Craig L. Rice

Craig Lamont Rice (born September 27, 1972) is an American politician and former member of the Montgomery County Council, serving from 2010 to 2022. 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.

Craig L. Rice
Member of the Montgomery County Council
from the 2nd district
In office
December 6, 2010 – December 5, 2022
Preceded byMike Knapp
Succeeded byMarilyn Balcombe
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 15th district
In office
January 10, 2007 – December 5, 2010
Preceded byJean B. Cryor
Succeeded byAruna Miller
Personal details
Born
Craig Lamont Rice

(1972-09-27) September 27, 1972
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseTineshia Rice
Children3
Residence(s)Germantown, Maryland, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland, College Park (BS)

Early life and education

Rice was born in a Washington, D.C. hospital but raised in the suburbs of Montgomery County, Maryland.[1] He graduated from Montgomery Blair High School.[2] 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.[3]

Prior to entering politics, Rice was a senior sales manager for Marriott International.[1]

Personal life

He is married to Tineshia "Tia" Rice, the owner of AnaLyn Studio Salon located in downtown Bethesda. He is father of three children, Alex, Anaiya, and Caelyn.[4]

Political career

Rice was elected in 2006 to serve in the state house with incumbents Kathleen Dumais and Brian Feldman, defeating incumbent Jean Cryor, Montgomery County's lone Republican representative.[5][6] He served on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Montgomery County delegation's Land Use and Transportation Committee.[5] While in the legislature, Rice worked as a business development consultant for the government of Puerto Rico.[1][7]

In 2010, Rice won a five-way Democratic primary for Montgomery County Council, District 2.[8] He defeated Republican Robin Ficker in the General Election.[7] This, at the time, made him the youngest African American to serve on the Council and only the second African American man to serve in that role.[9] Rice served on the Council's Education Committee and the Health and Human Services Committee, becoming Chair of the Education Committee in 2013.[10] In 2013, Rice was elected the Council President, succeeding Nancy Navarro.[11]

Rice was re-elected to the County Council in 2014.[12] In 2015, Rice began organizing Education Budget Forums throughout the County.[10] Rice was appointed to the Kirwan Commission on public education in Maryland, where he chairs the commission’s work group on early childhood education.[4][13]

Rice was re-elected to a third term on the County Council in 2018.[14] Rice has received many awards over the course of his career. In 2018 he received the 2018 Metropolitan Kappa Youth Foundation Cornerstone Award for Education and Leadership.[9]

In 2019, Rice received The Montgomery County Board of Education’s Award for Distinguished Service to Public Education Community Individual.[9]

Election results
  • 2018 Race for Montgomery County Council – District 2[14]
Voters to choose one:
Name Votes Percent Outcome
Craig L. Rice, Dem. 50,111   71.1%    Won
Ed Amatetti, Rep. 20,271   28.8%    Lost
  • 2014 Race for Montgomery County Council – District 2[15]
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[16]
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[17]
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

References
  1. Laris, Michael (September 7, 2010). "Stark differences in top Democratic candidates for Montgomery County Council". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  2. Turque, Bill (February 24, 2015). "In progressive Montgomery, painful stories of racism past and present". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  3. Bykowicz, Julie (March 6, 2009). "Delegate's personal plea for death penalty". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  4. "About - County Councilmember Craig Rice". Montgomery County Government. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  5. Chadwick, Melissa A. (January 10, 2007). "District 15 newbie delegate gets ready for Annapolis". The Gazette. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  6. Sedam, Sean R. (May 16, 2007). "Gala celebrates a very good year for Democrats". The Gazette. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  7. Danielle E. Gaines; Meghan Tierney (November 10, 2010). "Rice wins District 2 County Council seat". The Gazette. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  8. Tierney, Meghan (September 15, 2010). "Rice is apparent victor of District 2 council primaries". The Gazette. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  9. Alexandra Macia (2020-02-18). "Black History Month: MCM Spotlights County Councilmember Craig Rice". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  10. "Councilmember Craig Rice to Receive Cornerstone Award for Education and Leadership". MyMCMedia. June 7, 2018.
  11. Bush, Matt (December 3, 2013). "Council Elects New President and Vice President". WAMU.
  12. Metcalf, Andrew (November 5, 2014). "Montgomery County Election Results – Leggett Wins Third Term". Bethesda Magazine.
  13. Dresser, Michael (April 23, 2018). "Advisory panels say improving Maryland's public schools will require expanded pre-K and changes to teacher pay". Baltimore Sun.
  14. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for Montgomery County". Maryland Board of Elections. December 11, 2018.
  15. "2014 General Election Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. 4 November 2014.
  16. "2010 General Election Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. 2 November 2010.
  17. "2006 General Election Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. 7 November 2006.
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