Home Grown in Harford County

David Craig was born in Havre de Grace in June of 1949 and graduated from Havre de Grace High in 1967. He married his high school sweetheart, Melinda (nee Blevins) Craig. David and Melinda have three children, Randall, Courtney Craig Tramontana and Pamela Craig Overbay. All three graduated from Havre de Grace High School and were very active in sports and clubs, as well as church activities. In fact, David was the soccer coach for two of his children from elementary school through their graduation from high school.

The Craig's children have all graduated from local colleges, married, and continue to call Harford County home. As proud grandparents, David and Melinda have been blessed with seven beautiful grandchildren whom they surround themselves with at every possible opportunity.

Education, Career and Public Service

David received his Bachelor's Degree in history from Towson State College in 1971 and a Master's Degree from Morgan State University, in history as well, in 1983. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Maryland Leadership Academy and the National Leadership Academy.

David enjoyed a long and fulfilling 34 year career with the Harford County Public Schools. He began as a history teacher at Edgewood Middle School and went on to hold positions at Aberdeen and Havre de Grace Middle Schools. In 2005 he retired as Assistant Principal at Southampton Middle School in Bel Air when he took on the full time challenge of Harford County Executive.

In public service, David Craig has been elected by the citizens of Harford County to serve at several levels of government. In his hometown of Havre de Grace he was first elected to the City Council in 1979 and went on to become Mayor of Havre de Grace in 1985. He began service on a statewide level in the Maryland House of Delegates in 1991 and was elected as one of Harford County's two Senators in the Maryland General Assembly in 1995. David had the honor and privilege of serving as the vice-chair of the Harford County Delegation in 1993 and as chair of the delegation in 1998 and 1999. Upon completing his term in the State Senate, David was once again elected to serve his hometown of Havre de Grace as mayor, a position he continued to fill until taking the office of Harford County Executive in July 2005. The voters of Harford County then elected him to a full term as County Executive in 2006.

In addition to his duties as County Executive, David has served as the chair of the Board of Directors for the Baltimore Metropolitan Council; as a member of the Economic alliance of Greater Baltimore Board of Directors; member of the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center Board of Visitors and, currently serves as President of the Maryland Association of Counties. Additionally, David actively participates as board member for a number of philanthropic and charitable organizations.

David is a staunch supporter of scouting and scouting programs. As the father of an Eagle Scout, David strongly believes in the tenets of the Boy Scouts of America and the strong, rich heritage that scouting offers to youngsters.

As Harford County Executive

Soon after taking office in 2005, David immediately took on the hardest challenges facing Harford County. In typical head-on style, David directly confronted issues such as comprehensive rezoning, updating a 25 year old zoning code, planning for current and future regional water supply, developing a sustainable waste to energy alternative to solve Harford County's solid waste management needs, preparations for Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and the influx of 17,000+ jobs and people that it will bring, improving public school capacity through an aggressive school construction and modernization program, growing demand for public safety, and the sound management of a three quarters of a billion dollar budget during difficult economic times.

County Executive Craig's accomplishments and his ability to tackle these difficult issues will have a lasting impact on shaping and improving Harford County's overall quality of life, and provide future opportunities for generations to come.