Edward Craig

Infobox Officeholder
name = Edward Craig


order = 45th Speaker of the
California State Assembly
term_start = January 1935
term_end = January 1937
predecessor = Forsythe Charles Clowdsley
successor = William Moseley Jones
birth_date = November 12, 1896
birth_place = Los Angeles, California
death_date = August 3, 1979
death_place = Yorba Linda, California
constituency = Orange County, California
party = Republican
spouse =
profession = Machinist, Legislator, Lobbyist
religion =


footnotes =

Edward "Ted" Craig (1896 - 1979) was a Republican politician from Orange County who served in the California Assembly from 1929 to 1937. [ Biographical info from: "LA Times", "Former Assembly Speaker Edward Craig Dies at 82," August 5, 1979, page A3.] Craig served as Speaker of the Assembly from 1935 through 1936, when he did not run for reelection to his Assembly seat. That same year, Democrats gained a majority in the Assembly for the first time in over 40 years.

Biography

Edward Craig was raised in Olinda, California until 1912, when his family moved to Brea, California. With only an 8th grade education, Craig's original career was as an oil tool machinist. His lack of a higher education did not stop his success in life. In 1928, Craig was elected to the Brea City Council to fill the seat held by his father, who had just retired. That same year, he won a seat in the State Assembly. [ "LA Times", August 5, 1979, p. A3. In 1928, the legislature was part-time, so legislators were allowed to maintain outside employment, including local government positions. ] Craig was elected Speaker of the Assembly in 1935. As Speaker, Craig was instrumental in switching from the archaic and time-consuming "oral roll call" voting process in the Assembly, to a new push-button electric voting system in 1935. [Senate Concurrent Resolution 45, 1979-80 Regular Session, Resolution Chapter 13, Statues of 1980.(view past year California statutes online at www.assembly.ca.gov/clerk ] Craig also served as Mayor of Brea while he was Speaker of the Assembly, because the Assembly was a part time institution in the 1930s. The low legislative salary caused Craig to decide to not run for reelection to his Assembly seat in 1936. That year, during the Great Depression, Democrats would gain a brief Assembly majority for the first time in over 40 years. [ "California's Legislature" (2006 Edition), Chief Clerk of the Assembly, Sacramento, CA, p. 265]

Craig became a lobbyist for Pacific Lighting Corporation late in 1936, a position he held for 28 years. As a lobbyist, Craig was credited in 1953 for convincing Congress to exempt the El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline from requirements of being a common carrier. In 1964, Craig retired from Pacific Lighting and became the lobbyist for Orange County, California. Craig was credited for passing a legislative amendment to allow Orange County to use revenue bonds to finance public buildings. As a fixture at the State Capitol for 50 years, Ted Craig was still referred to by legislators and staff as "Mr. Speaker" as he lobbied the legislautre in the late 1970s. [ Ibid, "LA Times".]

Edward Craig died at age 82 in August 1979. Craig had a son, Thomas Craig, of Wichita, Kansas. Edward Craig is buried at Loma Vista Cemetery in Fulerton, California. In 1980, the California legislature adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 45 to honor the life and legacy of former Assembly Speaker Edward Craig.

References

External links

* [http://www.assembly.ca.gov] California Assembly web page
* [http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/uchistory/general_history/overview/regents/biographies_c.html] UC Regents historical biographies