[Baltimore Sun] Wes Moore declines to endorse Brandon Scott but praises mayor 1 week from primary
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Gov. Wes Moore strolled a Northeast Baltimore neighborhood with Mayor Brandon Scott on Tuesday, praising the mayor for his work to reduce crime but stopping short of an endorsement one week before the heated primary determining whether Scott will win another term.
Moore declined to endorse Scott in his race against former Mayor Sheila Dixon but said he’s been a valuable partner. He also lauded State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, who was among multiple other prominent officials participating in the community walk and who recently endorsed Dixon.
“I’m not here because of politics. I’m here because of public safety and partnership,” Moore said when asked if he was there to endorse Scott. He added that he “deeply appreciate(s) the partnership that the mayor continues to provide, the partnership that we’ve had since our first days inside of office.”
Despite insisting he was not “getting politically involved,” the governor’s words echoed those of Bates and Sheriff Sam Cogen in recent weeks. Both law enforcement officials repeatedly said they wanted a “partner” in City Hall as they criticized Scott and backed his opponent.
Bates and Cogen stood silently directly next to the governor and mayor as Moore levied the praise outside the Herring Run branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Belair-Edison.
In an interview as they and dozens of others walked through the nearby Four by Four neighborhood, Bates said he was staying where he was regarding his endorsement.
“Every relationship that everybody has is different, and so you have to do it based on the different relationships you have,” Bates said when asked by The Baltimore Sun about Moore’s use of the same “partnership” terminology when talking about Scott.
Fighting crime has become a centerpiece of both Scott’s and Dixon’s campaigns.
While homicides in 2023 dropped below 300 for the first time in nearly a decade, property crimes have increased and car thefts jumped 200% from 2022 to 2023, a trend seen nationwide. Car jackings, meanwhile, decreased year-over-year.
“The progress that I think we continue to see on violent crime, the progress we continue to see on homicides, on car jackings, that doesn’t happen by accident,” Moore said. “It takes a measure of coordination, and it takes a measure of partnership.”
Dixon has consistently highlighted quality of life crimes as she seeks to return to office, which she held from 2007 to 2010 before leaving when faced with corruption allegations. Bates has talked about “philosophical differences” between him and Scott on how to fight crime and has alleged that the mayor does not fully support his citation docket or the effort to change laws holding juveniles accountable for crimes.
The laws targeting juveniles were a top priority for Moore and legislative leaders during the annual Maryland General Assembly session this year. Though some have called on the governor to veto the legislation because they believe it goes too far, Moore said Tuesday he would sign it.
Cogen endorsed Dixon shortly after Bates, echoing the same statements about wanting “a partner” in the mayor’s office.
Gov. Wes Moore speaks with Ernestine Purdy, of East Baltimore, as they take part in a community walk in Northeast Baltimore with Mayor Brandon Scott, officials and community members. (Kim Hairston/Staff)
Crime and violence are far and away the top concerns for city Democratic voters, according to a poll conducted last month for The Baltimore Sun, FOX45 and the University of Baltimore. Asked what the priorities should be for the next mayor, 37% said public safety.
Most voters said they had not seen a decrease in crime over Scott’s nearly four-year term. But for those who did, most gave the credit to Scott.
“This is a neighborhood, the Four by Four, that at one point if you were talking about 5, 10 years ago, it was like one of the hot spots for violence and activity,” Scott said while standing next to Bates during the walk. “But working alongside the community, everyone working together … That’s how you build public safety, and they can see that while we still have a long way to go.”
Police Commissioner Richard Worley, Senate President Bill Ferguson, Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent Schiraldi and other state and local officials joined police and community members as they walked the streets for about 40 minutes. Members of We Our Us, a group working with young people to avoid violence, handed out fliers about a training session on June 3.
Corey Barnes, director of operations for We Our Us, said the group routinely does community walks like the one the elected officials participated in Tuesday. While he said city residents will have to vote based on their own experiences, he said it’s been important for groups like his to be able to work with the Scott administration.
“Something that was missing for a very long time was bringing the community to the table, and that’s what’s really important because you have to have people closest to the problem at the table,” Barnes said.
Moore, since he became governor in January 2023, has frequently appeared alongside Scott and allied with him on major issues such as the response to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse and funneling more state money toward the city’s vacant housing problems.
2024 voter guide: Candidates for Baltimore mayor
But the governor has held back on entering the increasingly messy mayoral primary even as he made an early endorsement in the U.S. Senate race — backing Prince George’s County Angela Alsobrooks over U.S. Rep. David Trone. Alsobrooks provided Moore with his own key early endorsement in 2022, a crowded race in which Scott did not endorse a candidate.
With a week of early in-person voting continuing through Thursday and then primary day on Tuesday, Moore said Alsobrooks is getting his only endorsement in the primary.
“Listen, I don’t play the politics thing well, right? I’m here because I believe in results,” Moore said. “This is about public safety. This is not about politics. And I will work with anybody, anybody who is willing to put the safety of the people first.”
Corey Barnes, director of operations for We Our Us, after Gov. Wes Moore, Mayor Brandon Scott, officials and community members participated in a community walk in Northeast Baltimore. (Kim Hairston/Staff)
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