CAMBRIDGE, Md. — Governor Wes Moore told county leaders Thursday evening that Maryland enters 2026 from a “position of strength” despite federal challenges, urging a renewed focus on affordability, budgets, and competitiveness as the state’s governing “ABCs.”
Speaking at the Maryland Association of Counties Winter Conference at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, Moore highlighted recent achievements including a middle-class tax cut, conversion of an inherited budget deficit into a surplus, and more than $10 billion in new private investment attracted to the state.
Before the governor’s address, Moore swore in the 2025-2026 MACo board of directors and officers. Frederick County Councilmember M.C. Keegan-Ayer was installed as president, succeeding Queen Anne’s County Commissioner Jack Wilson.
Moore acknowledged direct impacts from the Trump-Vance Administration but quickly pivoted to solutions.
“The Trump-Vance Administration has made our work harder,” Moore said. “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 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.”
The governor framed 2026 priorities around three core areas.
“Together, we will continue our work to build a state where everyone has the opportunity to succeed—no matter their background or family lineage,” he said. “And to meet that mission, we need to focus on our ABCs: affordability, budgets, and competitiveness.”
On affordability, Moore pointed to 2025 energy rebates already delivered to residents facing financial hardship and pledged continued action on housing and energy costs.
“This year, we worked with the General Assembly to deliver energy rebates to Marylanders facing financial hardship,” he said. “But there is still more to do. We will not wait until 2027 to move the needle on energy. We are also accelerating housing production across the state, to strengthen the housing market and bring down costs.”
Moore praised the fiscal turnaround completed with legislative partners in the previous session.
“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,” he said. “We’re proud of that achievement. It took a lot of hard work.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming budget cycle, the governor stressed fiscal responsibility without shifting burden to residents.
“We cannot—and will not—balance our budget on the backs of Marylanders,” Moore said. “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.”
With many county officials in the audience facing re-election in 2026, Moore reminded leaders that voters expect more than opposition to federal policies.
“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,” he said. “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.”
He closed by describing that aspirational future: “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.”
The Maryland Association of Counties represents all 23 counties and Baltimore City. The winter conference, held annually in Cambridge since 1997, serves as the primary mid-year gathering for county elected officials and staff before the start of the Maryland General Assembly session in January.
