State Senator Bob Duff

Senator Bob Duff represents the 25th Senatorial District, which includes Norwalk and Darien, and was reelected to his second term as state Senator in 2006. During his second term, Bob continues to serve as Chair of the Banks Committee. He serves as Senate vice chair of the Transportation and Energy & Technology Committees and as a member of the Appropriations Committee, chairing one of its subcommittees. He also sits on the legislature's Commerce Committee.

Prior to being elected to the state Senate, Bob served as a state Representative for three years, representing the 137th Assembly District in Norwalk. As a state Representative, Bob served as the House vice-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee and as a member of the Banks Committee, Higher Education & Advancement Committee, and the Select Committee on Housing.

As co-chair of the Appropriation's Committee's Results-based Accountability (RBA) Work Group, Bob is leading the legislature in applying results-based accountability-a method of analysis that rewards programs that meet their goals, to the state's budget process. Though the program is still in its pilot stages, Bob and the rest of the work group are working hard to utilize this tool to help to streamline the state's budget and ensure that programs that are successful get necessary funding, while programs that are lacking are cut.

Since first being elected to the House in 2002, Bob has been at the forefront of energy issues facing our state and has been a vocal supporter of a long-term statewide strategy. Bob is also keenly aware of the environment and the role it must play in our state's legislation. After the 2002, 2004, and 2006 legislative sessions, the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) cited Bob for his positive voting record on environmental issues.

Throughout his legislative career, Bob has been honored by numerous civic organizations in the community. The Save Cranbury Association, the Broad River Neighborhood Association, the Norwalk YMCA, Side by Side Charter School, the Colonial Village Resident Council, American Legion Post 67 in Norwalk, the American Lung Association, UConn Advocates, and the American Heart Association have all applauded the work that Bob has accomplished in his career in the legislature. In 2003, the YMCA of Connecticut named him Legislator of the Year, and in 2005, Bob was awarded the Legislator of the Year Award by the National Association of Social Workers, Connecticut Chapter. More recently, the Connecticut Association of Not-for-profit Providers for the Aging honored Bob with the Rick Wallace Award of Merit Legislator of the Year.

In September 2004, Bob was accepted into the Fleming Leadership Institute, one of only thirty-five legislators nationwide. The Fleming Fellows Leadership Institute of the Center for Policy Alternatives identifies emerging leaders from the ranks of the nation's state legislators and provides them with a unique program of values-based leadership training and sustaining support.

In the summer of 2006, Bob was chosen to participate in the Emerging Leaders' Conference, sponsored by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation. This selective organization selects only two candidates from each state for up-and-coming public officials.

Bob is a native of Norwalk, where his family has lived for generations. His interest in politics began long before he first ran for office, which was apparent when he wrote his first letter as an 8-year-old to former-Mayor William Collins concerning the future of Duffy Field (now Veteran's Park). Bob attended Norwalk Public Schools and went on to earn his degree in political science from Lynchburg College in Virginia. While in college, Bob's political skills were honed as a student senator, campus leader, and as an intern for United States Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT).

Bob also worked for the Norwalk Public Schools as a long-term substitute teacher from 1993 to 1995. Currently, he is a real estate professional with William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty in the Norwalk office. Bob has worked as a realtor with the firm for twelve years.

He serves as a board member of the Human Services Council, Elderhouse, the Maritime Aquarium, the Child Guidance Center of Mid-Fairfield County, and the Family and Children's Agency. Bob is also a lifelong member of the Norwalk United Methodist Church where he has served on various committees.

Bob lives on Toilsome Avenue in Norwalk with his wife Tracey and two sons.