A doubleheader for Wes Moore in Baltimore

Gov. Wes Moore (D) speaks at an event in Baltimore Monday sponsored by the Capitol Hill publication Punchbowl News. Photo by Josh Kurtz.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) has been a soldier, a business owner, the head of a national anti-poverty philanthropy and, most recently, a successful practitioner in the dirty world of politics. But friends, admirers and staffers will sometimes say, half-jokingly, that he is most comfortable on a stage, earnestly discussing the top issues of the day.

Moore had two opportunities to do just that in downtown Baltimore Monday, sitting in plush armchairs at back-to-back events, talking first about small business development and later about expanding educational opportunities for Maryland’s poorest residents.

Both speaking gigs showcased Moore’s policy ambitions and why, in the words of Anna Palmer, CEO of Punchbowl News, which staged the earlier event, he is “a rising star in the Democratic Party.”

Moore’s second appearance, at a regional conference of the Council of State Governments, was the more dramatic. He was paired with another gifted orator, New York education innovator Geoffrey Canada, the president of the Harlem Children’s Zone, who happens to be a longtime mentor of Moore’s.

The two men held a packed ballroom in rapt attention for 45 minutes, as they discussed the importance of providing quality education across all sectors of society, along with their own paths to success – and their decades-long relationship. They alternated asking each other questions, then took some questions from the audience of lawmakers, lobbyists and policy experts from throughout the East Coast.

Moore recounted how, when he was struggling in school as a young teenager living in the Bronx, his mother, out of desperation, called Canada, who runs a celebrated organization that provides supplemental educational programs to poor students to prepare them for college, to ask about the wisdom of sending Moore to military school (he endorsed the idea). Later, Canada served on the board of the New York-based Robin Hood Foundation, the nonprofit that Moore headed before launching his political career.

“Every single crucial turning point in my life, it started with Geoff Canada,” Moore told the crowd. “This is one of the most important mentors and friends that I’ve had in my life, and I thank God for him.”

Canada joked about how auspicious it was for them to be sharing a stage.

“What a pleasure for me,” he said. “I’ve always outranked the governor until now.”

“Always will,” Moore chimed in.

Canada spoke at length about the imperative of investing in education for poor children – because the alternative is worse and so much more costly, contributing to a society riven by drug addiction, joblessness, poverty and incarceration.

“If you’re not prepared to spend money on these kids, you’re going to lose them,” he warned.

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Canada is trying to replicate nationally the success of his Harlem program in New York, which has helped send 2,000 young people to college, and has put out the call for more funding from a variety of sources.

But Canada also came armed with praise, not just for Moore, but for Maryland lawmakers – he name-checked House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) – for passing the ENOUGH Act this year, a measure designed to help end poverty in the state.

Canada said the bill is a welcome and necessary step after the devastation COVID-19 wrought on the education system and student learning, which he called the worst disruptor to educational progress that he’s seen in half a century as an educator.

“There’s only one state that I know in this country that’s doing anything about it,” he said.

ENOUGH – for Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments and Households – sets aside $15 million in the state budget this year and next for “neighborhood implementation grants,” which can be awarded to programs in communities where at least 20% of children are living in poverty.

Moore told the audience how the legislation would not have come together without the input of lawmakers, community leaders and other stakeholders.

“It becomes really important to make the time to build coalitions,” he said.

‘Asset-rich and strategy poor’

Two hours earlier and eight blocks away, at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, Moore was the featured speaker at a town hall sponsored by Punchbowl News, the buzziest and most entrepreneurial of Capitol Hill publications, whose rise mirrors Moore’s own trajectory and political standing. There, he shared the stage with Palmer and Jake Sherman, co-founders of the 3-year-old news site.

In a 25-minute session, Moore talked about presidential politics – he laughed when asked if he had any announcements to make, then suggested Vice President Kamala Harris should select as a running mate “the person she is most comfortable with. I don’t do box-checking. No vice president has brought a state since 1960.”

Moore also expressed optimism about the state’s ability to pull in adequate federal funding to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge by 2028, which he estimated would cost $1.9 billion.

“I’ve been very encouraged by the bipartisan support we’ve gotten,” he said. “I’m on the phone with members of Congress every day.”

Moore said that what the state is seeking is “bridge funding,” to carry the cost of rebuilding the span while waiting for insurance payments and lawsuit judgments to poor in.

“We’re pretty sure the American people are going to be made whole,” he said.

But mainly, Moore was there to discuss small business development, to a group that consisted mostly of African American entrepreneurs. Asked to describe the status of Maryland’s economy, Moore replied, “I would say that we are asset-rich and strategy-poor.”

It’s a line he has repeated since he began campaigning, but it resonated with the crowd, who hummed and nodded in agreement.

Moore said that a major priority of his administration is ensuring that investment capital is being spread evenly throughout the state, along with procurement reform and more funding for child care, to ensure that aspiring entrepreneurs of color can succeed.

“We can be the best place in the world to change the world,” he said. “Small businesses are going to lead the way. I’m only going to be successful, the state’s only going to be successful, if they’re successful.”

When Moore left the stage, two local entrepreneurs spoke about building their businesses and described their partnership with the state. They also discussed a Goldman Sachs program for small businesses leaders that they recently participated in – Goldman Sachs was a sponsor of the Punchbowl event.

For the governor, there will be more chatting. His office said Monday he’s due to take the stage at a fireside chat in Washington, D.C., Tuesday afternoon with Target CEO Brian Cornell.