April 5, 2022 • 44 mins
Today host Louis Carr speaks with Wes Moore, American author, entrepreneur, and United States Army veteran. Moore is also the Democratic candidate for governor of Maryland.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
I'm Louis Carr, host of the Blueprint Connect podcast. The
Blueprint Connect podcast is an extension of the Blueprint Man's Summit,
where we have consistently given men a prescription for pro
not just for themselves, but also for their families and
their communities. Doing these podcasts, who will educate and motivate
(00:24):
our listeners about entrepreneurship, careers, finance, health and wellness and relationships.
Our special guest today is Westmore, candidate for governor in
the great State of Maryland and author of the New
York Times bestseller The Other Westmore. Welcome west It's so
(00:47):
good to be with your brother. It was, it's it's
actually it's a it's an honor to view with you.
I admire you deeply and and I'm excited to be
part of the part of the community. So this is great. Well,
thank you, thank you for um allowing us to introduce
you to the way Maker community. And we're excited about
what you have to say today. So what, so let's
(01:09):
just jump right into it. How and why did you
decide to run for government? You had a good job,
all right, you had a good job. You were known, uh,
you wrote a great book. Why did you decide that
you wanted to do this heavy lift? Well, you know,
(01:30):
I mean, honestly, it first start off with the fact
that the present and the future of the state. It's
just it's very personal to me. You know. I'm you know,
I was, I was born here, I was, I came
of age here. I I uh you know, I've had
some of my most amazing and traumatic memories here. Uh.
You know, I met my wife here. We we we
fell in love, and we're raising our kids here, right. So,
(01:52):
so this so the State of Maryland is a very
personal place for me. Um And I also know that
there is no and for our state to be so
inequitable when you consider the fact that we're the wealthiest
state inside this country. And you know, this is a
place where literally some of the some of the greatest
technology companies in the world are being built right here
(02:13):
in the State of Maryland. Yet we have children who
don't have WiFi and broad band right. We have some
of the greatest medical institutions in the world. People literally
travel from around the globe to come to the State
of Maryland to get treated. And we have people who
lived down the street from those medical facilities who cannot
afford to get treated in them. And and I remember
(02:34):
having this conversation about about, you know, economic growth and
economic mobility and how do we create mechanisms for economic
mobility for everybody? And um, I was having a conversation
with a colleague of mine when I was CEO of
the Robin Foundation and one of the one of the
things we did there was we built this initiative called
nine Did Zero which focused on the racial wealth gap
(02:55):
where you look at even in the state of Maryland,
there's an eight to one racial wealth gap in the
state in Maryland. And I told one of my colleagues
that I was getting ready to leave Robin and I said,
I think it's time for me to for me to
after after almost five years of being the CEO, it's
time to step down. And I think I'm gonna run
for governor of my home state. And I said one
of the issues I want to work on our things
(03:16):
like economic growth and and erasing the wealth gap. And
he said to me, He's like, but you're working on
it already. You know you're we have we built a
big platform called Zo Whole Organization as a side entity
for Robin, and that's focused on this issue. Why would
you leave to go work on this to go run
for governor? And my answer really was, you know, why
(03:37):
do you think the issue exists in the first place? Right,
there are policies that continue to create mechanisms and barriers
for economic growth and economic opportunity. And so until we
can address those barriers, until we can dress those policies,
we will find ourselves cleaning up the debris that comes
from broken policies. And so that's why I decided it's
(04:01):
time to actually, you know, take the experience that we've had,
both the lived and the professional experience, to now start
addressing the structural challenges that our communities continue to face. Wow,
So how did your experience at robin Hood and you know,
being an author of this book that everybody knows now
(04:23):
otherwise more, how did that impact your thinking to run
for government? Because I'm like that other guy, you're already
doing some of these things to sort of impact change.
So how did that experience motivate you to say, Hey,
I want to take the next step and basically get
in the trenches. You know, it's it's wild, Louis, because uh,
(04:46):
you know, I've worked with policymakers my whole professional life.
I've worked on these issues right whether it was when
I was you know, leading soldiers. I led parachild I
was an Army officer and I led I let a
team paratroopers in Afghanistan with the eight secon Nary Born.
I came back and I worked with lawmakers and the
private sector. I built a small, successful, small business in
(05:08):
Maryland that was focusing on helping students who with first
and first generation students make it too and through college. Uh.
And then with Robin Hood, I had a chance to
work every single day with council members and mayors and
senators and governors and the executive branch to be able
to zero in on how do we work collectively to
address these issues. I think the organization that I ran,
(05:30):
you're right with Robin Hood. I mean, you know, we
raised and allocated, just in my time CEO over six
d and fifty million dollars going towards housing and transportation
and education and early childhood and criminal justice reform. And
so I've worked with lawmakers and on these issues for
my entire adult life. I say, now, I've been a
(05:50):
politician for my whole life. I'm sorry, I've been a
public servant for my whole life, I just haven't been
a politician. And so now we have a chance to say,
okay with the work and that we have that we've
done with Maryland State legislators on fair appraisal values, on
on historically run line neighborhoods, on on creating, you know,
(06:10):
on addressing you know. The Speaker of Maryland, Speaker of
the of the House of Maryland, Adrian Jones, last year
put together this groundbreaking initiative called the Black Agenda about
how all a variety of initiatives and bills will be
aligned around a Black Agenda, and I worked with her
on it, working with lawmakers on the Blueprint for Maryland's Future,
which was a a truly groundbreaking piece of legislation that
(06:33):
was focused on how do we create educational supports for
our students that are preparing them for you know, the
workplace of now, in the workplace of the future. I
worked on these issues, but I also know that in
that time, seeing that work and seeing public change, peing,
seeing public service from a variety of different perspectives also
gave me a different type of a different type of
(06:54):
glimpse of why having a strong chief executive that is
able to work across sectors, work with the private sector,
work with nonprofits, work with philanthropy, work with the legislative
branch and the executive branch of government, work with community organizations,
and work with the people to be able to make big,
bold things happen. And that's why I said, you know,
(07:15):
when I think about my unique skill set and background
in this area, and you think about the unique opportunities
that the State of Maryland has to be able to
be a national leader on everything from the transportation assets
to affordable housing, to healthcare and education to criminal justice reform,
that we have a chance to actually get some big
things done. And I thought we could uniquely add to
(07:37):
the conversation as as as you look at your journey
and look forward, what do you think your biggest challenges
are going to be? Uh, to you know, really get
the seat. What is the biggest challenge you're gonna have? Yeah,
you know, I I think about um, I think about
even my time in the military, where you know, I
(08:00):
first joined the army when I was seventeen years old
and uh, and literally I was too young to sign
the paperwork myself. My mother had to signed the paperwork
from me. And but I say, after my teenage years,
she was more than happy to sign whatever paperwork, and
that she decided to get me off. And uh. And
I remember our first days of basic they said something
(08:21):
to us that they asked us to live by, and
I did. It was a mantra. And the mantra was
simply this leave nobody behind. Ever that if you happen
to get one of my people, I will send a
battalion and to go get them if I have to.
We don't leave people behind. I want that to be
(08:44):
the mantra for the state of Maryland. I want us
to say, we are going to grow, and I will
insist that we grow, but we're gonna grow inclusively. That
we're gonna build, and I will insist that we build,
but we are going to build collectively. We're not going
to leave people behind. And I think that the thing
(09:05):
that that, you know, one of the challenges that I
think we had initially, which is what about the thesis
we're pulling together that our thesis is that we're not
gonna leave anybody behind. Our thesis is we are going
to focus on economic growth. Our thesis is at the
north star for our state needs to be work, wages
and wealth. And you know what I'm realizing then most
(09:27):
Marylanders think the same thing. And that's one of the
things I think has been so exciting about our campaign.
That's why our campaign, there's not a single campaign that
has the momentum that hoursed us, not one. And that
is across the board, everything from the number of volunteers
that we have to the number of endorsements that we're
seeing in members of the Marylan General Assembly, to our
fundraising numbers, and seventy three of our donors were number
(09:49):
one in fundraising in in the entire grouping seventy three
percent of our donations are a hundred dollars or less.
