Craig L. Rice

Craig L. Rice
Representative, Maryland State House
In office 2007–2009
Constituency	15th State Legislative District
Member of the Montgomery Council
In office December 1, 2010 – present
Preceded by	Mike Knapp
Constituency	2nd District of Montgomery County
Personal details
Born	September 27, 1972 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Tia
Children	Anaiya, Caelyn and Alex
Residence(s)	Germantown, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation	finance and sales

Craig L. Rice (born September 27, 1972) is an American politician and member of the Montgomery County Council,serving since 2010. Elected in 2006 to the Maryland House of Delegates, he served one four-year term and represented District 15 in western and northern Montgomery County.

Rice is serving his second term on the County Council. He chairs the Education committee and is a member of the Health and Human Services committee. He also serves as the Council's Maryland Association of Counties representative.

Early life and education

Rice is a lifelong resident of Montgomery County, Maryland. He attended the Barrie Day Montessori school through 3rd grade. He gained a spot in Gifted and Talented Magnet programs within the Montgomery County school system through high school. He attended the University of Illinois, majoring in aerospace engineering. Following a family tragedy, Rice returned home and transferred to University of Maryland, where he majored in computer science.

Personal life

He is married and the father of three children, Alex, Anaiya and Caelyn. He and his wife, along with their daughters Anaiya and Caelyn, reside in Germantown, Maryland. He was President of the Germantown Democratic Club, sat on the board of directors for the Villages at Town Center Association and is active in many community organizations including the Germantown Alliance, NAACP and is a mentor for the Young Elected Officials Network.

Career

Rice has worked as a financial services professional with The Washington Group, an affiliate of MassMutual, Business Consultant for the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, Global Sales Representative with ConferenceDirect and Senior Sales Manager for Marriott International, in addition to serving on its Government Affairs Council. He was also Sales Manager for Aramark International.

Political activities

Rice served numerous years in the Maryland Democratic Party as a precinct chair, co-chaired Dollars Drives for the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee, served as the Vice-president of the New Democrats of Montgomery County, and worked on the Terry Lierman for Congress campaign. He received the Democrat of the Year award, along with the Young Democrats, for Montgomery County.

On a national level, House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi asked Craig to speak about how fiscal accountability at the New Democratic Partnership on the steps of the Capitol in the fall of 2004.

Rice was elected in 2006 to serve in the state house with incumbents Kathleen Dumais and Brian Feldman, defeating Republican Jean Cryor, the only Republican delegate from Montgomery County. He was one of three members of the Maryland House of Delegates from District 15, which includes Barnesville, Boyds, Clarksburg, Darnestown, Dickerson, Germantown, North Bethesda, North Potomac, Poolesville, and Potomac in Montgomery County. He served on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Montgomery County Delegation's Land Use and Transportation Committee. He was a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.

Legislative notes

2009 Regular Session

• sponsored and passed the College Textbook Competition and

Affordability Act of 2009 (HB85) [1]

• sponsored and passed the "Parity for Public School Workers Bill"

(HB792) [2]

• sponsored and passed the Recycling in State Public Schools (HB1290)

[3] 2008 Regular Session

• sponsored and passed Public Schools Bullying, Harassment, and

Intimidation legislation (HB199) [4]

• sponsored and voted in favor of Task Force on Classroom Indoor Air

Quality Standards (HB15)[5]

• sponsored and voted in favor of College Textbook Competition and

Affordability Act of 2008 (HB1067) [6]

• co-sponsored and voted in favor of the Fitness and Athletics Equity

for Students with Disabilities Act (HB1411) [7]

Election results

• 2014 Race for Montgomery County Council – District 2

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Craig L. Rice, Dem.	25,823	59.5%	Won
Dick Jurgena, Rep.	17,516	40.4%	Lost

• 2010 Race for Montgomery County Council – District 2

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Craig L. Rice, Dem.	33,398	59.39%	Won
Robin Ficker, Rep.	22,754	40.46%	Lost

• 2006 Race for Maryland House of Delegates – District 15

Voters to choose three:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathleen M. Dumais, Dem.	25,781	21.6%	Won
Brian J. Feldman, Dem.	25,760	21.6%	Won
Craig L. Rice, Dem.	20,202	17.0%	Won
Jean B. Cryor, Rep.	20,050	16.8%	Lost
Brian Mezger, Rep.	14,112	11.8%	Lost
Chris Pilkerton, Rep.	13,174	11.1%	Lost

External links

• Maryland Manual