R. Clayton 'Clay' Mitchell Jr. (April 16, 1936 – June 13, 2019) was an American politician and the

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Background

Mitchell was born in Chestertown on

Maryland's Eastern Shore The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Ma ...

in 1936. He served in the United States Army before entering public service in the 1966 elections.

Political career

In 1962, Mitchell won a seat on the Democratic Central Committee in Kent County. In the 1966 elections, Mitchell won a seat on the Kent County Board of Commissioners. He was President of the Board of County Commissioners for 4 years. Four years later (1970), he won election to the

representing District 36, which spreads across the northern Eastern Shore between the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

state line and the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

. He became chair of the Eastern Shore delegation in 1974, and a decade later took over as chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee. In 1987, after the election of the previous

Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates The speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates presides as speaker over the House of Delegates in the state of Maryland in the United States. List of speakers See also * List of Maryland General Assemblies Footnotes References Mar ...

Benjamin L. Cardin Benjamin Louis Cardin (born October 5, 1943) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 2007 until 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for from 1987 t ...

, to Congress, Mitchell was elected by his colleagues to serve as Speaker. He held the position until his retirement in 1994.

Retirement

After retiring from the House of Delegates, Mitchell continued to be actively involved in his community. He chaired both the Save Our Skipjacks Task Force and the Maryland Commission for Celebration 2000. In addition, he was a Director of the Second National Bank of Maryland and a member of the Board of Visitors and Governors of

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

. Mitchell died on June 13, 2019.

Legacy

In 2008, the R. Clayton Mitchell Jr. Kent County Government Center in Chestertown was dedicated to Mitchell. In 2018, the

Kent Narrows Bridge The Kent Narrows, also known as Kent Island Narrows and to local residents simply as the Narrows, is a waterway that connects the Chester River with the Eastern Bay and also separates Kent Island from the Delmarva Peninsula. It runs through the ...

US 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

US 301 U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic states. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware, at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida, at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, ...

was also dedicated in his name. In October, 2019, the Comptroller of Maryland established the R. Clayton Mitchell Award for Distinguished Public Service to recognize officials at all levels of government for exceptional public service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, R. Clayton Jr. 1936 births 2019 deaths People from Chestertown, Maryland Military personnel from Maryland Businesspeople from Maryland County commissioners in Maryland Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly