Carmen Michael Amedori (November 25, 1955 – June 9, 2024) was an American journalist and politician. She was elected in 1998 to the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

for District 5A, from Carroll County. After being re-elected in 2002 she served in the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower ...

until 2004, when she was appointed by Governor

Bob Ehrlich Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 60th governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, Ehrlich represented Maryland's 10th legislative district in the House of Del ...

to the state Parole Commission where she served until 2009. Amedori was a background actor and had a featured extra role on

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a struc ...

and also played the lead in productions with Siren's Media. She was a writer and a licensed realtor.

Early life and education

Carmen M. Amedori was born on November 25, 1955, in Maryland to an Italian family. She attended parochial and public schools. She graduated in 1977 from

Stevenson University Stevenson University is a private university in Baltimore County, Maryland with two campuses, one in Stevenson, Maryland, Stevenson and one in Owings Mills, Maryland, Owings Mills. The university enrolls approximately 3,615 undergraduate and g ...

(then Villa Julie College). She also attended the

Notre Dame of Maryland University Notre Dame of Maryland University is a private Catholic university in Baltimore, Maryland. NDMU offers certificate, undergraduate, and graduate programs for women and men. History The Roman Catholic academic/educational religious congregation ...

Career

Amedori worked as a paralegal for many years before becoming a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. She wrote for ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

,'' the ''

Carroll County Times The ''Carroll County Times'' was founded on October 6, 1911, as ''The Times''. Owner and publisher George Mather, whose father owned the once-prominent Mather's Department Store in Westminster, Maryland, sold ''The Times'' in 1947. ''The Times'' ...

and Ocean City Today.'' Among other awards, she received the Distinguished Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. She was appointed as a district court commissioner for Carroll County District 10, serving from 1991 to 1993. Amedori was a member of the Maryland Taxpayers' Association, the National Association of Legal Assistance, Citizens Against Government Waste, Citizens Against Big Charter Government, and Americans for Tax Reform. In 1998 she was serving as chairperson of the Carroll County Charter Board which she later led the charge to defeat. Amedori was elected twice to the Maryland House of Delegates (1998 and 2002). While in the State House she served on the House Judiciary Committee, where she was ranking member in 2004. She also had the distinction of serving as assistant minority leader, as well as a minority whip. In June 2004, the governor appointed her to a six-year term on the Maryland Parole Commission. In February 2010, Amedori announced her candidacy for US Senator, running against incumbent senator

Barbara Mikulski Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she also served i ...

, who had been serving for many years. Amedori dropped her bid for the Senate on April 16, 2010, announcing she would run for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, on the Republican Party ticket with Maryland gubernatorial candidat
Brian Murphy
Two weeks later Amedori left the Murphy ticket, endorsing former Maryland Governor

, Murphy's opponent in the Republican primary. She argued that Ehrlich had the best chance to beat current Maryland Governor

Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 17th commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was th ...

in the general election. She said, "If there was going to be a loss to O'Malley, let it be Bob's loss." That year Amedori moved from Carroll County to Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore to be with her 89-year-old father. On September 14, 2010, Amedori was elected to the Worcester County Republican Central Committee. She also served as Campaign Manager to a conservative candidate for the House of Delegates in State District 38B. Carmen returned to Carroll County in October 2013 where she had been a resident for 32 years and to the City of Westminster where she was a homeowner for 14 years.

Legislative notes

*Sponsored Parental Notification and Judicial-bypass legislation *Pro-Second Amendment, lead sponsor on CCW bills, as well as right to protect property legislation *Fiscal Conservative

Election results

*2002 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 5A Retrieved on Sept. 11, 2007 ::Voters to choose two: : *1998 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 5A Retrieved on Sept. 11, 2007 ::Voters to choose three: :

Personal life and death

In 1977, Amedori married Robert DePaola; they had two daughters together, After some years, they divorced. Amedori later married attorney Jerry F. Barnes, who then became State's Attorney in Carroll County Maryland. Carmen was later married to Timothy Headley of

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The city's population was 19,960 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Westminster is an outlying community in the Baltimore metropolitan area, whic ...

. Amedori died at her home in

on June 9, 2024, at the age of 68.

Honors and awards

*''School Bell Award, Maryland State Teachers' Association, 1988 (sustained coverage)'' *''1989 (spot news). Distinguished Journalism Award, Society of Professional Journalists'' *''Sigma Delta Chi, Maryland Chapter, 1989.'' *''Honorable Mention, Features Award, Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, 1989''

References

External links

Carmen M. Amedori (Maryland State Archives)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amedori, Carmen M. 1955 births 2024 deaths People from Carroll County, Maryland American newspaper reporters and correspondents Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Women state legislators in Maryland American women journalists People from Worcester County, Maryland 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians Stevenson University alumni Notre Dame of Maryland University alumni 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly