George Clayton Edwards (born April 9, 1948) is an American politician who previously served as 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- ...

from District 1.

Background

Edwards was elected as the State Senator for Maryland District 1 in 2006, which covers

Garrett County Garrett County () is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,806, making it the third-least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Oakland. The county was named for John Work ...

and parts of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

and Allegany counties. He defeated Thomas Conlon, both of whom ran for the seat vacated by

John J. Hafer John J. Hafer (1932–2019) represented District 1 in the Maryland Senate, which covers Garrett, Allegany, and Washington Counties. He retired from office in 2007. Education Hafer attended Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and ...

who retired after 16 years in the State Senate.

Education

Edwards attended Northern High School in

Accident, Maryland Accident ( ) is a town in Garrett County, Maryland, United States. The population was 338 at the 2020 United States census. Accident has been noted for its unusual place name. A person from Accident is called an "Accidental". History Accident was ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in business administration from

Fairmont State College Fairmont State University is a public university in Fairmont, West Virginia. History Fairmont State University’s roots reach back to the formation of public education in the state of West Virginia. The first private normal school in West Vir ...

, cum laude in 1970. He later attended

Frostburg State University Frostburg State University (FSU) is a public university in Frostburg, Maryland. The university is the only four-year institution of the University System of Maryland west of the Baltimore-Washington passageway in the state's Appalachian highlan ...

to get his teacher's certificate.

Career

After college, Edwards was drafted by the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

. He served in the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

for six years. He has been active in Garrett County Economic Development Corporation and the Maryland Association of Counties. Edwards was first elected to the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

in 1982 and served for 24 years before running and winning the State Senate seat. As a member of the House of Delegates, Edwards was the Minority Leader from 2003 to 2007. Serving in the

since 2007, Edwards announced in July 2021 that he would not seek reelection in 2022. He is a member of the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

, the

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , ...

, the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

, and the

Fraternal Order of Police The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and the ...

Legislative record

In 2016, legislation was introduced in the Maryland Senate (SB 361) that would require the disclosure of fracking chemicals during a liability suit involving harm or injury to persons from gas drilling and

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...

operations. The bill also required higher insurance coverage for gas companies. Edwards introduced amendments that would reduce the liability insurance requirements and limit chemical disclosure. After several days of public outcry from his district, including letters and emails from more than 350 citizens and businesses, Edwards withdrew the amendments. The final bill passed out of the Senate. In October 2021, he was one of five Maryland state legislators from Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties who sent a pair of letters to West Virginia officials asking about annexation of

Western Maryland upright=1.2, An enlargeable map of Maryland's 23 counties and one independent city Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland Panhandle, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washington, Allegany, and Garret ...

to West Virginia. These letters caused a local uproar, with Allegany County officials calling the request a political stunt, an embarrassment and unneeded distraction. Following criticism from local officials and some constituents, Edwards and Delegate Jason Buckel issued a letter withdrawing support for the secession proposal.

Election results

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Race for Maryland State Senate – District 1 : * 2002 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 1A : * 1998 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 1A : * 1994 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 1A : * 1990 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 1A : * 1986 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 1A :

Legislative notes

* Voted against the Healthy Air Act in 2006 (SB154) * Voted for slots in 2005 (HB1361) * Voted for electric deregulation in 1999 (HB703) * Voted for income tax reduction in 1998 (SB750) ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, George C. 1948 births Frostburg State University alumni Living people Republican Party Maryland state senators Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Garrett County, Maryland Fairmont State University alumni 21st-century American legislators 20th-century American legislators 20th-century Maryland politicians 21st-century Maryland politicians