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Jerry Kleczka

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Jerry Kleczka
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 4th district
In office
April 3, 1984 – January 3, 2005
Preceded byClement Zablocki
Succeeded byGwen Moore
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 7th district
In office
January 3, 1983 – April 3, 1984
Preceded byKurt Frank
Succeeded byJohn Plewa
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 3rd district
In office
January 6, 1975 – January 3, 1983
Preceded byCasimir Kendziorski
Succeeded byJohn Norquist
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 9th district
In office
January 1, 1973 – January 6, 1975
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byPhillip James Tuczynski
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 14th Milwaukee County district
In office
January 6, 1969 – January 1, 1973
Preceded byRobert P. Kordus
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
Personal details
Born
Gerald Daniel Kleczka

(1943-11-26)November 26, 1943
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedOctober 8, 2017(2017-10-08) (aged 73)
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseBonnie
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
OccupationAccountant

Gerald Daniel Kleczka (/klɛtʃkɑː/;[1] November 26, 1943 – October 8, 2017) was an American politician and Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1984 to 2005, representing Wisconsin's 4th congressional district.[2] The district included the city of Milwaukee.

Life and education

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After graduating from Milwaukee's Don Bosco High School,[3] in 1961, he attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee for two years. Afterward, he served as an accountant and a member of the National Guard.

Politics

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Kleczka was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, serving from 1969 to 1974. Later, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate from 1975 to 1984. Kleczka was elected to the House in a special election following the death of Representative Clement J. Zablocki, defeating Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann in the Democratic primary.[4]

Tenure in Congress

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While in Congress, Kleczka was a member of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means and later the United States House Committee on the Budget. He was known to be one of the more liberal members of Congress and helped to secure money for many programs for education, poverty relief, and housing improvements.[citation needed]

For his first 10-and-a-half terms, Kleczka represented a district that included most of the southern half of Milwaukee, as well as part of eastern Waukesha County. After the 2000 census, his district was merged with the neighboring 5th District, covering downtown and north Milwaukee and represented by fellow Democrat Tom Barrett. The new 4th was a more compact district located solely in Milwaukee County, and took in all of the city of Milwaukee; it was by far the most Democratic district in Wisconsin. Although it retained Kleczka's district number, it was geographically and demographically more Barrett's district. However, Barrett opted to run for governor, effectively handing the seat to Kleczka.[5]

The pronunciation of Kleczka's name often proved baffling to the uninformed. Rep. Frank Annunzio (D-IL) repeatedly butchered it to the point that an exasperated Kleczka took to calling him "Rep. Annunciation".[citation needed]

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Kleczka was arrested at least twice for drunk driving while in office. A 1995 arrest for drunken driving — his blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit in Virginia — led him to acknowledge his alcoholism and seek treatment. He credits religion as part of the reason for his recovery and continued to meet regularly with fellow recovering alcoholics.[6]

Retirement and death

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Kleczka announced his retirement in 2004, and did not run for reelection. He officially retired in January 2005 after ten terms in Congress, and was succeeded by State Senator Gwen Moore, also a Democrat.[3]

After Kleczka retired, he moved to Middleton, Wisconsin, with his wife. Kleczka died on October 8, 2017, from natural causes at a care facility, in the Madison, Wisconsin area.[2][7][8][9]

References

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  1. ^ Mayor Barrett on passing of Jerry Kleczka. YouTube. October 9, 2017. Event occurs at 0:03. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Former Rep. Jerry Kleczka Dies at 73". The Post-Crescent. October 10, 2017. p. A6. Retrieved July 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ a b "Milwaukee's Jerry Kleczka Leaves Congress with Hefty Campaign Account". The Journal Times. November 6, 2004. p. 13. Retrieved July 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. State of Wisconsin 2003-2004 Blue Book. Madison: Wisconsin Legislature Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, 2003, p. 14.
  5. ^ Kurt Chandler (February 22, 2010). "No More Mr. Nice Guy". Milwaukee Magazine.
  6. ^ Dave Umhoefer. "Kleczka won't run again Archived 2006-10-12 at the Wayback Machine". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 24, 2004.
  7. ^ "Former US Rep. Jerry Kleczka of Wisconsin dies at 73". Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
  8. ^ Meg Jones. "Former U.S. Rep. Jerry Kleczka recalled for hard work ethic and easy going style". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 9, 2017.
  9. ^ Gerald Kleczka-obituary
[edit]
Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 14th Milwaukee County district
1969–1973 		Succeeded by
District abolished
Preceded by
District created
 Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the 9th district
1973–1975 		Succeeded by
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 3rd district
1975–1983 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 7th district
1983–1984 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 4th congressional district
1984–2005 		Succeeded by
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