We are building the best grassroots or goingization in the
entire field because we're focusing on the core issues that
people care about, on economic growth, on fighting climate change,
and the inequities in the way. We look at how
(10:10):
climate injustice shows itself by being able to by being
able to protect families against the current surge of not
just cold, but the aftermath, the economic aftermath of what
that's meant for our families. And so I think that
many of the things that we saw is as as
as challenges of our people. You know, will people buy
onto the idea in the thesis? I think one of
(10:31):
the really inspiring things that we've seen is that the
answer is absolutely they are, because we're meeting Mary owners
where they are was. You know, most African Americans are Democrats,
but they're becoming weary with the Democratic Party because things
are changing fast enough for them. So every election, uh,
(10:55):
you got to energize them to get back into it.
You've got to put issues up that are really important
intimate to them. How are you going to sort of
be unique as a candidate in the Democratic Party to
sort of create change and energy for black communities. It's
(11:16):
a great question. It's a it's a great question. And honestly,
I think that one thing the Democratic Party has to
do is as Democrats, we have to move forward and
not take anybody for granted. You know, there's not a
there is not a single group that we should just
make in to say like, oh, we got them, so
let's focus on somebody else, because the reality is, and
you know, it's just like that with any relationship, right,
(11:38):
It's like that with any friendship. It's like that with
any marriage or whatever, or any partnership. If you take
that relationship for granted, that relationship will look elsewhere. Right.
People need to feel like they are They are a center.
They are a part of how you think about your future.
And it is important for the party to containing you,
(12:00):
to remind African Americans why African Americans can and should
stay loyal, you know, loyal to the Democratic Party. And
I think about it where where you know the thing
that we have to do is Democrats is we have
to keep the main thing, the main thing, right. And
(12:21):
what I mean about that is when we're talking, particularly
talking to African American aarities, and if we're not talking
about economics, I don't know what we're talking about, right,
If we're not talking about work, wages and wealth, if
we're not talking about how are we keeping things not
just affordable amongst amongst you know, amongst rising inflation, amongst
(12:42):
economic instability, but we're also not talking about the ability
to pass something off to your children besides debts, then
I don't know what it is that we're talking about.
Because the Black experience in this country, and the Black
experience in the state of Maryland has inherently been a
traumatic one. Right by by its history. By its nature,
(13:02):
this has been a traumatic relationship. And I think about
it where it's both in terms of historical lenses, but
he's even in terms of you know, what we see
within our own families. I mean, like, you know, my
my my father. Um. I have two memories of my father.
The second memory was when he went to a hospital
and his face was unshaven and his clothes were disheveled,
(13:25):
and and when he arrived at the hospital there was
assumptions about whether or not he had insurance. When my
mom got to the hospital, they asked her questions like
is your husband prone to exaggeration? And he was asked
to leave the hospital with the instructions to go home
and get some rest and if it got worse to
(13:46):
come back. And he died in front of me five
hours later. My father went to the hospital looking for help.
And I can't help but think had he looked differently
or for presented differently, his treatment would have been different.
That's the history that we continue to bear. That's the
(14:09):
trauma that we continue to endure. When we think about
the things that we have to be able to focus on,
to be able to not just attract support from African
Americans as a Democratic party. But but but keep it,
but but continue to know that it's not just about
getting it, but it's about protecting it. It's about continuing
(14:32):
to fight and attack the issues that have plagued African
American families for so long, that have challenged African American
communities for so long. Particularly, we look at the fact
that for the state of Maryland, we are one of
the most diverse states in the nation. I mean, women
make up over fifty population, Communities of color make up
closer fifty percent as well. According to the most recent
(14:52):
census datas, African Americans alone are are over thirty percent
African Americans. And so with this platform that we're building
out on and when with with this, with this entity,
and focusing and zeroing in on economic opportunity, on creating
proper pathways for work, on making sure that people are
getting paid fair wages for the work that they are doing,
(15:14):
and making sure that you have a chance to own
more than you owe and have some mechanism of wealth
creation that you can have in your your and your
family and your family history and your family platforms. That
is something that we believe is not just right for
the state of Maryland. But it's something that's going to
continue to remind African Americans of the need for their
(15:35):
involvement and the need for their engagement inside of this race.
And I tell you it's not lost on me that
you know, the state of Maryland, despite those numbers that
we talked about, has never elected in African American state wide.
In fact, this country has only elected to black governors
in its history, right, Deval Patrick and Doug Wilder. That's it.
(15:56):
And so we understand the fact that we are you know,
there's there's a racing of history that is taking place
right now in this election. Um, but we're also very clear,
uh and feel very deeply that if we stay in
our thesis and if we stay in our path and
this campaign keeps on the pace that it's on right now, uh,
you know, we will be able to we will be
(16:18):
able to uh to again not just make history, but
to be able to address the issues that we're looking
to address that have been generational and make some of
those challenges history. And that's the point of us. We'll
be right back with more of my interview after this
(16:38):
quick break. Wes, to your point, Maryland is a very
diverse state. But you have a city there called Baltimore
that has been struggling for a long time. Yeah, how
(16:59):
are you going to help turned that city around? You know,
where do you start? What's what's the focus You've You've
touched on economics, you touched on jobs, things like that.
Is that the real core issue that turns Maryland around?
Bringing jobs, bringing industries into that city? It's uh, you know, essentially,
(17:22):
there was a there was a song by uh by
Nina Simone uh and Uh. It was from a from
a song shall I called Baltimore? And and the chorus
was not if you remember, of course, was oh Baltimore,
ain't it hard just to live? It's a beautiful, beautiful song. Um.
And the amazing and the ironic thing about it was
(17:42):
that that song was actually created in um, which is
also the year of my birth. Uh, talking about a
city that I very much consider myself of Baltimore. And
you know, attention, because Baltimore is, you know, Baltimore, not
the city of my birth. I'm out of Baltimore, and
by birth, I was actually born in another part of Maryland,
(18:03):
Calticombe Park. But I'm a Baltimore and by choice, because
I know that I came of age here. You know,
I remember, you know, I remember literally hanging out in
the playground and over and Drew Hill and learning that
people don't call fouls and playground basketball and uh, you know,
going to get edged up over on Saratoga uh and
(18:25):
learning how to roller skate over and over at Shaking
bake over. And it's Baltimore, I mean Baltimore. And it's
a place where my wife and I are raising our
kids right now, right so this this hold is a
very special place in my heart. And but the thing
is is that I also know this is that you
cannot have a thriving Maryland if you do not have
(18:45):
a growing Baltimore in Baltimore region. And I don't say
that because I'm a Baltimore in I say that because
I'm pretty good at math. This is simple mathematics. That
is the state's largest city as the gate way to
the state of Maryland. For many part for many people
who are looking at the state of Maryland, it's important
(19:06):
that we're able to leverage the core assets that the
state has, many of which are here within the city
of Baltimore. And know that if you can have economic
growth and economic stimulation in the city of Baltimore that
in turn will increase GDP for the state of Maryland.
And so when we're thinking about what it means to
be able to uh, you know, what it means for
(19:28):
us to be able to go out and and and
and leverage these various type of assets, it means that
Baltimore must actually have a partner Indianapolis. It means that Baltimore, uh,
it must actually be able to be able to level
set its relationship with the state of Maryland in a
unique way. And the powerful thing that we see about
(19:50):
it is if you look at precedent, and not even
just president in Maryland but president around the country, about
when the state's largest city was leveraged correctly, what was
the impact the economic impacts for the rest of the state. Right, So,
if you look at what's happened in Atlanta over the
past thirty years, right where Atlanta went from a you know,
(20:13):
a relatively sleepy towns now placed with international airports and
this you know, literally rivaling l A for for you know,
ever entertainment, industry, dominance and all this kind of stuff.
New entrepreneurs, new businesses. Who has been the core beneficiary
of that. The answer is the state of Georgia, right,
Who's watched their GDP growth Because you've watched this economic
(20:35):
engine called Atlanta being able to spurn growth. We're seeing
the same thing in Pittsburgh right now. Pittsburgh is on
fire right now where you're watching new businesses, new technologies.
Google is moving their entire autonomous vehicle fleet into Pittsburgh
because they're leveraging Carnegie Melligan, Carnegie Mellon and their leveraging
pit who has been the core beneficiary of that Pennsylvania, right.
(20:56):
We see the same thing in Denver, with Colorado, same
thing with Nashville. Attendant say, the same thing with Austin. UH.
