The Issues

Working to Improve the Economy

Craig is working to lower costs and make Maryland more affordable. He understands the impact the federal administration has had on our economy.  As an important voice on the Senate Budget Committee, which reviews Maryland’s budget, Craig has worked with his colleagues to balance the budget, end the legislative session with a surplus, while ensuring Montgomery County gets its fair share.
Craig serves as the Chair of the Senate Capital Budget Subcommittee, which allocates all of the state’s brick-and-mortar funding to build public schools, hospitals, fire departments, and investments in cultural institutions like the Olney Theater. Through his efforts, Craig has helped create more than 15,000 direct and indirect jobs per year.  He has worked with his colleagues to bring back more than $100 million in state funding for Montgomery County, including priorities in District 14.
Additionally, Craig is the chief author of the Maryland Jobs Reinvestment Act, which provides tax incentives to small businesses, particularly those in Burtonsville with 25 or fewer employees, for creating and retaining new jobs.
Craig’s grandfather, a second-generation immigrant, was a small business owner in New York. He opened several shops that were eventually passed down to his father’s generation. Keeping his family’s history in mind, Craig continues to advocate for small businesses. If small businesses succeed, people remain employed, new jobs are created, and our tax base stays strong. To ensure they remain competitive, Craig helped sponsor the Maryland Jobs Development Act. This law will track economic development projects throughout the state, keeping small businesses strong and creating local jobs.
Craig also knows that we’ve all had to tighten our belts lately and believes it should be no different when it comes to our state’s finances. As a Senator, Craig continues to go line by line through the budget to identify and eliminate wasteful spending. Craig’s experience on the Senate and House budget committees, his work as a top aide to the Maryland Comptroller, and his leadership roles in the private sector make him an important voice on fiscal issues.

Delivering for our District and County

Craig has worked with the District 14 delegation to secure funding for our community. As chair of the Senate Capital Budget Subcommittee, Craig has worked with his colleagues to bring back hundreds of millions of dollars for local projects. Craig has helped invest, renovate, and improve projects throughout the district, county, and state, which include, but are not limited to:

School Construction, Renovations, and Playgrounds

  • Belmont Elementary
  • Blake High School
  • Brooke Grove Elementary
  • Burtonsville Elementary
  • Damascus Elementary
  • Damascus High School
  • Dr. Charles Drew Elementary
  • Clovery Elementary
  • Fairland Elementary
  • Farquhar Middle School
  • Gaithersburg High School
  • Goshen Elementary
  • Greencastle Elementary
  • Greenwood Elementary
  • Infants and Toddlers Program – Olney
  • Laytonsville Elementary
  • Magruder High School
  • Montgomery College East County Expansion
  • Olney Elementary
  • Paint Branch High School
  • Rosa Parks Middle School
  • Sandy Spring Friends School
  • Sequoyah Elementary
  • Sherwood Elementary
  • Sherwood High School, Softball Field & HVAC
  • Stonegate Elementary
  • Westover Elementary

Parks, Trails, and Open Space

  • Bowie Mill Bike Trail
  • Calverton-Galway Local Park
  • Camp Brighton Woods Girl Scouts
  • Columbia Local Park -Burtonsville
  • Damascus Recreational Park
  • Deloris R. Miller Park – Laytonsville
  • Fairland Recreation and Local Parks
  • Freedman’s State Park
  • Good Hope Local Park
  • Greenwood Local Park
  • Maydale Nature Center
  • McKnew Local Park
  • Northwest Branch Recreational Park
  • Olney Family Neighborhood Park
  • Olney Manor Recreational Park
  • Olney Mill Neighborhood Park
  • Ovid Hazen Wells Recreational Park

Infrastructure and Economic Investments

  • Blackburn Road Crosswalk
  • Brookeville By-Pass
  • Burtonsville Crossing Shopping Center Redevelopment Improvements
  • Burtonsville Commuter parking
  • Damascus Main Street Beautification and Improvements
  • Greater Olney Community Building Purchase and Renovation
  • Route 27 Improvements
  • Route 108 Crosswalks at Sherwood High School
  • Route 198 Road Improvements
  • Street Lighting Improvements Route 29
  • Town of Brookeville Safety and Traffic Improvements

Health Facilities and Senior Centers

  • Brooke Grove Retirement Village
  • Children’s Hospital – Silver Spring
  • Friends House Retirement Community
  • MedStar Montgomery Medical Center
  • Shady Grove Hospital
  • Winter Growth

Public Saftey

    • Damascus Volunteer Fire Department and Activity Center
    • Laytonsville Volunteer Fire Department
    • Olney Police Satellite Station
    • Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department

