Craig Jason Zucker (born March 23, 1975) is an American politician who has represented
District 14
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
in the
Maryland Senate
The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single-m ...
since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the district in the
Maryland House of Delegates
The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...
from 2011 to 2016.
Early life and education
Zucker was born in
Englewood, New Jersey, and raised in nearby
Teaneck
Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...
.
He earned his
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
from
St. Thomas Aquinas College in 1997, and his masters degree in government from
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
in 2004.
Political career
Zucker first got involved in politics as a college intern for U.S. Senators
Bill Bradley and
Carl Levin, and later worked as a scheduler for Senator
Barbara Boxer. He worked as a legislative director to Maryland state delegate
Peter Franchot
Peter Van Rensselaer Franchot (born November 25, 1947) is an American politician who is the 33rd Comptroller of Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party, Franchot served for 20 years in the Maryland House of Delegates representing Takoma Park ...
from 1999 to 2000, afterwards working as a deputy district director for U.S. Representative
Albert Wynn
Albert Russell Wynn (born September 10, 1951) is an American lobbyist and former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 4th district of Maryland from 1993 to 2008. On February 13, 2008, ...
until 2004. Zucker served as the vice-chair of the Mid-County Recreation Advisory Board in
Montgomery County, Maryland from 2004 to 2006, and as the deputy chief of staff to Comptroller Peter Franchot until 2010.
In 2002, Zucker unsuccessfully ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 14, placing fourth with 12.3 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary election.
Maryland General Assembly
Zucker was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 12, 2011, and was a member of the Appropriations Committee during his entire tenure. From 2015 to 2016, he served as the House chair of the Joint Audit Committee.
In December 2015, following the resignation of state senator
Karen S. Montgomery, Zucker applied to serve the remainder of her term in the Maryland Senate. His candidacy was backed by Senate president
Thomas V. Miller Jr.
Thomas Vincent Miller Jr. (December 3, 1942 – January 15, 2021), known as Mike Miller, was an American politician from Maryland. He had been a Maryland Senate, state senator representing the 27th District (Calvert County, Maryland, Calvert, Ch ...
In January 2016, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee voted to nominate Zucker to fill the seat, and Governor
Larry Hogan appointed him to the seat at the end of the week. Zucker was sworn in on February 4, 2016.
Zucker was a member of the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee until 2018, afterwards serving in the Budget and Taxation Committee.
In December 2019, following the election of
Bill Ferguson as
President of the Maryland Senate The president of the Maryland Senate is elected by the State Senate. The incumbent is Bill Ferguson who has held the role since 2020.
The Maryland Constitution of 1864 created the new position of Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, elected by the vot ...
, Zucker was named as the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. In August 2021, Ferguson appointed Zucker as the chair of the Capital Budget Subcommittee following the resignation of
Douglas J. J. Peters.
Personal life
Zucker is married to his wife, Jenny. Together, they have two children and live in
Brookeville, Maryland
Brookeville is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located north of Washington, D.C., and north of Olney. Brookeville was settled by Quakers late in the 18th century and was formally incorporated as a town in 1808. Historic ...
.
Political positions
Education
In 2018, Zucker introduced a bill that would require the state to teach
sexual consent
Sexual consent is consent to engage in sexual activity. In many jurisdictions, sexual activity without consent is considered rape or other sexual assault.
Academic discussion of consent
In the late 1980s, academic Lois Pineau argued that societ ...
. The bill passed and became law.
During the 2019 legislative session, Zucker introduced legislation that would add seats for a parent and teachers to the Maryland State Board of Education, and the Ready to Read Act, which requires school systems to provide additional support to kindergarten and first grade students with reading challenges. Both bills passed and became law.
In 2022, Zucker introduced a bill that would prohibit public schools from secluding other students except under certain conditions.
Electoral reform
In 2016, Zucker voted to overrode Governor
Larry Hogan's veto on a bill that would restore voting rights to released felons.
During the 2017 legislative session, Zucker introduced a bill that would require Maryland to use an
independent redistricting commission to draw its congressional and legislative districts if
New York,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
, and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
all passed legislation to do the same. The bill passed, but was vetoed by Governor Hogan.
In 2018, Zucker introduced a bill that would require
social media websites to record data on political advertisements and users targeted by them, which passed and became law without Governor Hogan's signature.
Gambling
During the 2020 legislative session, Zucker introduced a bill to authorize the state to issue
sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...
licenses to fund the state's sports wagering industry and public schools. The bill passed and became law. After voters approved a statewide referendum to legalize sports betting in the
2020 general election, Zucker led a workgroup to develop a bill regulating the state's sports wagering industry, which passed and was signed into law by Governor
Larry Hogan.
Housing
During the 2022 legislative session, Zucker introduced a bill that would require the
Comptroller of Maryland to redirect $14 million from abandoned property funds to a fund providing the
right to counsel
In criminal law, the right to counsel means a defendant has a legal right to have the assistance of counsel (i.e., lawyers) and, if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer, requires that the government appoint one or pay the defendant's legal exp ...
in eviction cases. The bill passed and became law.
Israel
In November 2023, Zucker and eight other state senators signed a joint letter that threatened to defund immigrants rights group
CASA de Maryland because it had called for an immediate ceasefire in the
2023 Israel–Hamas war and condemned the "utilization of US tax dollars to promote the ongoing violence."
National politics
In December 2019, Zucker participated in and spoke at a rally in
Olney, Maryland
Olney is a U.S. census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located in the north central part of the county, north of Washington, D.C.
Olney was largely agricultural unti ...
, to support of the
first impeachment of Donald Trump
Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the first time by the House of Representatives of the 116th United States Congress on December 18, 2019. The House adopted two articles of impeachment against Trump: abus ...
.
Social issues
In March 2011, Zucker said he supported the
Civil Marriage Protection Act, which legalized
same-sex marriage in Maryland
Same-sex marriage in Maryland has been legally recognized since January 1, 2013. In 2012, the state's Democratic representatives, led by Governor Martin O'Malley, began a campaign for its legalization. After much debate, a law permitting same-s ...
.
In 2013, Zucker voted for a bill to repeal the death penalty in Maryland.
During the 2018 legislative session and amid the
MeToo movement, Zucker introduced legislation that would ban employers from imposing
non-disclosure agreements on workers reporting sexual harassment and require employers with more than 50 workers to disclose information about their records in maintaining harassment-free workplaces. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor
Larry Hogan.
![Tommy Bloom Raskin Act Press Conference - 51262721315](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Tommy_Bloom_Raskin_Act_Press_Conference_-_51262721315.jpg)
During the 2021 legislative session and following the suicide of
Jamie Raskin
Jamin Ben Raskin (born December 13, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the Maryland State Senate ...
's son, Tommy, Cullison introduced a bill named for Tommy that would allow people to opt into periodic calls from
2-1-1
2-1-1 is a special abbreviated telephone number reserved in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) as an easy-to-remember three-digit code to reach information and referral services to health, human, and social service organizations.
Like the ...
crisis counselors. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Hogan.
Taxes
During the 2012 legislative session, Zucker introduced legislation that would provide income tax breaks on up to $2 million of forgiven mortgage debt. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor
Martin O'Malley.
In 2013, Zucker voted for a bill to index the state's
fuel tax
A fuel tax (also known as a petrol, gasoline or gas tax, or as a fuel duty) is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation. Fuels used to power agricultural v ...
es to inflation to pay for transportation projects.
Transportation
During the 2020 legislative session, Zucker introduced a bill that would require the state to provide at least $500 million toward
Maryland Transit Administration
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation. The MTA operates a comprehensive transit system throughout the Baltimore-Washingt ...
projects annually for five years. The bill died in committee.
In 2021, Zucker introduced legislation that would prohibit the Maryland Transit Administration from purchasing buses that are not
zero-emission Zero emission refers to an engine, motor, process, or other energy source, that emits no waste products that pollute the environment or disrupt the climate.
Zero emission engines
Vehicles and other mobile machinery used for transport (over land, se ...
.
Electoral history
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zucker, Craig
1975 births
Living people
21st-century American politicians
Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates
Democratic Party Maryland state senators
Johns Hopkins University alumni
St. Thomas Aquinas College alumni
People from Brookeville, Maryland
Politicians from Englewood, New Jersey
Politicians from Teaneck, New Jersey