AN American story
Meet David
An American story
David Trone’s story is an American story. Born in Cheverly, Maryland, David’s mother was a teacher and his father was a salesman for Trans World Airlines. When David was 11, his dad moved the family to start a working farm near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. With no indoor plumbing for a year and a father with no experience in farming, David and his brothers carried much of the load, collecting eggs, cleaning hog pens and chicken houses, and all the other work a farm requires.
David knows what it’s like to face financial insecurity and lose your home, because that’s what happened to his family. His father went into bankruptcy and lost the family farm. David worked hard, took out student loans, and graduated from the Wharton School of Business with an MBA.
Leading the Fight
In Congress, David helped lead the fight for progressive priorities like raising the minimum wage and passing the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history. He championed the fight against addiction and the mental health crisis, forming the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, a 140-member group that passed 26 bills into law to help turn the tide on the over 100,000 American lives we lost. And David was the leader of the Second Chance Task Force to promote policies that will improve reentry outcomes for returning citizens – working to implement the First Step Act, clear eligible criminal records, and ‘ban the box’ on job applications.
Throughout his career, David has put people over politics, rejecting contributions from PACs, lobbyists, and corporations. Throughout his Congressional career, David focused his attention on fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including addiction, criminal justice reform, the mental health crisis, medical research, and education.
Making A Difference
David knows the importance of a good job, because he built a business that has created thousands. Prior to entering public service, David had a successful career in business as founder of Total Wine & More, the largest independent wine and spirits retailer in the country. He started his business as employee number one, with a single store while attending graduate school on student loans, eventually growing into more than 300 stores in 31 states with over 12,000 team members.
Long before he entered public service, David was making a difference in people’s lives and knew that success only means something if you give back. Total Wine & More was one of the first to ban the box – hiring over 1,400 returning citizens to date – and provide partner benefits for all team members. Everyone who works for the company can take advantage of cost-free education benefits, including earning a college degree.
The company has donated tens of millions to support tens of thousands of local, state, and national charity organizations. David and his family have been strong supporters of the American Civil Liberties Union, where the Trone Center for Justice and Equality is the focus of the ACLU’s activities on criminal justice reform. The family’s foundation has supported organizations working on mental health and substance use treatment, education, and medical research.
Today, David lives in Potomac, Maryland. He has four adult children and three grandchildren along with two golden doodles: Lyndon and Hubert.