Bio – Mayor Robert Craft
Robert Craft has devoted the last 20 years to serving the City of Gulf Shores. Mayor Craft was elected to serve as the ninth mayor of Gulf Shores in August 2008, and prior to that, he served on the Gulf Shores City Council from 2004 to 2008.
During his time as Mayor of Gulf Shores, Mayor Craft has focused on enhancing the quality of life for every Gulf Shores resident. Under his leadership, Gulf Shores has seen remarkable progress, with more than $272 million invested in capital improvements and $76 million secured in grant funding. His tenure has witnessed transformative initiatives, such as establishing Gulf Shores City Schools, a state-of-the-art freestanding emergency room, revitalizing Gulf State Park Restoration and Lodge, the addition of the Auburn University Education Complex and various critical infrastructure enhancements.
In addition to his daily mayoral duties, Mayor Craft serves as one of 10 Alabama leaders to sit on the RESTORE council, which is responsible for allocating the $750 million in funding earmarked for Mobile and Baldwin counties from the Deepwater Horizon spill. He is a board member of the Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, Gulf Shores Utilities, Gulf Coast Center for Ecotourism, and an active Gulf United Metro Business Organization (GUMBO) member.
Before assuming office, Mayor Craft had a successful entrepreneurial career in agribusiness and real estate development. In 1986, he developed Craft Farms Residential Planned Community and Golf Courses comprised of nine residential villages, two Arnold Palmer-designed golf courses, a Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, and Cypress Point Condominiums. He is also the founder of Craft Turf Farms, a 1,200-acre turf farm that has provided quality turf grass to builders and landscapers since 1974.
Mayor Craft is a graduate of Foley High School and Auburn University, where he received a degree in Agricultural Science. He is married to his beautiful wife Trudy, a Mobile native, and he has two children and seven grandchildren.