County Executive Says Harford In Strong Finanical Position

Harford County Executive David Craig said the state of the county is strong in an address he made to Council Tuesday night.

According to ExploreHarford.com, Craig said Harford County is in better financial standing than the rest of the state and the nation as a whole.

The report stated Craig went on to say the county needs to stand up to Gov. Martin O'Malley and his administration.

According to the same story on ExploreHarford.com, Craig said the state wants the county to put an expensive watershed improvement plan into place, shoulder the burden of $9.8 million teacher pension costs and move additional inmates to the detention center.

Craig's opposition to the state's budget and plans is nothing new. On Feb. 1 Craig issued a statement in response to O'Malley's state of the state address.

"The O’Malley Administration continues to speak of growing Maryland economy, expanding job opportunities and to strengthen Maryland’s middle class, yet his proposals threaten their very existence," Craig said in the statement.

In that statement, Craig went on to say proposed fee increases and income taxes and implementing a sales tax on gasoline, "will not move Maryland forward, but instead stifle the promise of recovery and push Maryland families and businesses down a slippery slope to further economic uncertainty."

Craig added during his address that stronger drug prevention and education programs are needed in the county along with an anti-recidivism program at the detention center, something Sheriff L. Jesse Bane and other leaders in the community are working together on now.

Craig plans to run for state office in the 2014 election, but exactly which office he will pursue remains unclear.

“I’m running for something in 2014,” Craig, who will be term-limited after finishing his second stint as the county’s top elected official, told Patch in August. “I’m always looking at the future. My windshield is bigger than my back window.”