News Obituaries |

Carmen Amedori, state delegate from Carroll, parole commissioner and journalist, dies

Carmen Amedori, a former Carroll County delegate, parole commissioner and journalist who worked for The Baltimore Sun and Carroll County Times, died of chronic kidney disease June 9 at her Westminster home. She was 68.

Ms. Amedori was remembered by her daughter Nicole Amedori as a “very fierce” advocate with a strong personality while she worked in politics and championed conservative causes, with a heavy focus on criminal justice matters.

She “amassed an enviable resume in public service over the course of her professional career,” Bob Ehrlich, the former Maryland governor who in 2004 appointed Amedori to the Maryland Parole Commission, said on social media following Ms. Amedori’s death.

He called his Republican colleague a “stellar member” of the Maryland General Assembly and the parole commission. After concluding her six-year term on the commission, Ms. Amedori was the lieutenant governor pick for one of Ehrlich’s Republican challengers in the 2010 gubernatorial race. She later withdrew and endorsed Ehrlich.

“Most importantly, she was a good friend-steadfast political competitor-and reliable advocate for conservative causes from Annapolis to Washington,” Ehrlich said. “She will truly be missed.”

Ms. Amedori remained active in Republican politics long after she left the State House to serve on the parole commission. An early backer of John McCain’s presidential ambitions, she was tapped during the Arizona senator’s 2008 campaign to help craft the GOP platform.

Born in 1955 to Carmine M. “Mimi” Amedori, a World War II veteran and Highlandtown tavern owner, and Dolores Perry, a homemaker, Carmen Amedori grew up in Reisterstown and attended Franklin High School. She received an associate degree in paralegal studies from Villa Julie University, now Stevenson University, in 1978, later continuing her education at what is now Notre Dame of Maryland University.

Ms. Amedori worked as a paralegal after graduating, but later turned to journalism, working at both The Sun and the Carroll County Times and winning awards and accolades.

She married Jerry Barnes, then a Carroll County assistant state’s attorney, in 1988; she resigned from the Carroll County Times two years later amid election-year mudslinging that came as her husband challenged the incumbent state’s attorney in his first run.

Her marriage to Mr. Barnes later ended in divorce. Mr. Barnes died in 2014.

Ms. Amedori briefly served as a Carroll County District Court commissioner following her career in journalism. She was also the chairwoman of the Carroll County Charter Board, though she resigned from the position, alleging impropriety on the part of some board members. She proceeded to campaign successfully against the board’s proposed county charter.

That wasn’t her only successful campaign in 1998, when she also won her seat in Maryland’s House of Delegates.

A Republican serving in Maryland’s majority-Democratic legislature, Ms. Amedori was remembered for championing conservative causes while serving on the judiciary committee — her daughter specifically pointed to her mother’s staunch advocacy for gun rights.

But the ranking Republican also made headlines when she worked to tackle controversial matters with Democratic legislators — she and Democratic Sen. Barbara Hoffman both pushed for statewide firearms safety education based on a model set by Carroll County.

Ms. Amedori won reelection and served as both deputy minority whip and assistant minority leader during the two years of her second term, up until her appointment to the parole commission. She continued to be involved in Republican politics following that appointment.

Ms. Amedori also held a strong love for her family, often spending time with her two daughters in Ocean City, her daughter said, noting that her mother was also a real estate agent who sold homes in the Maryland beach community.

She was preceded in death by two brothers, Joseph Ricardo Amedori and John Patrick Amedori, and a sister, Carol Ann Amedori Long.

In addition to Nicole, she is survived by her other daughter, Kara Maria Amedori, of West Palm Beach, Florida; her husband, Timothy Wade Headley, of Ellicott City; and sister Mariea Amedori, of Ocean Pines.