CUMBERLAND — The ability to forgo political differences and bring projects to fruition was highlighted Tuesday as Democratic U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin was praised in GOP-led Mountain Maryland.
Cardin, elected to the Senate in 2006 after spending 20 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 to 1986, last year announced his plan to retire.
On Tuesday, he was at The Rosenbaum building on Baltimore Street for his Western Maryland farewell tour that included an earlier stop in Oakland.
Former Maryland Sen. George Edwards, R-Washington/Allegany/Garrett, said he and Cardin, despite their opposite political parties, have been friends for at least 40 years.
“We put those things aside,” Edwards said and thanked Cardin for his frequent visits to and support for Western Maryland. “He knows the area, he knows the people.”
Cardin, 81, talked of his long history with Mountain Maryland that started with visits to the area when he was a student at the University of Pittsburgh and later included ski and hiking trips with his children.
He said he enjoyed working with leaders in the area.
“It’s been a real partnership,” Cardin said.
“When I come here we don’t always agree on issues,” he said. “We compromise, and we listen to each other.”
Roughly 40 people were at the gathering, including state Sen. Mike McKay; Frostburg City Administrator Elizabeth Stahlman; Cumberland City Council members Rock Cioni, Eugene Frazier and Laurie Marchini; and David Jones, the next president of Allegany College of Maryland.
The gathering was held in the Rosenbaum’s atrium, where Chris Hendershot, who owns the building with business partner Garrett Eagan, said state and federal dollars were key to the structure’s renovations.
“This is truly a public (and) private partnership,” Hendershot said.
Cardin congratulated Hendershot and Eagan for their work, which includes bringing businesses to downtown Cumberland.
“This is exciting,” Cardin said.
“There’s a lot going on here.”
Robin Summerfield, Cardin’s Western Maryland representative for roughly the past 17 years, said he was “very proud of the services (Cardin) provided” to local projects, including improvements to U.S. Route 219 and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
Local historian Al Feldstein was at the event to express gratitude for various programs, including highway improvements that Cardin made happen.
“I’m here to thank him not just on the federal level but on the state level,” Feldstein said. “I’ve always liked him.”
Allegany County Commissioner Bill Atkinson said Cardin helped secure funding for local projects to move forward.
“He has embraced our area,” Atkinson said. “We’re gonna miss him.”