Craig L. Rice


Craig L. Rice 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.

Early life and education

Rice was born in a Washington, D.C. hospital but raised in the suburbs of Montgomery County, Maryland. He graduated from Montgomery Blair 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.
Prior to entering politics, Rice was a senior sales manager for Marriott International.

Personal life

He is married and the father of three children, Alex, Anaiya, and Caelyn.

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. He served on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Montgomery County delegation's Land Use and Transportation Committee. While in the legislature, Rice worked as a business development consultant for the government of Puerto Rico.
In 2010, Rice won a five-way Democratic primary for Montgomery County Council, District 2. He defeated Republican Robin Ficker in the General Election. Rice served on the Council's Education Committee and the Health and Human Services Committee, becoming Chair of the Education Committee in 2013. In 2013, Rice was elected the Council President, succeeding Nancy Navarro.
Rice was re-elected to the County Council in 2014. In 2015, Rice began organizing Education Budget Forums throughout the County. Rice was appointed to the Kirwan Commission on public education in Maryland, where he chairs the commission’s work group on early childhood education.
Rice was re-elected to a third term on the County Council in 2018.

Election results