Remarks as prepared
Delivered Thursday, December 11, 2025
Outgoing MACo President Jack Wilson: Thank you for raising your hand to lead MACo through this consequential year for the state.
Tonight, the MACo presidency travels back over the Bay Bridge… out 70 West… across US Route 15… into the heart of Frederick!
Councilmember M.C. Keegan-Ayer has raised her hand to lead this organization in the new year. And I look forward to working closely with her.
I also want to thank your leadership team: Michael Sanderson… Virginia White… Kevin Kinnally.
Now… I know this has been a difficult few months.
Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat…
Whether you represent Western Maryland or the Eastern Shore…
I hope we can all agree: The Trump-Vance Administration has made our work harder.
But I don’t want to spend my time tonight listing the bad things Washington has done to our state… Because I know who I’m here with.
I’m with our county leaders…
Our legislators…
Our city, county, and state employees…
I am here with people who do not have the luxury of complaining when there’s a problem… but who feel a deep obligation to figure out the solution!
And because of that abiding spirit of public service… we end this year NOT from a position of weakness… but from a position of strength.
When you look at Maryland in 2025, you see our story hasn’t been defined on Trump’s terms.
It’s been defined on out terms.
While the federal government crafted policies that made our economy weaker, we attracted more than $10 billion in private investment in Maryland.
While Congress cut taxes for billionaires and ran up the national debt, we worked with the General Assembly to cut taxes for middle-class families.
While the president called in the National Guard so he could distract the public from a bad agenda, we moved in partnership to break the back of crime.
Let there be no question: In Maryland, we don’t just push back, we push forward.
Our vision does not change simply because of who sits in the Oval Office.
Together, we will continue our work to build a state where everyone has the opportunity to succeed–no matter their background or family lineage.
And to meet that mission, we need to focus on our ABCs…
Affordability. Budgets. Competitiveness.
I want to take a moment to discuss each.
First, let’s talk affordability.
When I speak with Marylanders and ask them about their concerns, they tell me that everything is too expensive.
The cost of energy is too high.
The cost of housing is too high.
The cost of living is too high.
This year, we worked with the General Assembly to deliver energy rebates to Marylanders facing financial hardship.
We’ve built new pathways to work, wages, and wealth for all.
But there is still more to do.
And moving forward, we plan to accelerate housing production across the state, to strengthen the housing market and bring down costs.
In the fall, I signed a housing executive order to boost housing supply statewide…
And our aggressive housing push in Annapolis is being met with partnership in your jurisdictions.
Over the summer, Charles County launched an Affordable Housing Pilot program to incentivize the construction of new affordable housing…
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and local leaders are increasing housing stock and affordability in Downtown Columbia…
Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater is building new housing units on the site of underused government land.
The wind is at our backs…
And we are going to continue to use every tool we have to make housing more affordable–not tomorrow, not next week, today.
Second, let’s talk budgets.
Last year, we turned an inherited deficit into a surplus, gave the middle-class a tax cut, and asked those of us who have done especially well financially to give a little more so we can have the best schools in the nation.
We’re proud of that achievement. It took a lot of hard work. And I want to thank our partners in the Maryland General Assembly for their collaboration.
But there is still more to do.
One-third of Maryland’s annual budget is made up of federal funds. That’s true for almost all of our neighbors across the country.
At a time when the White House is cutting programs and severing the relationship between the federal government and Maryland, we need to get creative.
No state can fill the gap created by President Trump.
But we can–and will–do everything in our power to keep Maryland’s fiscal health strong and deliver for our people.
We cannot–and will not– balance our budget on the back of Marylanders.
At the same time, we must right-size programs that need to be made more sustainable.
The budget decisions in front of us won’t be easy or simple. But in Maryland, we don’t shy away from what’s complicated or difficult. We lean in.
We will prioritize and protect the essential programs that Marylanders count on…
And we will exercise the same fiscal discipline we have used for the last three years.
Third, let’s talk competitiveness.
Our North Star is to grow Maryland’s economy.
At the start of this year, I announced our state’s economic competitiveness agenda.
We said we would invest in industries of the future–like AI and quantum.
We said we would cut red tape and make Maryland the most business-friendly state in America.
Our strategy is working.
As of today, we have seen 35,000 new businesses open in the state of Maryland.
Just last month, I was in Frederick County with our friends at AstraZeneca to celebrate the single largest private sector investment in Maryland in 10 years.
But there is still more to do.
We need to accelerate our progress in cutting red tape and consolidating state programs that drive economic growth.
If our tools for growing the economy aren’t sharp, we will fall behind our competitors. And you can expect action on that front in the new year.
At the same time, we must continue to educate and inspire the next generation of Maryland entrepreneurs, public servants, and leaders.
To build a more competitive economy, we need to advance our commitment to education. It is the foundation on which we build everything else.
These are the ABCs of good governing in 2026:
Affordability. Budgets. Competitiveness.
If we get these three things right, we won’t just protect our people from the ravages of Washington… We will show there is a better way.
It’s not lost on me that many of the people in this room will be going before the voters at the end of next year.
We will ask for the support of the people who first put us in these seats.
Yes, they want to know that we are standing between them and the White House.
But they also want to know that we stand for something more than resistance… that we are guided by our own aspirations for the future of the state.
A future where you can get a good-paying job with benefits, regardless of whether you went to a four-year college or not…
A future where all Marylanders have a shot at success, no matter how much money you have or where you live…
A future where everyone can access work, wages, and wealth and claim their slice of prosperity.
I see that work happening across the state.
I see it in Baltimore, where we’ve been working closely with Mayor Scott and all key stakeholders to deliver historic drops in violent crime.
I see it in Wicomico County, where we worked with local leaders to open a new community health clinic for Marylanders living in Salisbury.
I see it in Somerset, where we just announced the completion of a historic broadband project to bring internet access to Smith Island for the first time.
Never settling for the status quo. Never allowing our circumstances to define us. Not just pushing back, but pushing forward. And leaving no one behind!