And so you're seeing how states have found ways of
being able to leverage some of the leverages assets for
the larger growth. And so part of the goal that
we're going to have within our administration is being able
to make the point using data, to be able to
(21:18):
make the point saying that we have to be one
Maryland and when good things are happening in one part
of a state, that's not to the detriment of another,
and they're gonna be the things that we are going
to invest in Western Maryland, that we're not going to
invest in Baltimore because we don't have the same kind
of assets to leverage. But know that the investments that
we are going to make in the DC suburbs, and
the investment's gonna make any some shot in western Maryland
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and central Maryland and the Baltimore stuff, all these investments
are going to go to the benefit of one Maryland
and and a growing and a more and a more
competitive state and a more equitable state, which is exactly
what we want, what we want to accomplish. Well, as student,
you had I guess I would say probably an above
(22:02):
average academic experience from uh uh your military academy at
Forge at Valley Forge to Johns Hopkins University and then
you put a cherry on top at Oxford. How has
that experience prepared you to be the governor of Merriment? Wow? Um,
(22:28):
you know one thing, um, And I think about it.
I think about it too fold where Um I So
it's interesting, I am I'm the only candidate in the
race that actually has an associate's degree. And people find
that so interesting because they're like, you know, they're like
wait a second, and they're like, you were the first
(22:48):
black Rhodes scholar in the history of John's Happins University.
And the ring that you wear is from your junior college.
And that's exactly right right, it's it's it's it's my foundation.
And I know that had it not been for this
both everything from Johns Hopkins to becoming the first black
road sculled there to going on to ox University, none
(23:09):
of those things would have been none of the things
would have been real. And I think about that in
context of of how I think about a governance philosophy
for the role that education is going to play. I
was very proud to work on a on a piece
of legislation that passed last year but then needed a
video override because the current governor decided to be to it,
(23:31):
which was a groundbreaking piece of education legislation zeroing on
investing in our education system in a new way, where
we are going to in my administration, we are going
to do things like making sure that we have free
pre K for every child in need in the state
of Maryland, because all the data continues to show that
(23:52):
to brain development happens by the time of child is
five years old, So why are we have children who
are starting school at the age of five. Makes absolutely
no sense where where we are going to invest in
community schools because it's not just about curriculum changes, but
if we're also not addressing things like dental care and
eye care and the high number of children are going
to school with asthma, we're gonna miss the point that
(24:12):
we are going to invest in teachers of color inside
of our classroom because we want our educator and our
parent educator core to actually look like and resemble the
state and the children that they are teaching. That we
are going to make sure we're providing greater resources and
and and and and twenty one century schools so we
do not have children who were walking into classrooms or
(24:33):
educators of para, educators who are working inside of classrooms
where they can't even drink from the water fountains because
we still have water, we still have have infrastructure that's
been that's based with lead, despite the fact that we've
known that lead is a neurotoxin for a century, and
we still have just been amazingly class and color coded
in the way that we have treated dealing with lead abatement,
(24:55):
or it's things like being able to invest in our
trade programs and our apprenticeship prob rooms. Because of a
child who wants to go on to a four year school,
that's fantastic, But if they want to go on to
be a boiler or an iron worker or work an HVAC,
that we should make sure that they have proper pathways
starting as early as ninth grade, for them to be
able to foster that love of finding a different type
(25:16):
of way of creating economic opportunity. Education is going to
be the vehicle that is going to save us because
it's both preparing our children for what they have right now.
It's preparing our children to be lifelong learners so they're
prepared for whatever the next stage of new inventions and
new innovations is. And going back to the concept of
(25:38):
work and wages and wealth, it's teaching our children how
not just to be employees, it's teaching our children how
to be employers because we want to foster a sense
of entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial engagement for our kids. So
that's how we get to asset building. That's how we
get to the point where our children now have the
chance to be able to own something and pass something
(26:01):
off to future generations that they can then hold on
to and they can watch leverage. Well, we we live
in a country and it's in every state of great divide,
m race, technology, economic, In everywhere you look, there's a
great divide. Mask it's a great divide. How will you
(26:26):
collaborate with the other politicians in the state of Maryland
to close that great divide? How do we get on
one page at least on some things? Well, I think
part of it is we have to we have to approach.
(26:47):
Everything has to start with a place of let's make
sure that its table is big enough that everyone feels
like they have a voice, right. Uh, you know. For example,
one thing that I pleasure is that within my administration,
we are going to have an administration that's going to
look like the state. And when I say an administration
it looks like the state. That means it's going to
be representative. That means it's going to be inclusive. That
(27:08):
means there's not gonna be only one group that's represented
in it. And yes, you know, you know talking about
even people from different political from different political affiliations. We
are going to have an administration is going to look
like the state. Because I believe in that. And and honestly,
I think when it also goes back to when people say, well,
how do we know that that's a priority of pere,
that's something you can do. Uh, the honest answer is
(27:31):
it's it's it's all I've ever done. Um. You know,
I think about it where I was having a conversation
with a group of people, a group of small business
owners over in Baltimore County for example, UM, and uh.
And you know, one thing that they were with that
one thing that they were saying was uh. You know,
they're like, after something about my small business economic plan
(27:51):
and they're saying, well, you know, I really like what
you're saying, but I gotta tell you I'm on the
other side. UM. And I said what does that mean?
And they're like, well, I just saying I'm I'm just
saying I'm a Republican and uh. And I was like, again,
what does that mean? And I said, here's here's the reality.
I said, do you know a question I never asked
my soldiers when I was leading soldiers in Afghanistan, what's
(28:15):
your political party? Right? It never came up, never asked
the question. We had one goal, one mission, My job
was to bring everybody together to be able to foster
a build and a sense of what does a cohesive
mission look like, an in cohesive team look like, so
we could accomplish our one unified mission. When I was
(28:37):
running a small business here in the here in the
state of Maryland, do you know a question I never asked,
either my co workers or my customers, how did you
vote in the last election? Right? Never gave up? Wasn't
important When people talk about who made up the robin
Hood universe that you built, my answer was pretty simple.
You know, it was it was investment bankers, and it
was school teachers. It was it was management consultants, and
(29:00):
it was social workers. It was everybody. And that's very
much how I plan on leading within my administration. Is
at a time of vitriol and divisiveness, we have to
make sure that we're reminding ourselves of the unified goal
that we're actually trying to accomplish here. We have to
(29:20):
make sure we're putting together policy initiatives. For example, you know,
I will make Maryland the first state in the country
that is going to offer a service here option for
every single high school graduate across the state. Well, they
will have a chance to have a paid year of
service to the state of Maryland, whether it is in
the housing, or whether it is in education, or whether
(29:42):
it is in transportation, whatever it is, and for two reasons.
One is because it helps to address the college of
portability crisis. And the other big reason is I'm a
big believer that services sticky, and those who serve together
generally stay together. And I've seen that firsthand from my military,
my military, you know, brothers, sisters, and so this is
the type of thing that I think we want to
(30:03):
be able to foster that culture of a unified focus
on accomplishing a singular goal. And that's something that I
know my administration is gonna place you actually get done.
We'll be right back with more of my interview after
this quick break or what you you you've talked about
(30:31):
a lifetime of service, because you just mentioned your military service,
which I in my opinion, is the ultimate service than
you what did that teach you that has prepared you
for the opportunity to be the governor of Maryland. It
had to impact you in ways that you couldn't have imagined. Absolutely,
(30:55):
it's I mean it, it impacted me in every single
way and and and the's truth this is that, uh
you know, I I use the things that I learned
from the military every single day. Every day. I use
the skills that they taught me about some of those skills. Yeah, well,
I think you know it's it's it's skills like small
(31:17):
unit leadership and understanding that they're gonna be certain people
that are gonna be motivated by carrots and certain more
people are geting motivated by sticks, right, and so your
job is to is to identify which ones are which
and know that that you have to be able to
motivate a collection of people who are coming from a
diverse and a and and and a disparate part different
disparate perspectives. But to say, but I need everyone on
(31:39):
the same sheet, I need everybody on board. It's skills
like knowing that that that an order for for us
to move strong, it means that every single person must
be involved inside of that, inside of that conversation. Um,
it's about skills like how do we make sure that
that organizations run smoothly and organization is run well? And
(32:01):
I think the most important thing, uh, you know, was
this idea that that that you know that again that
I learned the basic training that we just don't leave
people behind. And and and I and I and I
really do think about that in every single way and
in every single function of government where I want that
(32:22):
to be how our state functions. That if we're saying, well,
the state of our state is strong, but we have
this jurisdiction that is repeatedly getting worse than the state
of our state is not strong by definition. Right, If
we're saying that the state of our state is is
that we're doing really well, but this group finds itself
(32:43):
not then we're not doing well. But that's something that
was very much ingrained and each and every one of
us that don't tell me about how your unit is doing.
If I look at individual, if I look at private
so and so, and if I look at sergeant so
and so, and I look at staffs are going so
and so, and they are can repeatedly falling behind. You
(33:06):
can't tell me your unit is doing well. Then we
have to make sure we have a culture that says
we're going to move fast, we are going to grow,
we are going to be competitive, We're going to win.
But the reason we're going to win is because everybody
will feel what it feels like to win, and nobody
will be left behind in that process. The way maker
(33:30):
community believes that every successful person has had at least
one way maker in their life. For me, personally, I've
had nineteen. How do I know that? I went back
and I counted them all? Right, someone who intentionally looked
at you and saw something in you that you didn't
know that you had in yourself, and they decided to
(33:52):
activate it. Tell us about some of the way makers
in your life. I love that you've broken down to
nineteen us. I love that. Um, you know, I I think, uh,
there have been quite a few, to include family. I mean,
it would be impossible for me to to talk about
(34:12):
who my way makers were without talking about, you know,
first all with family, people like my mom, Um, who
you know who? I think about it when you know
she she when she witnessed her her husband die in
front of her and knew that she was gonna raise
three kids in her own You know, that was not
the life that she prepared for or expected or prayed over. Um.
(34:36):
And I noticed spite all the challenges that she had
and mental health challenges, etcetera. UM. I I always say
that you know The greatest gift that God gave me
was when he asked Joey More to be my mom
because just in that he was proving to me that
he loved me. Um. And I think my little sister
(34:57):
says it best when she says, you know, our other
war sweaters so we could wear coats. Um. You know.
I I think about some of my military leaders, people
like uh that at that time, Major Mike Fenzel now
three star General Mike Fenzel, who was a deputy brigade
commander for my unit in Afghanistan, who was not just uh,
(35:19):
you know, one of the most more military leaders, but
also it was literally gruising on my wedding, one of
the most important men in my life. I think about
people like Ray McGuire, who was you know who who
was one of my former bosses when I left the
White House fellowship and then I went to go work
in finance, and he was my boss and he became
just a tremendous uh mentor and guide to me still
(35:42):
this to this day. But um, but I think one
who also played a really important role, uh is a
gentleman named Kurt Smoke. And Kurt Smoke was the former
mayor of Baltimore, and I actually intern with him. In fact,
I'll show you something real quick. Um, this is Kurt Smoke.
(36:06):
That's Kurt Smoke when when he had a full head
of hair, and I had a full head of hair
when I was when I was an intern in his
office at UH at nineteen years old. And the reason
I showed this picture is this was the last day
of my second internship with him. And the thing he's
pointing to right there, let me see it, Lewis um
(36:29):
is that's a picture of his Rhodes Scholarship class. This
was the conversation that he was telling me about the
Rhodes Scholarship and he was saying, he asked me, he said,
have you ever heard of the Rhodes Scholarship And I said,
I've heard of it because I know you were a
one UH and he and he was telling me he
knew about my grades in my background, and he's like,
I think you need to apply for it. And I
(36:50):
left that meeting and I went back and I started
thinking through it, and I went and talked to my
advisor and I got the application. I applied for the
Rhodes Scholarship. This was the first conversation I ever heard
someone tell me about the Rhodes Scholarship. And what I
have on my wall over there is a picture of
my Rhodes Scholarship class. Without this, there's no bat And
(37:16):
he's one of my way makers. And I love having
that picture and I keep it close to my desk
for that exact reason, because it's a reminder that on
this journey, none of us are alone with us. All right,
we all have people. Some of them are, you know,
friends and families. Some of them are people who you
literally had one conversation with, but in some way, shape
(37:40):
or form, are helping to change the tenor of your
life in some way, shape or form, or helping to
change the trajectory. And uh, and I think about what
mayor smoke meant to me. Then I still think about
it to this day. He's a deer, he's now the
president of the University of Baltimore. Is still a very
dear friend and mentor of mind. Um, And and how
(38:02):
that one conversation, you know, not often our our conversation.
Some of those important conversation your life are they captured
on camera? Right? Um? That one was? And so it
always just so he's he's definitely one of the core
way makers in my life. So West, as as we
close out today, I want you to talk to the
(38:25):
listeners and the readers that are going to meet you
through a way maker, the poor and disenfranchise UH consumers,
in the middle class consumers. Tell them why you can
be a way maker for them in the state of mirror.
You know, I, UM, and I really appreciate that because
(38:49):
I think that one thing that people have learned about
me uh and and have said about me. I received
the endorsement of the former county exact could I'm not
the current kind executive of ana Roma County, which one
of the largest counties in Maryland, which is a big
deal because this is one of the most coveted endorsements
of this entire race so far. Any And he endorsed
(39:12):
the candidate that and then we're on props before right, um.
And it was a very big deal, and I think
it opened up a lot of doorways and pathways for
the people now come on boards since and and we're
deeply appreciative. But he said something, UM that I thought
was important in front of a group where he said,
you know, one of the reasons that I knew that
I was getting ready to endorse west Um he's I
(39:34):
knew about his vision and his values and his and
his and his and his experience, both lived experience and
professional experience, that it's uniquely positioned and positions him to
be the next governor. But he said, I've watched him
in different environments. I watched him amongst corporate CEOs, I've
watched him with farmers, and I've watched him with educators.
(39:58):
And he said, you know the amazing thing, it's the
same message. And he said, I never get that when
I'm talking to other people who are the likeged officials,
who are basically saying this is when we do for you,
and this one do for this view. He's like, this
message is about whether we're talking about as you mentioned,
you know, the the the disenfranchise, the person has been
(40:19):
dealing with generational poverty, or the person who is the
you know, the the the the the you know, the
working class, the person who is uh, you know who
is who is you know, making just enough to now
maybe have benefits or maybe be able to take their
family out once a month for a movie. But it
was watching how everything is becoming more and more expensive,
(40:43):
or the parents who saying, you know, I, I'm literally
having to decide about whether or not have another child,
And the number one question that my spouse and I
are debating is can we even afford it? And is
that going to completely change? Are the economic fortune of
our family or the factory worker who's trying to figure
(41:05):
out how much longer do I have to work in
order to retire comfortably and not have to put it
in enormous weight and debt on my children and grandchildren.
That this is about economics. This is about working wages
and wealth. This is about how can we how can
we foster a strong future for all manners where we
(41:29):
then all become the larger beneficiaries of of of of
of people's economic growth. Because people are willing to sacrifice
if they feel like they're doing it for a reason.
But if I feel like I'm sacrificing into a void,
that's no longer sacrifice, that's just suffering. And so our
(41:49):
ability to be able to have an education system that's
preparing people for jobs and now on jobs of the future.
Our ability to be able to make sure that we
have a minimum wage that's getting that's that's you know,
that's an accelerating the fact that Maryland right now, I'm
not having a minimum wage at fifteen dollars. I mean
that that's it's that's that's crazy thing about why how
slow that is? By being able to address things like
(42:12):
wage theft that is hurting everyday Maryland workers. By being
able to address a broken childcare system, because one of
the best ways we can get people back into the
workforce is by being able to address childcare. And that's
and and and specifically for for for women of color.
But we're seeing the impact of a broken childcare system
throughout the board, because childcare right now in the state
(42:33):
of Maryland can cost as much as in state tuition.
By being able to support n b s and WBEs
and fixing fixing broken kerment policies, because that's not just
about the minority of businesses. That's about how can we
spur in economic growth that can actually stimulate a larger
level of of of of of economic activity. If we
(42:53):
were to eliminate the wealth gap in this country right now,
we would that would actually be worth about one point
seven truly in dollars in GDP growth and economic activity
over the next decade. So I think whether we're talking
to the person who has been dealing with who has
been disenfranchised and and dealing with economic stagnation for a
very long period of time. Or the middle class worker
(43:15):
who is who is wondering why they just haven't had
a raise in fifteen years, you know. Or the retiree,
the person who was a firefighter and is now looking
to leave the state because because of the way we
because of the way we look at their pensions. I
think all of these are joint conversations that people can
understand that when we all grow, we all grow, and
(43:38):
that's how I think our government should be sent to
and focused Westmore. Thank you for this. You enlightened our audience.
We appreciate you taking the time to speak to the
Waymaker community. I am so propped to say I met you.
(44:00):
I've read about you from the other Westmore and now
to be able to have this one on one with
you is my privilege, and so thank you someone for
speaking to the Waymaker audience. We appreciate you and we
wish you the best of low God bless you, brother,
Thank you so much for all you do, and thank
you to the entire we Maker community. Thank you, thank you,
I'm Louis Carr, host of the Blueprint Connect podcast. The
Blueprint Connect podcast is an extension of the Blueprint Man's Summit,
where we have consistently given men a prescription for pro
not just for themselves, but also for their families and
their communities. Doing these podcasts, who will educate and motivate
(00:24):
our listeners about entrepreneurship, careers, finance, health and wellness and relationships.
Our special guest today is Westmore, candidate for governor in
the great State of Maryland and author of the New
York Times bestseller The Other Westmore. Welcome west It's so
(00:47):
good to be with your brother. It was, it's it's
actually it's a it's an honor to view with you.
I admire you deeply and and I'm excited to be
part of the part of the community. So this is great. Well,
thank you, thank you for um allowing us to introduce
you to the way Maker community. And we're excited about
what you have to say today. So what, so let's
(01:09):
just jump right into it. How and why did you
decide to run for government? You had a good job,
all right, you had a good job. You were known, uh,
you wrote a great book. Why did you decide that
you wanted to do this heavy lift? Well, you know,
(01:30):
I mean, honestly, it first start off with the fact
that the present and the future of the state. It's
just it's very personal to me. You know. I'm you know,
I was, I was born here, I was, I came
of age here. I I uh you know, I've had
some of my most amazing and traumatic memories here. Uh.
You know, I met my wife here. We we we
fell in love, and we're raising our kids here, right. So,
(01:52):
so this so the State of Maryland is a very
personal place for me. Um And I also know that
there is no and for our state to be so
inequitable when you consider the fact that we're the wealthiest
state inside this country. And you know, this is a
place where literally some of the some of the greatest
technology companies in the world are being built right here
(02:13):
in the State of Maryland. Yet we have children who
don't have WiFi and broad band right. We have some
of the greatest medical institutions in the world. People literally
travel from around the globe to come to the State
of Maryland to get treated. And we have people who
lived down the street from those medical facilities who cannot
afford to get treated in them. And and I remember
(02:34):
having this conversation about about, you know, economic growth and
economic mobility and how do we create mechanisms for economic
mobility for everybody? And um, I was having a conversation
with a colleague of mine when I was CEO of
the Robin Foundation and one of the one of the
things we did there was we built this initiative called
nine Did Zero which focused on the racial wealth gap
(02:55):
where you look at even in the state of Maryland,
there's an eight to one racial wealth gap in the
state in Maryland. And I told one of my colleagues
that I was getting ready to leave Robin and I said,
I think it's time for me to for me to
after after almost five years of being the CEO, it's
time to step down. And I think I'm gonna run
for governor of my home state. And I said one
of the issues I want to work on our things
(03:16):
like economic growth and and erasing the wealth gap. And
he said to me, He's like, but you're working on
it already. You know you're we have we built a
big platform called Zo Whole Organization as a side entity
for Robin, and that's focused on this issue. Why would
you leave to go work on this to go run
for governor? And my answer really was, you know, why
(03:37):
do you think the issue exists in the first place? Right,
there are policies that continue to create mechanisms and barriers
for economic growth and economic opportunity. And so until we
can address those barriers, until we can dress those policies,
we will find ourselves cleaning up the debris that comes
from broken policies. And so that's why I decided it's
(04:01):
time to actually, you know, take the experience that we've had,
both the lived and the professional experience, to now start
addressing the structural challenges that our communities continue to face. Wow,
So how did your experience at robin Hood and you know,
being an author of this book that everybody knows now
(04:23):
otherwise more, how did that impact your thinking to run
for government? Because I'm like that other guy, you're already
doing some of these things to sort of impact change.
So how did that experience motivate you to say, Hey,
I want to take the next step and basically get
in the trenches. You know, it's it's wild, Louis, because uh,
(04:46):
you know, I've worked with policymakers my whole professional life.
I've worked on these issues right whether it was when
I was you know, leading soldiers. I led parachild I
was an Army officer and I led I let a
team paratroopers in Afghanistan with the eight secon Nary Born.
I came back and I worked with lawmakers and the
private sector. I built a small, successful, small business in
(05:08):
Maryland that was focusing on helping students who with first
and first generation students make it too and through college. Uh.
And then with Robin Hood, I had a chance to
work every single day with council members and mayors and
senators and governors and the executive branch to be able
to zero in on how do we work collectively to
address these issues. I think the organization that I ran,
(05:30):
you're right with Robin Hood. I mean, you know, we
raised and allocated, just in my time CEO over six
d and fifty million dollars going towards housing and transportation
and education and early childhood and criminal justice reform. And
so I've worked with lawmakers and on these issues for
my entire adult life. I say, now, I've been a
(05:50):
politician for my whole life. I'm sorry, I've been a
public servant for my whole life, I just haven't been
a politician. And so now we have a chance to say,
okay with the work and that we have that we've
done with Maryland State legislators on fair appraisal values, on
on historically run line neighborhoods, on on creating, you know,
(06:10):
on addressing you know. The Speaker of Maryland, Speaker of
the of the House of Maryland, Adrian Jones, last year
put together this groundbreaking initiative called the Black Agenda about
how all a variety of initiatives and bills will be
aligned around a Black Agenda, and I worked with her
on it, working with lawmakers on the Blueprint for Maryland's Future,
which was a a truly groundbreaking piece of legislation that
(06:33):
was focused on how do we create educational supports for
our students that are preparing them for you know, the
workplace of now, in the workplace of the future. I
worked on these issues, but I also know that in
that time, seeing that work and seeing public change, peing,
seeing public service from a variety of different perspectives also
gave me a different type of a different type of
(06:54):
glimpse of why having a strong chief executive that is
able to work across sectors, work with the private sector,
work with nonprofits, work with philanthropy, work with the legislative
branch and the executive branch of government, work with community organizations,
and work with the people to be able to make big,
bold things happen. And that's why I said, you know,
(07:15):
when I think about my unique skill set and background
in this area, and you think about the unique opportunities
that the State of Maryland has to be able to
be a national leader on everything from the transportation assets
to affordable housing, to healthcare and education to criminal justice reform,
that we have a chance to actually get some big
things done. And I thought we could uniquely add to
(07:37):
the conversation as as as you look at your journey
and look forward, what do you think your biggest challenges
are going to be? Uh, to you know, really get
the seat. What is the biggest challenge you're gonna have? Yeah,
you know, I I think about um, I think about
even my time in the military, where you know, I
(08:00):
first joined the army when I was seventeen years old
and uh, and literally I was too young to sign
the paperwork myself. My mother had to signed the paperwork
from me. And but I say, after my teenage years,
she was more than happy to sign whatever paperwork, and
that she decided to get me off. And uh. And
I remember our first days of basic they said something
(08:21):
to us that they asked us to live by, and
I did. It was a mantra. And the mantra was
simply this leave nobody behind. Ever that if you happen
to get one of my people, I will send a
battalion and to go get them if I have to.
We don't leave people behind. I want that to be
(08:44):
the mantra for the state of Maryland. I want us
to say, we are going to grow, and I will
insist that we grow, but we're gonna grow inclusively. That
we're gonna build, and I will insist that we build,
but we are going to build collectively. We're not going
to leave people behind. And I think that the thing
(09:05):
that that, you know, one of the challenges that I
think we had initially, which is what about the thesis
we're pulling together that our thesis is that we're not
gonna leave anybody behind. Our thesis is we are going
to focus on economic growth. Our thesis is at the
north star for our state needs to be work, wages
and wealth. And you know what I'm realizing then most
(09:27):
Marylanders think the same thing. And that's one of the
things I think has been so exciting about our campaign.
That's why our campaign, there's not a single campaign that
has the momentum that hoursed us, not one. And that
is across the board, everything from the number of volunteers
that we have to the number of endorsements that we're
seeing in members of the Marylan General Assembly, to our
fundraising numbers, and seventy three of our donors were number
(09:49):
one in fundraising in in the entire grouping seventy three
percent of our donations are a hundred dollars or less.
We are building the best grassroots or goingization in the
entire field because we're focusing on the core issues that
people care about, on economic growth, on fighting climate change,
and the inequities in the way. We look at how
(10:10):
climate injustice shows itself by being able to by being
able to protect families against the current surge of not
just cold, but the aftermath, the economic aftermath of what
that's meant for our families. And so I think that
many of the things that we saw is as as
as challenges of our people. You know, will people buy
onto the idea in the thesis? I think one of
(10:31):
the really inspiring things that we've seen is that the
answer is absolutely they are, because we're meeting Mary owners
where they are was. You know, most African Americans are Democrats,
but they're becoming weary with the Democratic Party because things
are changing fast enough for them. So every election, uh,
(10:55):
you got to energize them to get back into it.
