By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 9, 2022 — Maryland Governor-Elect Wes Moore and Lt. Governor-Elect Aruna Miller recently hosted a private invitation-only reception at the Women’s Club of Bethesda Maryland, and among the guests was Bahamian Chris C. Gardiner, co-founder of the Caribbean American Political Action Committee (CAPAC), which held a major fundraiser for Mr. Moore during his campaign to become the first Black Governor of Maryland.
Governor-Elect Moore has entrenched familial roots in Jamaica, and the CAPAC fundraised attracted many supporters with similar familial roots in the Caribbean.
Governor-Elect Moore’s inaugural ceremony and ball will be held in Annapolis, Maryland, on Jan. 18, 2023. Maryland First Lady Dawn Moore and Second Gentleman David Miller will chair the ball, with Moore as the Honorary Chair and Miller as the Co-Chair, according to a recent press release.
“The Moore-Miller Inauguration will set the stage for the Moore-Miller administration and be the most inclusive inauguration the state of Maryland has seen. We look forward to celebrating with our fellow Marylanders,” said Dawn Moore and David Miller, according to the press release.
The important business and political connections Chris C. Gardiner have established over the years since moving to Washington, D.C. from The Bahamas bodes well for the success of a proposal he has been working on for several years to establish a Sister-City relationship between Washington, D.C. and Nassau, Bahamas, a campaign that I have also sought to become a reality for several years.
With The Bahamas having already launched a series of events in preparation for the country’s 50th Independence Day celebrations on July 10, 2023, now is the time to redouble our efforts to ensure that the Sister City relations between Nassau and Washington, D.C., becomes a reality in time for an official announcement at one of the Independence celebrations events in Nassau next July.
Indeed, His Excellency Wendall Jones, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States, mentioned to me several weeks ago that this likelihood is high on his agenda to accomplish before next July, and he is actively working on establishing ties with D.C. government officials who can assist him in accomplishing this goal.
Meanwhile, I have mentioned the Sister City initiative to my “sister” Denise Rolark Barnes, the influential Publisher of The Washington Informer, who knows D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser very well, and she likewise thinks it is an excellent idea.
Going forward, I think it would be a good idea if Ambassador Jones establishes a working committee that includes Chris C. Gardner to not only work on establishing a Sister City relationship with Washington, D.C., but also Baltimore, Maryland.
