Edwin L. Crawford was a 20th Century American politician, most notable for having served as Broome County, New York

Broome County, New York

Broome County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,600. It was named in honor of John Broome, who was lieutenant governor in 1806 when Broome County was established. Its county seat is Binghamton, which is also its major city. The current...

's first county executive

County executive

A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...

, and was "a leader in efforts to modernize county governments through the United States."

Biography

Crawford was born in Broome County and served in the 17th Airborne Division in Europe during World War II. After the war, he graduated from Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 and Cornell Law School

Cornell Law School

Cornell Law School, located in Ithaca, New York, is a graduate school of Cornell University and one of the five Ivy League law schools. The school confers three law degrees...

and practiced law from 1950 to 1977.

He was appointed the first county executive of Broome County in 1968. After retiring from politics, he served as executive director of the New York State Association of Counties.

Crawford died of prostate cancer in 1993. The Edwin L. Crawford County Office Building in downtown Binghamton is named after him.