David R. Craig

David R. Craig
Harford County Executive
In office July 7, 2005 – Present
Maryland State Senator District 34
In office 1995–1999
Succeeded by	Nancy Jacobs
Delegate District 34
In office 1991–1994
Personal details
Born	June 12, 1949 (1949-06-12) (age 62) Havre de Grace, Maryland
Political party	Republican

David R. Craig (born June 12, 1949) is the Harford County Executive and was sworn in on July 7, 2005. He was preceded by Jim Harkins who resigned to become director of Maryland Environmental Services.

Education

David Craig attended Havre de Grace High School. He received his B.A. from Towson State College in 1971, then his M.A. from Morgan State University in 1983.

Career

Call David Craig committed. First, he commits to his family. He married his high school sweetheart, Melinda (Blevins) Craig. Celebrating 40 years of marriage, they have three children; in November of 2010, the Craigs welcomed their eighth grandchild into the family.

As the Craig children grew up, their parents encouraged them to study and to participate in the community through church, clubs and sports. David volunteered his time to help with his children’s activities. He coached his children’s Courtney and Pamela and Randy’s soccer teams from “rec” through their graduation from Havre de Grace High School. Similarly, he supported his son by being a leader in Randy’s Boy Scout troopand serving on the Boy Scouts of America’s Harford District Board. Randy, in turn, worked hard and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. In 2007, the Harford District awarded David the Harford District Good Scout Award and, in 2009, the Baltimore Area Council gave him the Silver Beaver Award, the highest award the Baltimore Area Council can bestow on a non-scout. These awards recognize David’s commitment to strong youth programs. David Craig also commits to education. David spent thirty-four years in the Harford County Public School System as a teacher and assistant principal. Because of his experience, David understands the connection between education and individual success, and he strives to build a strong educational system for Harford County’s children. As County Executive, David supported the creation of high school magnet programs in Math & Science, Homeland Security, Agricultural Sciences, and Medical Arts. These programs will help Harford’s students to effectively compete in the new global economy.

As County Executive, David Craig advocated for constructing schools to replace crowded, rundown buildings. David established and implemented a plan to support the forward funding of six newly constructed and renovated schools. School construction highlights not only David Craig’s commitment to education, but also his commitment to creating an environment that allows our local economy to grow and thrive. David understands that to attract new business, Harford County must offer a strong infrastructure which includes, among other things, modern school buildings. His commitment to improving the county’s infrastructure has positioned the county to attract new businesses, jobs for its citizens, and economic opportunity for all of Harford.

Having a life-long commitment to public service, David Craig brings vast experience in municipal and state government to the County Executive’s office. At a young age, he served his home town of Havre de Grace as a member of the City Council and later was elected the city’s mayor. After David proved himself at the local level, his responsibilities expanded to the state level when he was elected State Delegate and, later, State Senator. As County Executive, David maintained his influence at the state level when he was elected President of the Maryland Municipal League (MML) in 2005, and in 2010 he was elected by his peers as President of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo). He is the first elected official to have served as President of both organizations. He currently serves on the Executive Board of MACo as immediate Past-President of that organization. Even as David Craig commits to initiatives for the future, he promotes his native Harford County’s agriculture heritage. He led the effort to make the County’s agriculture preservation program more competitive in the real estate market. As a result, Harford County ranks as the tenth Most Successful for Land Preservation in the entire country. Always aware of the economic impact Agriculture has on Harford County, David supports efforts to boost AG tourism and in doing so, created a successful, nationally recognized “Buy Local” campaign.

David Craig knows that taxpayers expect him to commit to resourceful stewardship of their tax dollars. In response to that expectation, David directed his administration to look for ways to reduce costs while still offering effective services to Harford County residents. Over the last three years, County Executive David Craig’s administration reduced the county budget by 22%, twice lowered the property tax rate, and twice reduced the property tax cap to 5%. In 2011, the budget is 5% smaller than the 2010 budget, yet it is a budget that maintains 2010 county services, fully funds education, and reduces the property tax by 2.2 cents, reaching the constant yield for the first time since charter government. His aim is to get the county’s tax rate to under a $1.

At a time when other Maryland counties worry about solvency, Harford County maintains a solid balance sheet demonstrated by its upgrade to a Triple A bond rating, by two of the top rating agencies in the country. These agencies recognized David’s skillful handling of the county’s finances when they described Harford County as having “Strong Financial Management” and “prudent planning of future infrastructure development.”David Craig also recently caught the attention of well known columnist, Barry Rascovar of The Gazette who credited David as being “a fierce fiscal conservative” and a “longtime cost-cutter.”

David Craig’s experience and leadership have helped him keep his commitments to family, education, public service, strong local economy, and sound money management.

In 2010, Holding true to these commitments and principles, Craig was soundly re-elected by the voters of Harford County to serve a second term.

Election results

• 2010 Race for Harford County Executive - Harford County^[1]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
David R. Craig, Rep.	67,972	79.96%	Won
Mark Fisher , Con.	16,368	19.26%	Lost
Write-In's	665	0.78%	Lost

• 2006 Race for Harford County Executive - Harford County^[2]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
David R. Craig, Rep.	46,121	52%	Won
Ann C. Helton, Dem.	42,442	47.9%	Lost
Write-In's	75	0.1%	Lost

• 1994 Race for Maryland State Senate – District 34 - Harford County^[3]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
David R. Craig, Rep.	17,444	54%	Won
Habern Freeman, Dem.	14,676	46%	Won

• 1990 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 34 - Harford County^[4]

Voters to choose three:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Rose Mary Hatem Bonsack, Dem.	13,373	19%	Won
Mary Louise Preis, Dem.	13,045	19%	Won
David R. Craig, Rep.	12,031	18%	Won
William H. Cox Jr., Dem.	10,296	15%	Lost
David M. Meadows, Rep.	10,069	15%	Lost
Cecil W. Wood, Rep.	9,840	14%	Lost

External links

• http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/36loc/ha/html/msa12162.html

References

1. ^ "Harford County Executive Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/2010/results/general/local_office_Harford_County.html.  Retrieved on Nov. 2, 2010
2. ^ "Harford County Executive Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/2006/results/general/local_office_Harford_County.html.  Retrieved on Nov. 3, 2007
3. ^ "State Senate Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/1994/results_1994/gasse.html.  Retrieved on Nov. 3, 2007
4. ^ "House of Delegates Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/1990/results_1990/gahod.html.  Retrieved on Nov. 3, 2007

Persondata
Name	Craig, David R.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 12, 1949
Place of birth	Havre de Grace, Maryland
Date of death
Place of death