Craig Malin was appointed Davenport City Administrator in July, 2001. He has since served four Mayors and six City Councils, setting a record for tenure as Davenport City Administrator.
Mr. Malin holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and three Masters Degrees; Public Administration, Human Resources Development and Urban Planning & Policy. He is a graduate of Harvard University’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative and Senior Executive in State & Local Government program.
Mr. Malin had experience with eight local governments prior to Davenport, including three municipalities, two counties, a park district and a regional planning commission. He was a founder of Prairie Crossing Charter School, a public elementary charter school with a curriculum centered on environmental stewardship and responsible citizenship.
He is a member of the International City / County Management Association (ICMA), has attained the ICMA Credentialed Manager designation and has served on numerous national committees and task forces, including rewriting the credentialing exam for the profession. Mr. Malin is the ICMA’s representative to the National League of Cities’ Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee. He is also a member of the Congress For New Urbanism and American Planning Association; holding the American Institute of Certified Planners credential. He serves on the Board of the 1000 Friends of Iowa, a non-profit advocating sustainable land use, and Medic, a regional ambulance non-profit.
Mr. Malin’s record of professional recognition at the national level includes being selected as “Assistant Manager of the Year” and “Outstanding Manager of the Year” by the ICMA. In addition, he has received an “Achievement Award” by the National Association of Counties, and was named “County Leader of the Year” by American City and County Magazine. To date, six local government professionals who have worked under his direction have gone on to be appointed CAOs of local governments.
His tenure in Davenport has coincided with a decrease in crime of nearly 50% and over a billion dollars of tax base growth as years of population decline and job loss are being reversed with infrastructure investment, improved operations and targeted efforts to revitalize the riverfront, downtown and neighborhoods. Davenport was recognized as the nation’s Most Livable Small City by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2007 and received an International Community Sustainability Award for cities over 50,000 from the ICMA in 2008. Davenport outperformed every city in Iowa in response to historic flooding in 2008 and is on track to be the first Midwest city with nationally accredited police, fire, public works and parks departments. In 2010, community services provided by City departments received the highest customer satisfaction scores ever.
Mr. Malin resides in Davenport with his wife and two school age children. He hopes to enjoy just one pleasant late October day at 1060 W. Addison Street in Chicago before his demise.