You've got to put issues up that are really important
intimate to them. How are you going to sort of
be unique as a candidate in the Democratic Party to
sort of create change and energy for black communities. It's
(11:16):
a great question. It's a it's a great question. And honestly,
I think that one thing the Democratic Party has to
do is as Democrats, we have to move forward and
not take anybody for granted. You know, there's not a
there is not a single group that we should just
make in to say like, oh, we got them, so
let's focus on somebody else, because the reality is, and
you know, it's just like that with any relationship, right,
(11:38):
It's like that with any friendship. It's like that with
any marriage or whatever, or any partnership. If you take
that relationship for granted, that relationship will look elsewhere. Right.
People need to feel like they are They are a center.
They are a part of how you think about your future.
And it is important for the party to containing you,
(12:00):
to remind African Americans why African Americans can and should
stay loyal, you know, loyal to the Democratic Party. And
I think about it where where you know the thing
that we have to do is Democrats is we have
to keep the main thing, the main thing, right. And
(12:21):
what I mean about that is when we're talking, particularly
talking to African American aarities, and if we're not talking
about economics, I don't know what we're talking about, right,
If we're not talking about work, wages and wealth, if
we're not talking about how are we keeping things not
just affordable amongst amongst you know, amongst rising inflation, amongst
(12:42):
economic instability, but we're also not talking about the ability
to pass something off to your children besides debts, then
I don't know what it is that we're talking about.
Because the Black experience in this country, and the Black
experience in the state of Maryland has inherently been a
traumatic one. Right by by its history. By its nature,
(13:02):
this has been a traumatic relationship. And I think about
it where it's both in terms of historical lenses, but
he's even in terms of you know, what we see
within our own families. I mean, like, you know, my
my my father. Um. I have two memories of my father.
The second memory was when he went to a hospital
and his face was unshaven and his clothes were disheveled,
(13:25):
and and when he arrived at the hospital there was
assumptions about whether or not he had insurance. When my
mom got to the hospital, they asked her questions like
is your husband prone to exaggeration? And he was asked
to leave the hospital with the instructions to go home
and get some rest and if it got worse to
(13:46):
come back. And he died in front of me five
hours later. My father went to the hospital looking for help.
And I can't help but think had he looked differently
or for presented differently, his treatment would have been different.
That's the history that we continue to bear. That's the
(14:09):
trauma that we continue to endure. When we think about
the things that we have to be able to focus on,
to be able to not just attract support from African
Americans as a Democratic party. But but but keep it,
but but continue to know that it's not just about
getting it, but it's about protecting it. It's about continuing
(14:32):
to fight and attack the issues that have plagued African
American families for so long, that have challenged African American
communities for so long. Particularly, we look at the fact
that for the state of Maryland, we are one of
the most diverse states in the nation. I mean, women
make up over fifty population, Communities of color make up
closer fifty percent as well. According to the most recent
(14:52):
census datas, African Americans alone are are over thirty percent
African Americans. And so with this platform that we're building
out on and when with with this, with this entity,
and focusing and zeroing in on economic opportunity, on creating
proper pathways for work, on making sure that people are
getting paid fair wages for the work that they are doing,
(15:14):
and making sure that you have a chance to own
more than you owe and have some mechanism of wealth
creation that you can have in your your and your
family and your family history and your family platforms. That
is something that we believe is not just right for
the state of Maryland. But it's something that's going to
continue to remind African Americans of the need for their
(15:35):
involvement and the need for their engagement inside of this race.
And I tell you it's not lost on me that
you know, the state of Maryland, despite those numbers that
we talked about, has never elected in African American state wide.
In fact, this country has only elected to black governors
in its history, right, Deval Patrick and Doug Wilder. That's it.
(15:56):
And so we understand the fact that we are you know,
there's there's a racing of history that is taking place
right now in this election. Um, but we're also very clear,
uh and feel very deeply that if we stay in
our thesis and if we stay in our path and
this campaign keeps on the pace that it's on right now, uh,
you know, we will be able to we will be
(16:18):
able to uh to again not just make history, but
to be able to address the issues that we're looking
to address that have been generational and make some of
those challenges history. And that's the point of us. We'll
be right back with more of my interview after this
(16:38):
quick break. Wes, to your point, Maryland is a very
diverse state. But you have a city there called Baltimore
that has been struggling for a long time. Yeah, how
(16:59):
are you going to help turned that city around? You know,
where do you start? What's what's the focus You've You've
touched on economics, you touched on jobs, things like that.
Is that the real core issue that turns Maryland around?
Bringing jobs, bringing industries into that city? It's uh, you know, essentially,
(17:22):
there was a there was a song by uh by
Nina Simone uh and Uh. It was from a from
a song shall I called Baltimore? And and the chorus
was not if you remember, of course, was oh Baltimore,
ain't it hard just to live? It's a beautiful, beautiful song. Um.
And the amazing and the ironic thing about it was
(17:42):
that that song was actually created in um, which is
also the year of my birth. Uh, talking about a
city that I very much consider myself of Baltimore. And
you know, attention, because Baltimore is, you know, Baltimore, not
the city of my birth. I'm out of Baltimore, and
by birth, I was actually born in another part of Maryland,
(18:03):
Calticombe Park. But I'm a Baltimore and by choice, because
I know that I came of age here. You know,
I remember, you know, I remember literally hanging out in
the playground and over and Drew Hill and learning that
people don't call fouls and playground basketball and uh, you know,
going to get edged up over on Saratoga uh and
(18:25):
learning how to roller skate over and over at Shaking
bake over. And it's Baltimore, I mean Baltimore. And it's
a place where my wife and I are raising our
kids right now, right so this this hold is a
very special place in my heart. And but the thing
is is that I also know this is that you
cannot have a thriving Maryland if you do not have
(18:45):
a growing Baltimore in Baltimore region. And I don't say
that because I'm a Baltimore in I say that because
I'm pretty good at math. This is simple mathematics. That
is the state's largest city as the gate way to
the state of Maryland. For many part for many people
who are looking at the state of Maryland, it's important
(19:06):
that we're able to leverage the core assets that the
state has, many of which are here within the city
of Baltimore. And know that if you can have economic
growth and economic stimulation in the city of Baltimore that
in turn will increase GDP for the state of Maryland.
And so when we're thinking about what it means to
be able to uh, you know, what it means for
(19:28):
us to be able to go out and and and
and leverage these various type of assets, it means that
Baltimore must actually have a partner Indianapolis. It means that Baltimore, uh,
it must actually be able to be able to level
set its relationship with the state of Maryland in a
unique way. And the powerful thing that we see about
(19:50):
it is if you look at precedent, and not even
just president in Maryland but president around the country, about
when the state's largest city was leveraged correctly, what was
the impact the economic impacts for the rest of the state. Right, So,
if you look at what's happened in Atlanta over the
past thirty years, right where Atlanta went from a you know,
(20:13):
a relatively sleepy towns now placed with international airports and
this you know, literally rivaling l A for for you know,
ever entertainment, industry, dominance and all this kind of stuff.
New entrepreneurs, new businesses. Who has been the core beneficiary
of that. The answer is the state of Georgia, right,
Who's watched their GDP growth Because you've watched this economic
(20:35):
engine called Atlanta being able to spurn growth. We're seeing
the same thing in Pittsburgh right now. Pittsburgh is on
fire right now where you're watching new businesses, new technologies.
Google is moving their entire autonomous vehicle fleet into Pittsburgh
because they're leveraging Carnegie Melligan, Carnegie Mellon and their leveraging
pit who has been the core beneficiary of that Pennsylvania, right.
(20:56):
We see the same thing in Denver, with Colorado, same
thing with Nashville. Attendant say, the same thing with Austin. UH.
