Adelaide C. Eckardt (born September 8, 1943) is an American politician who was a member of the
Maryland Senate
The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...
, representing District 37.
Background
Adelaide C. Eckardt was first elected in 1994 to represent the new District 37B. District 37B covers parts of
Caroline
Caroline may refer to:
People
* Caroline (given name), a feminine given name
* J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player
* Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player
Places Antarctica
* ...
,
Dorchester,
Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...
, &
Wicomico counties.
She defeated Democratic incumbent Robert Alan Thornton Jr.
and served with fellow Republican
Kenneth D. Schisler. She ran in 1990, but was defeated by
Kenneth D. Schisler, Robert Alan Thornton Jr., and Democrat Samuel Q. Johnson III.
In 1998, Eckardt was reelected along with
Schisler. Again in 2002, Eckardt and Schisler won with little competition. Finally, in 2006, Eckardt won reelection, this time with fellow Republican,
Jeannie Haddaway
Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio (born April 30, 1977) is a politician from Maryland who served as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. She previously served as the deputy chief of staff to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (2016–201 ...
. Schisler was appointed to the chair of the
Maryland Public Service Commission
The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent administrative agency within the Government of Maryland, state government which regulates Public utility, public utilities and certain taxi cab and other passenger services in Maryland. ...
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 2nd Congressional district in the U.S. House of ...
in May 2003.
Education
Like fellow House Republican
Mary Roe Walkup
Mary Roe Walkup (born May 4, 1924) is an American former politician who was a delegate in the Maryland House of Delegates. She represented District 36, which covers Caroline, Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne's Counties.
Background
First elected in 1 ...
, Eckardt got her career start in nursing. Eckardt attended
Bryn Mawr Hospital
Bryn Mawr Hospital, part of Main Line Health, is a 264-bed acute care hospital located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1893, Bryn Mawr Hospital has been named among ''U.S. News & World Report’s'' Best Hospitals in the Philadelphia region ...
School of Nursing and received her R.N. degree. She later attended the
University of Maryland, Baltimore
The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1807, it comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy, social work and nursing in the United States ...
School of Nursing attaining her B.S. in 1978, and later her M.S. in 1981. She practiced as a Registered Nurse-Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Career
A few years later, Eckardt became an adjunct member of the faculty at
Salisbury State University
Salisbury University is a public university in Salisbury, Maryland. Founded in 1925, Salisbury is a member of the University System of Maryland, with a fall 2016 enrollment of 8,748.
Salisbury University offers 42 distinct undergraduate and 14 ...
. Later that same year, she became a Psychiatric Nurse Clinical Specialist at Eastern Shore Hospital Center and worked there until 2003. During that same time, she also served as an adjunct member of the faculty at the
University of Maryland School of Nursing
The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1807, it comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy, social work and nursing in the United States ...
. She remained on the faculty from 1991 to 1999.
Eckardt's remained active in her field, but shifted to a more administrative and legislative role. She joined the Executive Committee of the Maryland Hospital Association in 1993 and has served on the Board of Directors for Leadership Maryland, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to the betterment of Maryland, since 2001.
Currently, Eckardt is a board member of the Chesapeake Health Planning Systems, a member of the Maryland Nurses Association,
the American Nurses Association, the American Ortho-Psychiatric Association, and
Sigma Theta Tau
The Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing () is the second-largest nursing organization in the world with approximately 135,000 active members. While often referred to by nurses as simply Sigma, its official name is "Sigma Theta ...
, the honor society of nursing.
She is a past recipient of the Psychiatric Nursing Award from the University of Maryland Graduate School of Nursing in 1981. In 1986 and again in 1991, Eckard was named Nurse of the Year, District 4, by the Maryland Nurses Association.
In 1988, she won the Rosalie S. Abrams Legislative Award from the Maryland Nurses Association. She received the Outstanding Board Member Award from the Maryland Nurses Association in 1992. Later she received the Outstanding Rural Legislator Award from the Rural Maryland Council in 2003. Additionally in 2003, she received recognition for her efforts from Local Management Board. Finally, she was listed as a member of Maryland's Top 100 Women by the ''Daily Record'', a local newspaper, in 2003, 2005, and 2007.
In July 2022, Eckardt was defeated in the
Republican primary by state delegate
Johnny Mautz. Following her defeat, she announced on July 25, 2022, that she would run in the
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
mayoral special election on August 23, 2022. No candidate received the majority of the vote, forcing a runoff between Eckardt and former Cambridge commissioner Steve Rideout on September 20, 2022. She was defeated by Rideout 55%-45%. In November 2022, Governor-elect
Wes Moore
Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, investment banker, author, and television producer. He is the governor-elect of Maryland, after defeating Republican Dan Cox in the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial ele ...
announced that Eckardt would serve on the steering committee of his transition team.
Legislative notes
* voted against the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007 (HB359)
* voted for the Healthy Air Act in 2006(SB154)
* voted for slots in 2005 (HB1361)
* voted for
electric deregulation in 1999 (HB703)
* voted against in-state tuition for illegal immigrants in 2007 (HB6)
* voted against police transparency in 2021 (HB1090)
Election results
*2006 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 37B
::Voters to choose two:
:
*2002 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 37B
::Voters to choose two:
:
*1998 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 37B
::Voters to choose two:
:
*1994 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 37B
::Voters to choose two:
:
*1990 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 37
::Voters to choose three:
:
References and notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckardt, Adalaide C.
1943 births
Living people
People from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni
Republican Party Maryland state senators
Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates
Women state legislators in Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park faculty
Salisbury University faculty
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians