Owings Mills.
As of October 2019, 39 Nobel laureates and one Fields Medalist have been affiliated with Johns Hopkins’s faculty and alumni.
Maryland’s unique history
The state’s central role in U.S. history is reflected by its hosting of some of the highest numbers of historic landmarks per capita.
As of 2015, Maryland had the highest median household income of any state, owing in large part to its proximity to Washington, D.C.
Maryland has a highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, retail services, public administration, real estate, higher education, information technology, defense contracting, health care, and biotechnology.
Maryland’s newly elected governor
Governor Wes Moore (44) is the 63rd governor of Maryland. As a member of the Democratic Party, he is the first Black governor of the state, the third Black person elected as governor of any U.S. state, and as of 2023, the only incumbent Black governor of any U.S. state.
Moore was born in Maryland and raised largely in New York. Governor Moore attended Johns Hopkins University, where he studied international relations and economics and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa in 2001.
After graduating, he attended Wolfson College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where he earned a master’s degree in international relations in 2004. He submitted a thesis titled Rise and Ramifications of Radical Islam in the Western Hemisphere.
Moore was activated in the Army following the September 11 attacks, and deployed to Afghanistan from 2005 to 2006, attaining the rank of captain in the 82nd Airborne Division. He separated from the Army in 2014.
Governor Wes Moore’s priorities
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore outlined education and transportation as the state’s priorities amid a large budget surplus while maintaining an ample Rainy Day Fund to be prepared for an economic downturn. He described his budget plan as being “bold without being reckless.”
Moore, at a news conference on January 20, 2023 said of the budget, “It prepares us to weather the downside risk in the larger economy, but it also makes long-needed investments to position us for long-term growth.”
Moore highlighted a $500 million allocation to the state’s sweeping education reform law known as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, which is being phased in with costs rising in later years.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future focuses on expanding early childhood education, increasing teachers’ salaries, and providing aid to help struggling schools adequately prepare students for college and careers.
Michigan’s unique place in history
Michigan, “The Great Lake State”, with a population of over 10,077,331, was admitted to the Union on January 26, 1837 as the 26th state.
Michigan’s Capitol city is Lansing. Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline of any political subdivision in the United States, being bordered by four of the five Great Lakes and Lake St. Clair. It also has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds. Michigan has the second-most water of any state, behind only Alaska.
The Metro Detroit area in Southeast Michigan is the state’s largest metropolitan area (roughly 50% of the population resides there) and the eleventh largest in the United States.
The Grand Rapids metropolitan area in Western Michigan is the state’s fastest-growing metro area, with more than 1,059,113 residents as of 2017.
Metro Detroit receives more than 15 million visitors each year. Michigan has many popular tourist destinations, including areas such as Frankenmuth in The Thumb, and Traverse City on the Grand Traverse Bay in Northern Michigan. Tourists spend about $17 billion annually in Michigan supporting 193,000 jobs.
Michigan’s newly re-elected governor
Governor Whitmer (51) was elected governor in the 2018 Michigan gubernatorial election. She was re-elected on November 8, 2022 as Michigan’s governor.
Governor Whitmer was born in Lansing and received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in communication in 1993, and a Juris Doctor from Michigan State University in 1998.
Its newly re-elected governor is Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer, an American lawyer, is a member of the Democratic Party. She served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 and in the Michigan Senate from 2006 to 2015.
On January 3, 2017, Whitmer announced she would run in the 2018 Michigan gubernatorial race. On August 7, 2018, Whitmer became the Democratic nominee for governor of Michigan. She won all 83 counties in the state in the Democratic primary.
Whitmer said, if elected, she would focus on improving Michigan’s fundamentals, such as schools, roads, and water systems. She won the November 6, 2018 election by nearly a 10-point margin.
As governor, she has focused on women’s healthcare and Medicaid expansion. One of her other priorities is to address Michigan’s infrastructure.
Whitmer’s State of the State Address
On January 25, 2022, Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave her yearly State of the State address Wednesday night, in which she outlined key goals surrounding education proposals and tax relief.
Whitmer used the address to announce two new major pieces of policy—the “Lowering MI Costs” plan and “Make it in Michigan” initiative.
The Lowering MI Costs plan encompasses much of Whitmer’s economic priorities for the state, including eliminating the pension tax, expanding tax credits for low-income and working families.
Whitmer also asked to make the Great Start Readiness Program universal, so as to allow all four-year-olds in the state to attend preschool. Should the program expand, Whitmer said it would save families, on average, $10,000 a year in child care costs, according to StateNews.com
“I am proud that we created powerful economic development tools and I know we will work together to make them the strongest in our state’s history,” Whitmer said. “For too long, we were fighting with a hand tied behind our back. Now we’ve got the upper hand.” – Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Whitmer addresses priorities
“When a child gets a great start, learns to read, and graduates high school, they are on track to land a good-paying job or pursue higher education,” Whitmer said.
Speaking of the COVID-19 effect on the state’s education of its children, she said:
“Unfortunately, the last few years have disrupted regular learning patterns. In-class instruction alone is not enough—our children need more support to master the skills we know they need most.”
Getting rid of the state’s 1931 ban on abortions and expansions of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act were cited by Whitmer as examples of forthcoming legislative efforts to make Michigan a more inclusive state.
“We should build on our reputation as a welcoming beacon of opportunity where anyone can succeed,” Whitmer said.
Whitmer sees legislator support
GOP legislators said they felt more optimistic about the governor’s plans for the new term. Rep. John Roth, R-Traverse City, said there were several topics in the speech that he saw as opportunities for bipartisan cooperation.
“I was happy to hear the governor was on our economic plans that we did last year, and wants to continue on with those,” Roth said. “I’m glad to hear that.”
House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, said that his caucus is excited to get to work making the policy plans Whitmer discussed a reality.
“We’ve been talking about the agenda that you’ve been seeing for over the past decade,” Tate said. “How are we supporting working families? How are we looking at safe and strong communities? How are we building a world class education system for our students in Michigan?”
Education, health, tax credits and jobs
Education expansion is an ongoing issue for many local communities. Growing populations and the need for available healthcare solutions are on-tap for more availability in Michigan.
Since 1960, modern advances in the auto industry have led to increased automation, high-tech industry, and increased suburban growth. Michigan is the leading auto-producing state in the United States. Under Whitmer’s leadership, Michigan continues to create jobs.
Whitmer said, “As we work together to build a brighter future, we need to lower costs and support every kind of family – those who have kids and those who do not.”
“The Working Families Tax Credit benefits all kinds of families, and it directly impacts nearly 1 million children—almost half the kids in Michigan. It will put hundreds of millions back in family budgets to help with rent, school supplies, and food on the table.”
The United States Governors of Maryland and Michigan are ‘Builders of the Homeland’ who’re promoting democracy, freedom, and unity of purpose as well as good governance.
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