Hall of Fame 6.7.26 - Flipbook - Page 17
Hall of Fame | Sunday, June 7, 2026 17
BEN & MYRNA
CARDIN
In the winter of 1987, Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg joined Ben Cardin at an afternoon reception in Washington celebrating Cardin’s swearing-in for his first U.S.
House term.
“After the reception, I ran back to Baltimore, and I came to evening services,” said Wohlberg, the longtime spiritual leader of the Baltimore synagogue Beth
Tfiloh. “And there was Ben!”
It turned out Cardin, 82, who later served three
Senate terms, had bolted from Capitol Hill to honor
his mother in the Jewish tradition on the anniversary of her death.
The moment was imprinted on Wohlberg, demonstrating what the rabbi called a “rootedness.”
He has known Cardin’s family since Ben’s father, Meyer Cardin, was president of the congregation when Wohlberg was chosen to be its rabbi
in 1978.
“They don’t make them like that anymore,”
Wohlberg said of Cardin.
Myrna Cardin began her career as an elementary school teacher and has led the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore and the Baltimore Jewish Council, and served on numerous
boards.
“I feel like my mother is the true diplomat of
the family,” said the couple’s daughter, Deborah
Cardin. “She’s a powerhouse in her own right, and
she does so much good in the community. It’s
really hard for me to imagine my dad getting to
where he’s been without my mother. She’s a partner in every sense of the word.”
They have been married for more than 61 years.
“Ben and I walk most mornings. We walk, we
hold hands and we talk,” Myrna said. “And I think
we have learned from each other over the years.”
A federal lawmaker from Maryland can have a
very different experience from those representing states in faraway regions of the country. The
proximity to Washington gave Cardin, who did
not seek Senate reelection in 2024, the opportunity to engage more than others with his family
and community.
“From my early days in the Maryland General
Assembly to the United States Senate, I spend my
nights at home,” he said. “I don’t go out drinking
at night with my colleagues. I go home, have din-
Ben and Myrna Cardin
Age: Ben 82, Myrna 83
Hometown: Baltimore
Current residence: Baltimore
Education:
Ben: Baltimore City College, B.A.
from the University of Pittsburgh,
University of Maryland Law School
Myrna: Forest Park High School,
B.A. from Towson University
Career highlights:
Ben: U.S. senator and Senate Foreign Relations
Committee chair; represented Maryland’s 3rd
Congressional District, including 17 years on the
Ways and Means Committee; former state House
of Delegates speaker; helped reform Maryland’s
property tax system, particularly benefiting seniors
Myrna: Teacher in the Baltimore County Public
School System and was executive director
of Maryland Association of Nonpublic
Schools, which promotes services for
children and adolescents with disabilities; chaired
the Towson University Board of Visitors
Civic and charitable activities:
Ben: St. Mary’s College of Maryland Board of
Trustees; University of Maryland Law School Board
of Visitors; Goucher College Board of Trustees
Myrna: President, Baltimore Jewish Council;
president, JCC of Greater Baltimore board chair;
co-chair 150th Towson anniversary
Family: Daughter Deborah Cardin, son Michael
(deceased) and two grandchildren
ner with my family. It keeps me grounded. It also
gets me great advice around the dinner table.”
He released a video when announcing in 2023
that he would not seek reelection the next year.
“You were my inspiration,” he said to his wife in
the video as the couple held hands.
Cardin was known in Congress for his ability to
connect with fellow lawmakers, including those he
didn’t agree with. “I was taught that it’s OK to
compromise — don’t ever compromise your principles — but find a path to get things done,” he said
in his last year in office.
A former Senate Foreign Relations Committee
chairman, Cardin emphasized international human rights and assisting Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay.
Among his top-listed achievements is a 2016 law
he championed with John McCain, the late Republican senator from Arizona, to allow the United
States to sanction foreign officials who commit
human rights violations and ban them from entering the country.
He began his political career as a member of the
House of Delegates in 1967 while still a law student.
Last year, Towson University launched the Ben
and Myrna Cardin Center for Civic Engagement
and Civil Discourse to strengthen democratic values. Through the center, the Cardins are providing stipends to undergraduate students to pursue
research projects that reflect the center’s mission
to promote civil discourse.
“It’s exactly what I wanted to do when I left the
Senate — promote more civic engagement — primarily because our democracy depends on it,” Cardin said. “It’s a responsibility to be engaged, it’s a
responsibility to be knowledgeable.”
The program stresses that “you need to listen
to people that have different views,” he said.
“You’ve got to be respectful. It’s not a sign of weakness to sit down with someone with a different
view.”
— Jeff Barker
