STATE

Mayors of Hagerstown, Ocean City join Moore-Miller transition team

Dwight A. Weingarten
The Herald-Mail

A pair of Maryland mayors, one from the Eastern Shore and one from Western Maryland, are helping Wes Moore as he prepares to be the state's next governor.

Hagerstown Mayor Emily Keller and Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan are the only two current mayors on the 26-member steering committee, comprised of an assortment of individuals from both the public and private sectors. Keller said the committee held its first meeting on Nov. 21.

“Between me and the mayor of Ocean City, we’ll be able to really represent municipal government because what we do is the hard work,” said Keller, who also serves on the board of directors of the Maryland Municipal League.

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Governor-Elect Wes Moore, right, speaks to reporters at the State House in Annapolis on Nov. 10, 2022, as Governor Larry Hogan, left, looks on. The two met to discuss the transition before the inauguration in January.

Those on the steering committee include former Gov. Parris Glendening; two former Maryland secretaries of state; a pair of pastors; a bookstore owner; and state representatives, including state Sen. Addie Eckardt, of Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot, & Wicomico counties, who lost her bid earlier this year to be the mayor of Cambridge.

Keller, the steering committee’s only representative from Western Maryland, said the committee is “early in the process.” She said the work involves helping to fill key roles in the administration and helping plan the first 100 days, the first year, and the full term for Moore and Lt. Gov.-Elect Aruna Miller, who is chairing the transition.

In this file photo, Democratic nominee for governor Wes Moore walks with Hagerstown Mayor Emily Keller after leaving the Museum of Firefighting History on Oct. 17, 2022.

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“Mayor Meehan has only had one meeting with the Transition Team,” said Lauren Davis, the mayor’s executive assistant, in a Nov. 29 email. “The first meeting was a kick off and introduction for the team.”

Meehan, who has been the mayor of Ocean City since 2006, did not respond to an email request for interview.

From left: Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan eat Trasher's french fries while walking on the Ocean City boardwalk on Aug. 16, 2019. Hogan says his 2016 executive order on school starting benefited more than just Ocean City businesses, but rather the entire state.

"We are excited about the significant roles our local leaders will be playing," said Theresa Kuhns, CEO of the Maryland Municipal League, in an email. The League represents over 150 Maryland municipal governments, including Ocean City and Hagerstown.

“It’s good to have municipal voices,” said Keller, of Hagerstown, in a Nov. 22 phone interview, “and I’m happy that I get to be that.”

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.