Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio
Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio
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Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio

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Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio

Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio (born April 30, 1977) is an American politician who served as the secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from District 37B from 2003 to 2015.

Jeannie Haddaway was born in Easton, Maryland, to Herman and Barbara Haddaway. Her parents worked as a waterman and a boat builder. She was raised in Neavitt, Maryland, where she graduated from St. Michael's High School before attending Salisbury University, where she served as vice-president of university affairs from 1998 to 1999 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1999.

After graduating from Salisbury, Haddaway worked as a public affairs specialist and administrative assistance for the Maryland Department of the Environment from 1999 to 2000. Afterwards, she worked as a development personnel for the Maryland-D.C. office of the National Audubon Society until 2003. Haddaway-Riccio owns her own graphic and web-design company, Dragonfly Designs LLC.

Haddaway first became involved with politics as a legislative page during the 1995 legislative session and as a volunteer for the presidential campaigns of Bob Dole in 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000, and the 2002 gubernatorial campaign of Bob Ehrlich. She as a member of the Mid-Shore League of Republican Women and Republicans for Environmental Protection, and as an organizer for the Mid-Shore Young Republicans group. Haddaway was elected to the Talbot County Republican Central Committee in 2002.

In June 2003, Haddaway applied to fill a vacancy in the Maryland House of Delegates left by the appointment of then-delegate Kenneth D. Schisler to the Maryland Public Service Commission. She was appointed to the seat by Governor Bob Ehrlich on August 5, and sworn in on August 19, 2003. Sworn in at 26 years old, Haddaway-Riccio was one of the youngest members in the Maryland House of Delegates. She was elected to a full four-year term in 2006.

Haddaway-Riccio was a member of the Economic Matters Committee during her entire tenure and served as minority whip from 2011 to 2013. She was also a member of the Eastern Shore Delegation, the Maryland Rural Caucus, and the Women Legislators of Maryland. She was a delegate to the 2012 Republican National Convention, pledged to Mitt Romney.

In July 2013, Harford County Executive David R. Craig announced that Haddaway-Riccio would be his running mate in the 2014 Maryland gubernatorial election. On the campaign trail, Haddaway-Riccio ran on a platform promising a more rational approach toward taxes and business regulations and supported efforts to help Maryland's rural areas. In February 2014, the Craig-Riccio campaign was fined $2,000 after Haddaway-Riccio sent out a fundraising solicitation email after the start of the 2014 legislative session, during which legislators are prohibited from raising money. The Craig-Riccio ticket lost the Republican primary to businessman Larry Hogan and his running mate, Boyd Rutherford, in June 2014, placing second with 29.1 percent of the vote. Had the Craig-Riccio ticket won the Republican primary and defeated Anthony Brown in the general election, Haddaway-Riccio would have been the state's first lieutenant governor from the Eastern Shore.

Haddaway-Riccio served as a member of Governor-elect Larry Hogan's transition team. In January 2015, Hogan appointed Haddaway-Riccio as his administration's director of intergovernmental affairs. She served in this position from January 2015 to January 2016, after which she served as a deputy chief of staff to the governor until 2019.

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