Community Organizations/Non-Profits

  • American Legion Post 171- Damascus
  • Clarksburg Library
  • Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children (CSAAC)
  • Damascus Heritage Society Museum
  • Everymind Headquarters
  • For 3 Sisters
  • Harmony 360
  • Hero Dogs
  • Laytonsville Lions Club Medical Equipment and Loan Building
  • Montgomery County History Center
  • Muslim Community Center -Health Center &  Community Kitchen
  • Oasis Farm (Program for those with Dev. Disabilities)
  • Olney Civic Fund
  • Olney Farmers Market
  • Olney Boys and Girls Club, Cropduster, and Miracle Fields
  • Olney Chamber of Commerce
  • Olney Mill House Restoration
  • Olney Theatre Center
  • Rotary Club of Olney
  • Sandy Spring Civic Association
  • Sandy Spring Museum
  • Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery
  • Solar-Resilency Project and Multi-Generational Daycare-Aftercare
  • Waredaca Pony Club
  • Women’s Board – MedStar Montgomery – Community Learning
The support that these projects have received from our state government represents a major investment in our community and will help create jobs, educate our children, preserve our cultural heritage, and improve public safety

Investing in Public Education

All parents dream about a better future for their children. In Montgomery County, many families realize these dreams thanks, in large part, to the dedicated teachers and administrators of the Montgomery County Public Schools. However, there is still much work to be done to ensure every child receives a world-class education.

As a father, a former board member for a special needs school, and a product of the public-school system, Craig is keenly aware of the importance of providing a quality education to each child. Over the last 7 years, Craig has worked with his District 14 teammates to assist children with special needs and learning differences. Craig and his team have secured more than $100 million in school construction funding for District 14 area schools. .

In addition, Craig sponsored legislation that implements the federal Every Student Succeeds Act that focuses on less testing and more learning. Craig will continue to advocate on behalf of the public school system to ensure they have the resources they need to hire and retain quality teachers, modernize facilities and give every child the opportunity to succeed. Craig is proud to have been endorsed by the Maryland State Education Association and the Montgomery County Education Association for his leadership on education related issues.

Protecting Our Natural Resources

It is our responsibility to preserve our earth and leave future generations with a better environment than that which our generation inherited. In Craig’s first two years in the House, he served on the Transportation and Environment Subcommittee, where he helped protect millions of dollars of funding for the Chesapeake Bay Trust fund and assisted with additional funding to our farming community.

Craig has fought to protect Maryland’s waterways, farms, and natural resources. He has co-sponsored legislation promoting clean energy, banning fracking, and protecting the Chesapeake Bay. He has a solid environmental voting record, earning him endorsements from the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club.

Keeping Our Neighborhoods Safe

As a parent, Craig understands the importance of public safety. Our district is filled with strong communities and Craig wants to make sure it stays that way. No one should ever have to feel unsafe in their own neighborhood.

Craig has supported legislation to crack down on criminal gangs, domestic violence and Internet predators. He has worked to make sure that our first responders such as police, firefighters and paramedics receive the funding they deserve. He and his District 14 teammates have honored this commitment to first responders by helping to bring back more than $310,000 of state funding for the Olney Police Station, the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department, and the Laytonsville Volunteer Fire Department.

He also sponsored legislation that will bring Next Generation 911 (NG911) systems to Maryland. This will allow the use of modern technologies, such as texting, e-mail, and video to be used to contact 911 during emergencies. Additionally, NG911 will allow for increased response times, faster routing of 911 calls from one call center to another, and improved outcomes for people involved in emergency situations.

Creating Transportation Solutions

Often in Montgomery County we find ourselves being reactive instead of proactive with our transportation infrastructure. Craig takes a proactive approach. He supported the transportation package that produces more than $882 million to Montgomery County to improve current infrastructure, increase mass transit opportunities and help leverage federal funding.

All of the past session’s actions will support a smart growth strategy which includes the Inner-Purple Line, a proposed light-rail line which would connect the region’s core communities near the Capital Beltway, reduce traffic and help curb greenhouse gas emissions. He also strongly supports improving current roads, the Brookeville and Laytonsville Bypass and the Bus Rapid Transit system which would increase access to Metro services. Craig also co-sponsored legislation that creates a dedicated funding source for METRO.

Providing Accessible Health Care

Every day many residents in District 14 wake up and wonder what they will do if they get sick. More than 1.4 million Marylanders were without health insurance in 2008, forcing them to take on piles of debt for medical expenses, or worse, not being able to seek medical treatment at all. In the last five years, the number of Marylanders without health insurance has been cut in half.

Craig understands the value of having access to health care. Craig continues to do everything he can to support plans to allow all Marylanders access to affordable health care through the Maryland Health Care Exchange.