{{Short description|American politician (1903–1986)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2011}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Edward Alexander Garmatz | image = Edward Garmatz.jpg | state = Maryland | district = {{ushr|MD|3|3rd}} | term_start = July 15, 1947 | term_end = January 3, 1973 | preceded = Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. | succeeded = Paul Sarbanes | office2 = Chairman of the United States House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries | term2 = 1965–1973 | predecessor2 = Herbert Covington Bonner | successor2 = Leonor Sullivan | party = Democratic | birth_date = {{birth date|1903|02|07}} | birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1986|07|22|1903|02|07}} | death_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | spouse = | occupation = | alma_mater = | service_years = | branch = }}
'''Edward Alexander Garmatz''' (February 7, 1903 – July 22, 1986), a Democrat, was a U.S. Congressman who represented the 3rd congressional district of Maryland from 1947 to 1973.
==Early life and career== Born in Baltimore, Maryland; his father and maternal grandparents were German immigrants.<ref> {{citation |url= https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M63X-BKM |title= United States Census, 1920 |website= FamilySearch |access-date=March 14, 2018 }}</ref> Garmatz attended the public schools, including the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. He engaged in the electrical business from 1920 to 1942, and was associated with the Maryland State Racing Commission from 1941 to 1944. He served as police magistrate from 1944 to 1947.
==Congressional Tenure== Garmatz was elected July 15, 1947, by special election to fill the vacancy left by Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., who had resigned the seat to become Mayor of Baltimore. He was re-elected to the twelve succeeding Congresses and served from July 15, 1947, to January 3, 1973. His retirement was prompted by redistricting which placed him in the same district with Paul Sarbanes.<ref name="Kemple">{{cite book |last=Kemple |first=Arlon |date=2026 |title=Had Enough? The Congressional Class of 1946, the Continuity of Policy, and the Transience of Public Office |page=678 |url=https://arlonkemple.com}}</ref> From the Eighty-ninth through the Ninety-second Congresses, Garmatz served as chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. A guardian of the U.S. maritime industry, he prevented the Johnson Administration from moving the Maritime Administration into the newly created Department of Transportation.<ref>Kemple, pp. 577-8, 684.</ref>
Garmatz did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto, and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42|title=HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref> 1960,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/h102|title=HR 8601. PASSAGE.}}</ref> 1964,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/h128|title=H.R. 7152. PASSAGE.}}</ref> and 1968,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1967/h113|title=TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS. INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON ENGAGED IN ONE OF THE 8 ACTIVITIES PROTECTED UNDER THIS BILL MUST BE RACIALLY MOTIVATED TO INCUR THE BILL'S PENALTIES.}}</ref> as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/87-1962/h193|title=S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF POLL TAX AS A REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/h87|title=TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT.}}</ref> During his time in Congress, Garmatz amassed a mainly liberal voting record.<ref>[https://www.rightdatausa.com/bio?id=garmaed01 RightData USA Ideology Data for Edward Garmatz]</ref> But Garmatz did not support the civil rights bill in 1966, apparently because of its open housing provision, and he was an opponent of school busing for integration.<ref>Kemple, pp. 574, 627, 667.</ref>
==Retirement== He was not a candidate for reelection in 1972 to the Ninety-third Congress, and became employed by the International Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots Union. He was a resident of Baltimore until his death there.
In 1978, a federal bribery conspiracy case against Garmatz was dismissed at the urging of Justice Department officials who said they had discovered that their key witness had lied to a grand jury and forged documents.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Becker|first1=Elizabeth|title=Garmatz Bribery Case Is Dropped|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/01/10/garmatz-bribery-case-is-dropped/9162bd61-e05b-45ca-aad9-b0a31d8780db/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 10, 1978}}</ref> This information was brought to their attention through the investigation of Garmatz's attorney, Arnold M. Weiner.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Becker|first1=Elizabeth|title=Garmatz Bribery Case Is Dropped|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1978/01/10/garmatz-bribery-case-is-dropped/9162bd61-e05b-45ca-aad9-b0a31d8780db/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 10, 1978}}</ref>
The federal courthouse in Baltimore is named after Garmatz. After his acquittal, Garmatz stood before the courthouse that bears his name, took out his handkerchief and began wiping the courthouse sign. When asked what he was doing he replied that he was wiping the tarnish from his name.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Glass|first1=Andrew|title=Rep. Edward Garmatz unveils a portrait of himself, Oct. 6, 1968|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2011/10/rep-edward-garmatz-unveils-a-portrait-of-himself-oct-6-1968-065220|website=politico.com}}</ref>
==References== {{CongBio|G000071}} {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Maryland | district=3 | before=Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. | years=1947–1973 | after=Paul Sarbanes}} {{s-off|us}} {{succession box |title=Chairman of House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee |before=Herbert C. Bonner<br>North Carolina |years=1966–1973 |after=Leonor K. Sullivan<br>Missouri }} {{s-end}} {{US House Merchant Marine and Fisheries chairs}} {{USCongRep-start|congresses= 80th–92nd United States Congresses |state=Maryland}} {{USCongRep/MD/80}} {{USCongRep/MD/81}} {{USCongRep/MD/82}} {{USCongRep/MD/83}} {{USCongRep/MD/84}} {{USCongRep/MD/85}} {{USCongRep/MD/86}} {{USCongRep/MD/87}} {{USCongRep/MD/88}} {{USCongRep/MD/89}} {{USCongRep/MD/90}} {{USCongRep/MD/91}} {{USCongRep/MD/92}} {{USCongRep-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Garmatz, Edward Alexander}} Category:1903 births Category:1986 deaths Category:Lutherans from Maryland Category:American people of German descent Category:Baltimore Polytechnic Institute alumni Category:Politicians from Baltimore Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Maryland Category:20th-century Lutherans Category:20th-century United States representatives