Del. Jon Cardin comes from a long line of Baltimore born and raised politicians, becoming a third-generation member of his famous family elected in the city. But he has made a name entirely for himself over a 19-year career in the Maryland House of Delegates.
Cardin has served the Baltimore County area as its representative in the Maryland House of Delegates in two stints from 2003 to 2015 and 2019 to present, joining the elected body as one of a handful of Jewish members.
Since then, Cardin has grown in his capacity as a legislator and a representative for the Jewish community as the political landscape and needs of his constituents have evolved.
Cardin credits the foundation for his political and personal values to a combination of his early education at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School in Pikesville and the consistent advice of his grandfather, Del. Myer Cardin, who was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1935 to 1939, and uncle, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin.
“The education I got at Beth Tfiloh has served me, not just in my capacity as a legislator, but in my life. [The skills of] understanding how to treat others when you realize that you did something wrong, admitting it and trying to move on, understanding that our criminal justice system is based on the Tanakh,” Cardin said. “To have a sense of not only an ethical framework but also some understanding of the morality that was created through my education, has helped me.”
After graduating from Tufts University, Cardin said he got his first job teaching Spanish before going to graduate school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for policy sciences and Baltimore Hebrew University for Judaic studies.
That led Cardin to work on Capitol Hill and realize that, to succeed in politics, he needed a law degree.
And so, Cardin got his from the University of Maryland School of Law. He started a law career before realizing that he was interested in running for the Maryland House of Delegates.
“I ran for office because I now had a law degree, I had an education background and I had a public policy and public administration degree. I was trying to figure out how to how to marry all three of those areas,” Cardin said. “Being in elected office, you’re dealing with both educating and helping constituents, you’re dealing with, obviously, public policy, and there’s a lot of law that you have to understand and know.”
That first election in the fall of 2002 was an exhausting experience for Cardin, but he said that his uncle offered helpful advice.
“The first bit of advice that my uncle gave me when I said I was going to run for office was, ‘Are you prepared to lose?’ Because, if you’re not prepared to lose, don’t run. And the second bit of advice was, ‘Are you prepared to win? And do you have a vision for what you want?’” Cardin said.
The advice along with long hours spent knocking on over 18,000 doors in the district helped propel Cardin into a third-place finish in the race, which was good enough to get him elected.
In the multiple elections since, Cardin said he’s gotten a little older and slower, but that he still has the drive to enact his vision of protecting the vulnerable communities in Maryland while working with organizations like The Associated and the Baltimore Jewish Council to address issues.
Cardin said that, over the two decades since he entered office, he’s evolved as a politician both in how he communicates to constituents and in how he values his free time now that he has a family.
One change Cardin mentioned was the hands-off approach he has taken to social media since he watched the documentary “The Social Dilemma,” which shows the ways social media can impact people’s lives in dangerous ways.
“It terrified me, and I have significantly, severely reduced my exposure on social media, which is sort of a professional liability, but it has allowed me to have a much more enjoyable, less stressed life,” Cardin said.
He added that he also spends less time with his fellow legislators after working hours since his marriage and the birth of two daughters.
Cardin said that, as he reflects on his nearly two decades in office, he hopes people feel they can trust him to work on their behalf.
He added that he hopes to continue working on issues important to the Jewish community like antisemitism on local college campuses, health programs supported by LifeBridge Health and Sinai Hospital, support for Jewish Day Schools and more.
“If I’m doing that, then hopefully I feel they [the constituents] will feel as if they can trust us, that we’re doing what we need to,” Cardin said.