And so you're seeing how states have found ways of
being able to leverage some of the leverages assets for
the larger growth. And so part of the goal that
we're going to have within our administration is being able
to make the point using data, to be able to
(21:18):
make the point saying that we have to be one
Maryland and when good things are happening in one part
of a state, that's not to the detriment of another,
and they're gonna be the things that we are going
to invest in Western Maryland, that we're not going to
invest in Baltimore because we don't have the same kind
of assets to leverage. But know that the investments that
we are going to make in the DC suburbs, and
the investment's gonna make any some shot in western Maryland
(21:40):
and central Maryland and the Baltimore stuff, all these investments
are going to go to the benefit of one Maryland
and and a growing and a more and a more
competitive state and a more equitable state, which is exactly
what we want, what we want to accomplish. Well, as student,
you had I guess I would say probably an above
(22:02):
average academic experience from uh uh your military academy at
Forge at Valley Forge to Johns Hopkins University and then
you put a cherry on top at Oxford. How has
that experience prepared you to be the governor of Merriment? Wow? Um,
(22:28):
you know one thing, um, And I think about it.
I think about it too fold where Um I So
it's interesting, I am I'm the only candidate in the
race that actually has an associate's degree. And people find
that so interesting because they're like, you know, they're like
wait a second, and they're like, you were the first
(22:48):
black Rhodes scholar in the history of John's Happins University.
And the ring that you wear is from your junior college.
And that's exactly right right, it's it's it's it's my foundation.
And I know that had it not been for this
both everything from Johns Hopkins to becoming the first black
road sculled there to going on to ox University, none
(23:09):
of those things would have been none of the things
would have been real. And I think about that in
context of of how I think about a governance philosophy
for the role that education is going to play. I
was very proud to work on a on a piece
of legislation that passed last year but then needed a
video override because the current governor decided to be to it,
(23:31):
which was a groundbreaking piece of education legislation zeroing on
investing in our education system in a new way, where
we are going to in my administration, we are going
to do things like making sure that we have free
pre K for every child in need in the state
of Maryland, because all the data continues to show that
(23:52):
to brain development happens by the time of child is
five years old, So why are we have children who
are starting school at the age of five. Makes absolutely
no sense where where we are going to invest in
community schools because it's not just about curriculum changes, but
if we're also not addressing things like dental care and
eye care and the high number of children are going
to school with asthma, we're gonna miss the point that
(24:12):
we are going to invest in teachers of color inside
of our classroom because we want our educator and our
parent educator core to actually look like and resemble the
state and the children that they are teaching. That we
are going to make sure we're providing greater resources and
and and and and twenty one century schools so we
do not have children who were walking into classrooms or
(24:33):
educators of para, educators who are working inside of classrooms
where they can't even drink from the water fountains because
we still have water, we still have have infrastructure that's
been that's based with lead, despite the fact that we've
known that lead is a neurotoxin for a century, and
we still have just been amazingly class and color coded
in the way that we have treated dealing with lead abatement,
(24:55):
or it's things like being able to invest in our
trade programs and our apprenticeship prob rooms. Because of a
child who wants to go on to a four year school,
that's fantastic, But if they want to go on to
be a boiler or an iron worker or work an HVAC,
that we should make sure that they have proper pathways
starting as early as ninth grade, for them to be
able to foster that love of finding a different type
(25:16):
of way of creating economic opportunity. Education is going to
be the vehicle that is going to save us because
it's both preparing our children for what they have right now.
It's preparing our children to be lifelong learners so they're
prepared for whatever the next stage of new inventions and
new innovations is. And going back to the concept of
(25:38):
work and wages and wealth, it's teaching our children how
not just to be employees, it's teaching our children how
to be employers because we want to foster a sense
of entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial engagement for our kids. So
that's how we get to asset building. That's how we
get to the point where our children now have the
chance to be able to own something and pass something
(26:01):
off to future generations that they can then hold on
to and they can watch leverage. Well, we we live
in a country and it's in every state of great divide,
m race, technology, economic, In everywhere you look, there's a
great divide. Mask it's a great divide. How will you
(26:26):
collaborate with the other politicians in the state of Maryland
to close that great divide? How do we get on
one page at least on some things? Well, I think
part of it is we have to we have to approach.
(26:47):
Everything has to start with a place of let's make
sure that its table is big enough that everyone feels
like they have a voice, right. Uh, you know. For example,
one thing that I pleasure is that within my administration,
we are going to have an administration that's going to
look like the state. And when I say an administration
it looks like the state. That means it's going to
be representative. That means it's going to be inclusive. That
(27:08):
means there's not gonna be only one group that's represented
in it. And yes, you know, you know talking about
even people from different political from different political affiliations. We
are going to have an administration is going to look
like the state. Because I believe in that. And and honestly,
I think when it also goes back to when people say, well,
how do we know that that's a priority of pere,
that's something you can do. Uh, the honest answer is
(27:31):
it's it's it's all I've ever done. Um. You know,
I think about it where I was having a conversation
with a group of people, a group of small business
owners over in Baltimore County for example, UM, and uh.
And you know, one thing that they were with that
one thing that they were saying was uh. You know,
they're like, after something about my small business economic plan
(27:51):
and they're saying, well, you know, I really like what
you're saying, but I gotta tell you I'm on the
other side. UM. And I said what does that mean?
And they're like, well, I just saying I'm I'm just
saying I'm a Republican and uh. And I was like, again,
what does that mean? And I said, here's here's the reality.
I said, do you know a question I never asked
my soldiers when I was leading soldiers in Afghanistan, what's
(28:15):
your political party? Right? It never came up, never asked
the question. We had one goal, one mission, My job
was to bring everybody together to be able to foster
a build and a sense of what does a cohesive
mission look like, an in cohesive team look like, so
we could accomplish our one unified mission. When I was
(28:37):
running a small business here in the here in the
state of Maryland, do you know a question I never asked,
either my co workers or my customers, how did you
vote in the last election? Right? Never gave up? Wasn't
important When people talk about who made up the robin
Hood universe that you built, my answer was pretty simple.
You know, it was it was investment bankers, and it
was school teachers. It was it was management consultants, and
(29:00):
it was social workers. It was everybody. And that's very
much how I plan on leading within my administration. Is
at a time of vitriol and divisiveness, we have to
make sure that we're reminding ourselves of the unified goal
that we're actually trying to accomplish here. We have to
(29:20):
make sure we're putting together policy initiatives. For example, you know,
I will make Maryland the first state in the country
that is going to offer a service here option for
every single high school graduate across the state. Well, they
will have a chance to have a paid year of
service to the state of Maryland, whether it is in
the housing, or whether it is in education, or whether
(29:42):
it is in transportation, whatever it is, and for two reasons.
One is because it helps to address the college of
portability crisis. And the other big reason is I'm a
big believer that services sticky, and those who serve together
generally stay together. And I've seen that firsthand from my military,
my military, you know, brothers, sisters, and so this is
the type of thing that I think we want to
(30:03):
be able to foster that culture of a unified focus
on accomplishing a singular goal. And that's something that I
know my administration is gonna place you actually get done.
We'll be right back with more of my interview after
this quick break or what you you you've talked about
(30:31):
a lifetime of service, because you just mentioned your military service,
which I in my opinion, is the ultimate service than
you what did that teach you that has prepared you
for the opportunity to be the governor of Maryland. It
had to impact you in ways that you couldn't have imagined. Absolutely,
(30:55):
it's I mean it, it impacted me in every single
way and and and the's truth this is that, uh
you know, I I use the things that I learned
from the military every single day. Every day. I use
the skills that they taught me about some of those skills. Yeah, well,
I think you know it's it's it's skills like small
(31:17):
unit leadership and understanding that they're gonna be certain people
that are gonna be motivated by carrots and certain more
people are geting motivated by sticks, right, and so your
job is to is to identify which ones are which
and know that that you have to be able to
motivate a collection of people who are coming from a
diverse and a and and and a disparate part different
disparate perspectives. But to say, but I need everyone on
(31:39):
the same sheet, I need everybody on board. It's skills
like knowing that that that an order for for us
to move strong, it means that every single person must
be involved inside of that, inside of that conversation. Um,
it's about skills like how do we make sure that
that organizations run smoothly and organization is run well? And
(32:01):
I think the most important thing, uh, you know, was
this idea that that that you know that again that
I learned the basic training that we just don't leave
people behind. And and and I and I and I
really do think about that in every single way and
in every single function of government where I want that
(32:22):
to be how our state functions. That if we're saying, well,
the state of our state is strong, but we have
this jurisdiction that is repeatedly getting worse than the state
of our state is not strong by definition. Right, If
we're saying that the state of our state is is
that we're doing really well, but this group finds itself
(32:43):
not then we're not doing well. But that's something that
was very much ingrained and each and every one of
us that don't tell me about how your unit is doing.
