Charles H. Pfennig (January 22, 1871August 13, 1955) was an American businessman and politician. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he was the 36th and 41st Mayor of

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenos ...

, and represented Kenosha for two years in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Early life and career

Born in

Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in the north central United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River, approximately forty miles (60 km) southwest of Green ...

, Pfennig was still a small child when his parents moved the family to

, in 1873. He was educated in public and parochial schools of Kenosha and worked for most his young adulthood in a retail grocery business owned by his father. In the 1890s, Pfennig became involved with the local

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond t ...

. He became an agent of the Queen Insurance Company, selling fire insurance, and, in 1898, he started his own insurance business. His company would soon expand into real estate, and he would end up running the company—known as Charles H. Pfennig, Inc.—for the rest of his life.

Political career

Pfennig became increasingly involved in local affairs as a member of the board of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. He joined the

Republican Party of Wisconsin The Republican Party of Wisconsin is a right-wing political party in Wisconsin and is the Wisconsin affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The state party chair is Paul Farrow. The state party is divided into 72 county parties f ...

and began running for local offices on the Republican ticket. He was an unsuccessful candidate for City Treasurer in 1897 and 1898, but was elected to the City Council in 1900. After only one term on the city council, in 1902, Pfennig was chosen at the Republican city convention as their candidate for Mayor of Kenosha. Pfennig initially declined the nomination, but accepted after their next choice, Thomas Hansen, also refused. His opponent was incumbent James Gorman, then in his third term as mayor. Pfennig prevailed by a margin of 75 votes in the April election and was inaugurated on April 14, 1902. Gorman returned to run again in 1904, and this time defeated Pfennig. In 1906, however, Pfennig ran for office again, and was narrowly elected to a two-year term as

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Kenosha County Kenosha County is located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 169,151 as of the 2020 census, making it the eighth most populous county in Wisconsin. The county shares the same name as the city of Kenosh ...

. He did not run for reelection as sheriff in 1908, but was appointed to the city police board after leaving office. In 1912, Pfennig was the Republican nominee for

in the Kenosha County district. He challenged incumbent state representative Mathias J. Scholey, who had also recently served as Mayor of Kenosha. One of the significant animating issues in the 1912 election was the new

state income tax In addition to federal income tax collected by the United States, most individual U.S. states collect a state income tax. Some local governments also impose an income tax, often based on state income tax calculations. Forty-two states and many ...

. The income tax—the first in the United States—was created mainly to more equitably distribute the tax burden which had previously fallen almost entirely on farmers and large landowners who bore the brunt of the

property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...

. It had been approved by referendum in 1908 and was extremely popular among the more rural counties, but was notably extremely unpopular in more urban, industrialized commercial centers like Kenosha. The income tax was supported by Republican Governor

Francis E. McGovern Francis Edward McGovern (January 21, 1866 – May 16, 1946) was an American lawyer and politician from Wisconsin. He served as the 22nd Governor of Wisconsin from 1911 to 1915. In 1911 especially he sponsored a major series of progressive achie ...

, but was vehemently opposed by both Pfennig and his Democratic opponent. A Kenosha County straw poll taken a month before the election showed strong support for Pfennig despite McGovern running well behind his Democratic opponent and the Republican presidential nominee,

William H. Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

, running third behind

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

and

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. True to the polls, Pfennig prevailed in the November general election taking 54% of the county vote. Due to his stance on the income tax, Pfennig was expected to take a lead role in the effort to repeal the tax. This effort was ultimately unsuccessful and the Wisconsin income tax became a model for the

federal income tax Income taxes in the United States are imposed by the federal government, and most states. The income taxes are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allowa ...

, passed in 1914. In the Assembly, he was chairman of the Committee on Printing and served on the Committee on Labor. In 1916, he was elected to another term as Mayor of Kenosha. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as chairman of the Kenosha

draft board {{further, Conscription in the United StatesDraft boards are a part of the Selective Service System which register and select men of military age in the event of conscription in the United States. Local board The local draft board is a board th ...

. In 1928 Pfennig was again elected to the Kenosha Common Council and was chosen as president of the council in 1930.

Personal life and family

Pfennig married Ruth Ann Shields on January 25, 1905. They had one son, Frederick, and three daughters. She died just a month before him, in June 1955. Charles Pfennig died at Kenosha Hospital on August 13, 1955, after an illness. At the time of his death he had seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. His son, Frederick S. Pfennig, was also a politician. He represented Kenosha in the

from 1941 to 1949 and was Republican assistant floor leader in the Assembly for the 1947 session. In addition to his insurance and real estate business, Pfennig was invested in the Terrace Court Corporation, was a director of the Brown National Bank, and was president of the Greenridge Cemetery Association. He was also a member of the Kenosha

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

, the

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

Modern Woodmen of America Modern Woodmen of America (MWA) is one of the largest (based on assets) fraternal benefit societies in the United States, with more than 750,000 members. Total assets reached US$15.4 billion in 2016. Though it shares the same founder, it is not ...

, and

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

Electoral history

Kenosha Treasurer (1897, 1898)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 6, 1897 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 5, 1898

Kenosha City Council (1900)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 3, 1900

Kenosha Mayor (1902, 1904)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 1, 1902 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 5, 1904

Kenosha Sheriff (1906)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 1906

Wisconsin Assembly (1912)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Republican Primary, September 3, 1912 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1912

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfennig, Charles H. 1871 births 1955 deaths Politicians from Neenah, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Wisconsin Mayors of Kenosha, Wisconsin Wisconsin city council members Wisconsin sheriffs Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly