Richard D. Crandall, known as Rich Crandall (born 1967), is a businessman, former Arizona legislator, and former director of the Wyoming Department of Education.

Background

Crandall was born in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

. He holds a bachelor's and master's degree in accounting from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

. He is a

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

Career

Arizona lawmaker

Crandall is a

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

Republican a former member of the

Arizona State Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms w ...

and

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...

. Elected in 2007 to the House and 2010 to the Senate, he resigned in 2013 to accept a position in Wyoming.

Wyoming Department of Education

Crandall was director of the Wyoming Department of Education, based in the capital city of

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

from August 2013 to April 2014. The position of Director was dissolved when the

Wyoming Supreme Court The Wyoming Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming from a list of three nominees sub ...

, in a three-to-two vote on 28 January 2014, ruled the legislation that created the position unconstitutional. The court ruled that the law removing the duties of the superintendent of public instruction and placing them into the hands of an appointed director conflicts with the Wyoming State Constitution. Written by Justice

E. James Burke E. James Burke (born c. 1949) is a former justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court The Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is app ...

and supported by

Michael K. Davis Michael K. Davis (born January 16, 1952) is a former justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court; he served on the court from 2012 to 2022. He received a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Western State College of Colorado in 1977, and a Juris Docto ...

and Barton Voigt, the Supreme Court opinion said that while the legislature can legally adjust the powers of the superintendent, it cannot undermine the constitutional authority of the office itself in the general supervision of public schools. Governor Mead, meanwhile, through the appointed Attorney General Peter K. Michael, appealed for a rehearing. The court ruled Crandall's director position as unconstitutional.

Education Commissioner of Colorado

He was appointed the Education Commissioner of Colorado in December 2015. Crandall resigned his position as Colorado's Commissioner of Education on May 19, 2016, a mere four months into the job.

Current

Crandall is the founder and chair of CN Resource and is also the CFO/partner for Crandall Corporate Dietitians. He currently serves on the board of directors of digital marketing firm ChannelNet.

Personal

He is member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and is married to Leann Larson Crandall and together they have 13 children (seven from his first marriage to Patrice Webb and six from his second marriage).Votesmart.org-Rich Crandall
/ref>

Notes

References

Sources

Crandall's legislative bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crandall, Rich 1967 births Living people Wyoming Republicans Latter Day Saints from California Brigham Young University alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Republican Party Arizona state senators Politicians from Cheyenne, Wyoming Politicians from Mesa, Arizona Businesspeople from Arizona Latter Day Saints from Indiana Latter Day Saints from Arizona Latter Day Saints from Wyoming Latter Day Saints from Colorado