Robert P. Duckworth is a Maryland Republican politician who has resided in Crofton, Maryland since 1968. Duckworth has served as elected Clerk of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland since 1994 and is the 42nd Clerk of the Court since 1650. Duckworth is the constitutionally responsible custodian of the court records for Anne Arundel County's Circuit Court. He has served as President of the Maryland Circuit Court Clerks Association and was the first Chairman of the Chief Judge's Conference of Circuit Court Clerks. He has played a major role in modernizing Maryland's land records operations into an electronic format and has played a major role in developing a professional development program for Clerk employees across the state. He serves as the legislative liaison between the Clerks and the Maryland General Assembly. As Clerk, he is not only the keeper of the court records, he swears in commissions, records deeds and assumes a variety of administrative court functions; he has performed thousands of marriages since holding office, including a Governor and State and locally elected officials. Duckworth ran for Congress in 1990, 1992 and 2004. Before the 2004 election he filed suit in federal court to overturn Maryland's congressional redistricting plan. This "jerrymandered" plan divided the county into four other congressional districts beyond the county, leaving the county without one strong congressional vote. In 2006, Duckworth actively worked to preserve the state's current definition of marriage, which is defined in statute law as valid only between a man and a woman. He testified before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees supporting passage of an amendment that would make this definition part of the Maryland Constitution. Before running for political office, Duckworth briefly worked on Capital Hill, following his many years as a senior policy staffer at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Reagan Administration. A political science graduate of Catholic University and a former 82nd Airborne Division medic, he is married with two children and three grandchildren. His political motto: work for the people, then yourself.
