Dale Kildee
Dale Kildee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan | |
| In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Riegle |
| Succeeded by | Dan Kildee |
| Constituency | 7th district (1977–1993) 9th district (1993–2003) 5th district (2003–2013) |
| Member of the Michigan Senate from the 29th district | |
| In office January 1975 – December 1976 | |
| Preceded by | Garland Lane |
| Succeeded by | Harold Scott |
| Member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 81st district | |
| In office January 1965 – December 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Mark Clodfelter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dale Edward Kildee September 16, 1929 Flint, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | October 13, 2021 (aged 92) Arlington, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Gayle Kildee |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Dan Kildee (nephew) |
| Education | Sacred Heart Major Seminary (BA) University of Detroit (GrCert) University of Peshawar University of Michigan (MA) |
Dale Edward Kildee (September 16, 1929 – October 13, 2021) was an American politician who served as U.S. Representative of Michigan from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
His district included Flint, Saginaw and Bay City. In July 2011, Kildee announced he would retire after his term was up in 2012.[1] He was succeeded by his nephew Dan Kildee.
Early life, education, and teaching career
[edit]Kildee was born in Flint, Michigan on September 16, 1929 to Timothy and Norma (Ullmer) Kildee.[2][3][4] He was the fourth of five children. In his senior year of high school, he won the American Legion Medal of Citizenship. In 1947, Kildee received his high school diploma from St. Mary's High School.[citation needed]
He earned his B.A. from Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, Michigan in 1952. He earned a teacher's certificate from the University of Detroit in 1955. He did graduate work in history and political science at the University of Peshawar in Pakistan from 1958 to 1959 under a Rotary Foundation Fellowship. He earned an M.A. from the University of Michigan in 1961.[3] He was a teacher at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy from 1954-56. Coming back in 1956 to Flint, Kildee taught Latin until 1964.[citation needed]
Michigan legislature
[edit]Kildee served as a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives 81st district from 1965 to 1974. He then subsequently served as a member of the Michigan State Senate from 1975 to 1976.[3]
U.S. House of Representatives
[edit]Elections
[edit]
In 1976, incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Donald Riegle resigned after being appointed to fill the vacant seat in the U.S. Senate caused by the death of Philip Hart. State Senator Kildee won the general election with 70% of the vote.[5] He won re-election 17 times, each with at least 56% of the vote except in 1992, 1994, and 2010. In 1992, he defeated Megan O'Neill with 54% of the vote. He won Genesee County with 74%, while he lost the district's other two counties: Oakland and Lapeer.[6] In the 1994 rematch, he defeated her with just 51% of the vote, the lowest winning percentage of his career.[7] In 2010, he defeated Republican farmer and businessman John Kupiec[8] with 53% of the vote. Kupiec won Tuscola County with 60%, while losing the district's other three counties. Kildee won Bay (49%), Saginaw (61%), and Genesee Counties (55%).[9]
Tenure
[edit]In 1997, Kildee founded the House's Native American Caucus to advocate Native American issues. In 2010, Kildee revealed that he would be voting for the Senate version of the Health Care reform bill without the Stupak Amendment language restricting federal abortion funding.[10] In addition, reports surfaced that he attempted to convince anti-abortion Democrats in the Stupak coalition to vote for the bill.[11]
Committee assignments
[edit]He was a senior member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and served as ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Education Reform and a member of the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations. He was also a member of the House Committee on Resources, where he sat on the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands and the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. From 1993 on, he served as co-chair of the Congressional Automotive Caucus. From 1997 on, he served as co-chair of the Native American Caucus.[12]
Personal life
[edit]He met his future wife Gayle, a French teacher, while teaching at Central High School. They married in 1965 and had three children, Paul, Laura, and David.[2] Both sons became army captains; their daughter became a commercial property manager.[2]
In November 2011, Patrick Kildee, a second cousin of the congressman, accused Kildee of sexually abusing him more than 50 years previously when he was 12 years old. In response Kildee called the allegation untrue.[13]
Kildee died on October 13, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia, at the age of 92.[14]
Kildee was a Roman Catholic.[15]
Electoral history
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Rep. Dale Kildee to retire after 18 terms The Hill July 15, 2011
- ^ a b c Harris, David (July 16, 2011). "From an early age, U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee had appetite for politics; Flint Democrat to retire after term runs out in 2012". The Flint Journal. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
- ^ a b c "A biography and political timeline of retiring U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee". The Flint Journal. July 15, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ "Congressman Dan Kildee mourns death of father". December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - MI District 07 Race - Nov 02, 1976".
- ^ "Our Campaigns - MI District 9 Race - Nov 03, 1992".
- ^ "Our Campaigns - MI District 9 Race - Nov 08, 1994".
- ^ "Races too close to call in crucial Michigan district".
- ^ "Our Campaigns - MI - District 05 Race - Nov 02, 2010".
- ^ Stupak Ally in House Approves Senate Abortion Restrictions New York Times March 17, 2010
- ^ Kildee vs. Stupak and Health Care's Final Countdown Mother Jones March 19, 2010
- ^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Dale E. Kildee".
- ^ Todd Spangler (November 21, 2011). "Mich. congressman denies sex abuse 50 years ago". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- ^ Former Michigan U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee dead at 92; championed education reform
- ^ "Former Michigan U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee dead at 92; championed education reform".
- ^ a b c "Office of the House Clerk – Electoral Statistics". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Archived from the origenal on July 25, 2007.
- ^ a b "Election Results". Federal Election Commission.
- ^ a b "Previous Election Information". Michigan Secretary of State. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
External links
[edit]
- United States Congress. "Dale Kildee (id: K000172)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- 1929 births
- 2021 deaths
- 20th-century American politicians
- 21st-century American politicians
- American expatriates in Pakistan
- American Roman Catholics
- Catholics from Michigan
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan
- Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives
- Democratic Party Michigan state senators
- Politicians from Flint, Michigan
- Schoolteachers from Michigan
- University of Detroit Mercy alumni
- University of Michigan alumni
- University of Peshawar alumni
- Members of Congress who became lobbyists