If I look at individual, if I look at private
so and so, and if I look at sergeant so
and so, and I look at staffs are going so
and so, and they are can repeatedly falling behind. You
(33:06):
can't tell me your unit is doing well. Then we
have to make sure we have a culture that says
we're going to move fast, we are going to grow,
we are going to be competitive, We're going to win.
But the reason we're going to win is because everybody
will feel what it feels like to win, and nobody
will be left behind in that process. The way maker
(33:30):
community believes that every successful person has had at least
one way maker in their life. For me, personally, I've
had nineteen. How do I know that? I went back
and I counted them all? Right, someone who intentionally looked
at you and saw something in you that you didn't
know that you had in yourself, and they decided to
(33:52):
activate it. Tell us about some of the way makers
in your life. I love that you've broken down to
nineteen us. I love that. Um, you know, I I think, uh,
there have been quite a few, to include family. I mean,
it would be impossible for me to to talk about
(34:12):
who my way makers were without talking about, you know,
first all with family, people like my mom, Um, who
you know who? I think about it when you know
she she when she witnessed her her husband die in
front of her and knew that she was gonna raise
three kids in her own You know, that was not
the life that she prepared for or expected or prayed over. Um.
(34:36):
And I noticed spite all the challenges that she had
and mental health challenges, etcetera. UM. I I always say
that you know The greatest gift that God gave me
was when he asked Joey More to be my mom
because just in that he was proving to me that
he loved me. Um. And I think my little sister
(34:57):
says it best when she says, you know, our other
war sweaters so we could wear coats. Um. You know.
I I think about some of my military leaders, people
like uh that at that time, Major Mike Fenzel now
three star General Mike Fenzel, who was a deputy brigade
commander for my unit in Afghanistan, who was not just uh,
(35:19):
you know, one of the most more military leaders, but
also it was literally gruising on my wedding, one of
the most important men in my life. I think about
people like Ray McGuire, who was you know who who
was one of my former bosses when I left the
White House fellowship and then I went to go work
in finance, and he was my boss and he became
just a tremendous uh mentor and guide to me still
(35:42):
this to this day. But um, but I think one
who also played a really important role, uh is a
gentleman named Kurt Smoke. And Kurt Smoke was the former
mayor of Baltimore, and I actually intern with him. In fact,
I'll show you something real quick. Um, this is Kurt Smoke.
(36:06):
That's Kurt Smoke when when he had a full head
of hair, and I had a full head of hair
when I was when I was an intern in his
office at UH at nineteen years old. And the reason
I showed this picture is this was the last day
of my second internship with him. And the thing he's
pointing to right there, let me see it, Lewis um
(36:29):
is that's a picture of his Rhodes Scholarship class. This
was the conversation that he was telling me about the
Rhodes Scholarship and he was saying, he asked me, he said,
have you ever heard of the Rhodes Scholarship And I said,
I've heard of it because I know you were a
one UH and he and he was telling me he
knew about my grades in my background, and he's like,
I think you need to apply for it. And I
(36:50):
left that meeting and I went back and I started
thinking through it, and I went and talked to my
advisor and I got the application. I applied for the
Rhodes Scholarship. This was the first conversation I ever heard
someone tell me about the Rhodes Scholarship. And what I
have on my wall over there is a picture of
my Rhodes Scholarship class. Without this, there's no bat And
(37:16):
he's one of my way makers. And I love having
that picture and I keep it close to my desk
for that exact reason, because it's a reminder that on
this journey, none of us are alone with us. All right,
we all have people. Some of them are, you know,
friends and families. Some of them are people who you
literally had one conversation with, but in some way, shape
(37:40):
or form, are helping to change the tenor of your
life in some way, shape or form, or helping to
change the trajectory. And uh, and I think about what
mayor smoke meant to me. Then I still think about
it to this day. He's a deer, he's now the
president of the University of Baltimore. Is still a very
dear friend and mentor of mind. Um, And and how
(38:02):
that one conversation, you know, not often our our conversation.
Some of those important conversation your life are they captured
on camera? Right? Um? That one was? And so it
always just so he's he's definitely one of the core
way makers in my life. So West, as as we
close out today, I want you to talk to the
(38:25):
listeners and the readers that are going to meet you
through a way maker, the poor and disenfranchise UH consumers,
in the middle class consumers. Tell them why you can
be a way maker for them in the state of mirror.
You know, I, UM, and I really appreciate that because
(38:49):
I think that one thing that people have learned about
me uh and and have said about me. I received
the endorsement of the former county exact could I'm not
the current kind executive of ana Roma County, which one
of the largest counties in Maryland, which is a big
deal because this is one of the most coveted endorsements
of this entire race so far. Any And he endorsed
(39:12):
the candidate that and then we're on props before right, um.
And it was a very big deal, and I think
it opened up a lot of doorways and pathways for
the people now come on boards since and and we're
deeply appreciative. But he said something, UM that I thought
was important in front of a group where he said,
you know, one of the reasons that I knew that
I was getting ready to endorse west Um he's I
(39:34):
knew about his vision and his values and his and
his and his and his experience, both lived experience and
professional experience, that it's uniquely positioned and positions him to
be the next governor. But he said, I've watched him
in different environments. I watched him amongst corporate CEOs, I've
watched him with farmers, and I've watched him with educators.
(39:58):
And he said, you know the amazing thing, it's the
same message. And he said, I never get that when
I'm talking to other people who are the likeged officials,
who are basically saying this is when we do for you,
and this one do for this view. He's like, this
message is about whether we're talking about as you mentioned,
you know, the the the disenfranchise, the person has been
(40:19):
dealing with generational poverty, or the person who is the
you know, the the the the the you know, the
working class, the person who is uh, you know who
is who is you know, making just enough to now
maybe have benefits or maybe be able to take their
family out once a month for a movie. But it
was watching how everything is becoming more and more expensive,
(40:43):
or the parents who saying, you know, I, I'm literally
having to decide about whether or not have another child,
And the number one question that my spouse and I
are debating is can we even afford it? And is
that going to completely change? Are the economic fortune of
our family or the factory worker who's trying to figure
(41:05):
out how much longer do I have to work in
order to retire comfortably and not have to put it
in enormous weight and debt on my children and grandchildren.
That this is about economics. This is about working wages
and wealth. This is about how can we how can
we foster a strong future for all manners where we
(41:29):
then all become the larger beneficiaries of of of of
of people's economic growth. Because people are willing to sacrifice
if they feel like they're doing it for a reason.
But if I feel like I'm sacrificing into a void,
that's no longer sacrifice, that's just suffering. And so our
(41:49):
ability to be able to have an education system that's
preparing people for jobs and now on jobs of the future.
Our ability to be able to make sure that we
have a minimum wage that's getting that's that's you know,
that's an accelerating the fact that Maryland right now, I'm
not having a minimum wage at fifteen dollars. I mean
that that's it's that's that's crazy thing about why how
slow that is? By being able to address things like
(42:12):
wage theft that is hurting everyday Maryland workers. By being
able to address a broken childcare system, because one of
the best ways we can get people back into the
workforce is by being able to address childcare. And that's
and and and specifically for for for women of color.
But we're seeing the impact of a broken childcare system
throughout the board, because childcare right now in the state
(42:33):
of Maryland can cost as much as in state tuition.
By being able to support n b s and WBEs
and fixing fixing broken kerment policies, because that's not just
about the minority of businesses. That's about how can we
spur in economic growth that can actually stimulate a larger
level of of of of of economic activity. If we
(42:53):
were to eliminate the wealth gap in this country right now,
we would that would actually be worth about one point
seven truly in dollars in GDP growth and economic activity
over the next decade. So I think whether we're talking
to the person who has been dealing with who has
been disenfranchised and and dealing with economic stagnation for a
very long period of time. Or the middle class worker
(43:15):
who is who is wondering why they just haven't had
a raise in fifteen years, you know. Or the retiree,
the person who was a firefighter and is now looking
to leave the state because because of the way we
because of the way we look at their pensions. I
think all of these are joint conversations that people can
understand that when we all grow, we all grow, and
(43:38):
that's how I think our government should be sent to
and focused Westmore. Thank you for this. You enlightened our audience.
We appreciate you taking the time to speak to the
Waymaker community. I am so propped to say I met you.
(44:00):
I've read about you from the other Westmore and now
to be able to have this one on one with
you is my privilege, and so thank you someone for
speaking to the Waymaker audience. We appreciate you and we
wish you the best of low God bless you, brother,
Thank you so much for all you do, and thank
you to the entire we Maker community. Thank you, thank you,
Host
Louis Carr
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