Annapolis — Governor-elect Wes Moore’s cabinet choices so far show he’s trying to live up to his promise to govern differently than the status quo, but time will tell if that continues. Observer says yes.

“There was a time in Annapolis when people felt like …it was more common for legislators to be secretaries to the cabinet, and by extension, like legislators running these bodies. I feel and have access to the information I need,” said Michael Rich, Gov. Larry Hogan’s communications director. “That has changed. I think the incoming Governor Moore will make a similar effort to bring in outsiders and try to have a more holistic view. It’s a departure from what has been for a long time.”

Rich, who has held similar roles under House Speaker Paul Ryan and former House Speaker John Boehner, said the trend began under Hogan and is being streamlined with Moore in office. Of his 22 appointments to Mr. Moore, those with legislative experience include Governor-elected Lieutenant Al Namah Miller, soon-to-be Secretary of State Senator Susan Lee, and former Congressman Eric Lute, chief legislative officer. Only Mr. Ke.

“At Annapolis, there’s a lot of egos, history, and stories about this lobbyist and that lobbyist. (For Moore) he comes in from the outside, so he doesn’t carry that baggage, so it doesn’t weigh that,” Rich said. said.

Both parties echo this sentiment.

“I think that’s why he was elected. People wanted something different. They wanted to change what we’ve been through the last eight years.” It’s obviously different from what we had. His perspective is different. His politics are different and the way he governs will definitely be different,” said Del. Tony Bridges of D-Baltimore City. Told. “I wouldn’t say it’s very different from what other governors have tried to do, but I would say the way he’s calling people over and the names we’ve heard so far are a little different than what we’ve seen. I think… the last eight years, and certainly among the last two governors.”

Moore took office Wednesday and holds the bible of abolitionist, author and orator Frederick Douglass, who was enslaved in Maryland. I’m black.

As of Tuesday, Moore has filled 20 cabinet seats, with several appointments remaining before his inauguration on Wednesday. The incoming governor says he wants to make appointments carefully to build a government that “looks like Maryland.” So far, his appointments have brought 11 women and his 10 people of color into national service.

Moore announced several cabinet appointments on Tuesday:

• The incoming administration has announced that Salisbury Mayor Jake Day will become secretary of housing and community development.
• Kevin Attix has been appointed state agriculture secretary. Attics founded Grow & Fortify to support value-added agricultural organizations and the businesses they represent.
• Moore appointed Selina McIlwain as the state’s environment secretary. She served as Undersecretary for the California Environmental Protection Agency.
• Josh Kurtz was appointed Secretary of Natural Resources. Kurtz served as the Maryland Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
• Carol Beatty was appointed Disability Secretary. She was appointed to the post by Governor Larry Hogan in her 2015.
• Rebecca Flora has been appointed as project secretary and Carmel Roquez as aging secretary.
• Kevin Anderson has been appointed to lead the state’s commercial sector.
• Hagerstown Mayor Emily Keller has been appointed special secretary for opioids.

Moore’s cabinet may be the most diverse in Maryland’s history, but he’s also trying to strike a balance between private sector individuals and those with government experience, he said. said Todd Eberle, associate professor of political science and coordinator of public policy studies at St. Mary University of Maryland.

“He is surrounded by people in the cabinet and inside circles, especially those who are well versed in the politics of the state. I pick people who have the same,” Eberly said. “Voters have shown, especially in recent years, that they rather like the idea of ​​bringing people with experience outside government into government so they can find ways to connect these two worlds.”

Eberly said he’s setting another bar for future Maryland executives based on Moore’s appointment and remarks throughout the transition process. It is rhetoric often deployed by Republicans that emphasizes the experience of the private sector and new perspectives of government. So far, 12 of Moore’s appointments have had experience in the private sector, and eight of them have worked in government or in both government agencies and the private sector.