Dale Edward Kildee (September 16, 1929 – October 13, 2021) was an American politician who served as U.S. Representative of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Democratic Party. His district included

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start ...

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

and Bay City. In July 2011, Kildee announced he would retire after his term was up in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

.Rep. Dale Kildee to retire after 18 terms
''The Hill'' July 15, 2011 He was succeeded by his nephew

Dan Kildee Daniel Timothy Kildee (; born August 11, 1958) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Michigan's 5th congressional district since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. From 1977 to 2009, Kildee was a municipal ...

Early life, education, and teaching career

Kildee was born in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of ...

on September 16, 1929 to Timothy and Norma (Ullmer) Kildee. He was the fourth of five children. In his senior year of high school, he won the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of ...

Medal of Citizenship. In 1947, Kildee received his high school diploma from St. Mary's High School. He earned his B.A. from Sacred Heart Seminary in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

in 1952. He earned a teacher's certificate from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic univers ...

in 1955. He did graduate work in history and political science at the

University of Peshawar The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

from 1958 to 1959 under a

Rotary Foundation Fellow The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely b ...

ship. He earned an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1961. He was a teacher at the

University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy was founded in 1877, and is one of two Jesuit high schools in the city of Detroit, Michigan, the other being Loyola High School. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, the s ...

from 1954-56. Coming back in 1956 to Flint, Dale taught

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

until 1964.

Michigan legislature

Kildee served as a member of the

Michigan State House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 U ...

81st district from 1965 to 1974. He then subsequently served as a member of the

Michigan State Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, adopt ...

from 1975 to 1976.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 1976, incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative

Donald Riegle Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. (born February 4, 1938) is an American politician, author, and businessman from Michigan. He served for five terms as a Representative and for three terms as a Senator in the U.S. Congress. Early life and family Donald Wa ...

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. 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 Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

and Lapeer. In the 1994 rematch, he defeated her with just 51% of the vote, the lowest winning percentage of his career. In 2010, he defeated Republican farmer and businessman John Kupiec with 53% of the vote. Kupiec won Tuscola County with 60%, while losing the district's other three counties. Kildee won

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

(49%),

(61%), and Genesee Counties (55%).

Tenure

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. In addition, reports surfaced that he attempted to convince

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...

Democrats in the Stupak coalition to vote for the bill.

Committee assignments

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.

Personal life

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. Both sons became army captains; their daughter became a commercial property manager. 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. Kildee died on October 13, 2021, in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

, at the age of 92.Former Michigan U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee dead at 92; championed education reform
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Electoral history

, + : Results 1976–1990 ! Year ! ! Democrat ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 124,260 , , 70% , , , Robin Widgery , , 50,301 , , 28% , , , Jimmy Sabin , , American Independent , , 1,451 , , 1% , , , Max Duane , , U.S. Labor , , 835 , , 0% , , , Benjamin Hoffman , ,

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...

, , 735 , , 0% , - ,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 105,402 , , 77% , , , Gale Cronk , , 29,958 , , 22% , , , Jimmy Sabin , , American Independent , , 2,179 , , 2% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 147,280 , , 93% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , James Beaver , ,

, , 11,507 , , 7% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 118,538 , , 75% , , , George Darrah , , 36,303 , , 23% , , , Dennis Berry , ,

, align="right" , 1,842 , align="right" , 1% , , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", David Freund , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", Workers League , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", 568 , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", 0% , , , , , , - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 145,070 , , 93% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , Samuel Johnson , ,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, align="right" , 10,663 , align="right" , 7% , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 101,225 , , 80% , , , Trudie Callihan , , 24,848 , , 20% , , , Gene Schenk , ,

, align="right" , 1,099 , align="right" , 1% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 150,832 , , 76% , , , Kevin Cook , , 47,071 , , 24% , , ! style="background:#FF7796 ", Gary Walkowicz , ! style="background:#FF7796 ", Workers Against Concessions , ! style="background:#FF7796 ", 1,174 , ! style="background:#FF7796 ", 1% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 90,307 , , 68% , , , David Morrill , , 41,759 , , 32% , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , + : Results 1992–2000 ! Year ! ! Democrat ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 133,956 , , 54% , , , Megan O'Neill , , 111,798 , , 45% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Key Halverson , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

Natural Law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1,891 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1% , , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", Jerome White , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", Workers League , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", 1,872 , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", 1% , , , , , , - ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 97,096 , , 51% , , , Megan O'Neill , , 89,148 , , 47% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Karen Blasdell , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 3,240 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 2% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 136,856 , , 59% , , , Patrick Nowak , , 89,733 , , 39% , , , Malcolm Johnson , ,

, , 3,472 , , 2% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Terrence Shulman , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1,127 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 0% , , , , , , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 105,457 , , 56% , , , Tom McMillin , , 79,062 , , 42% , , , Malcolm Johnson , ,

, , 4,006 , , 2% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 158,184 , , 61% , , , Grant Garrett , , 92,926 , , 36% , , , Laurie Martin , ,

, , 5,337 , , 2% , , , Terry Haines , , U.S. Taxpayers , , 1,657 , , 1% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Alaya Bouché , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 824 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 0% , + : Results 2002–2010 ! Year ! ! Democrat ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! , - ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 158,709 , , 92% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , Clint Foster , ,

, align="right" , 9,344 , align="right" , 5% , , , Harley Mikkelson , ,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

, , 5,188 , , 3% , , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 208,163 , , 67% , , , Myrah Kirkwood , , 96,934 , , 31% , , , Harley Mikkelson , ,

, , 2,468 , , 1% , , , Clint Foster , ,

, align="right" , 2,350 , align="right" , 1% , , - ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 176,171 , , 73% , , , Eric Klammer , , 60,967 , , 25% , , , Ken Mathenia , ,

, , 2,294 , , 1% , , , Steve Samoranski , ,

, , 2,259 , , 1% , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 221,841 , , 70% , , , Matt Sawicki , , 85,017 , , 27% , , , Leonard Schwartz , ,

, , 4,293 , , 1% , , , Ken Mathenia , ,

, , 4,144 , , 1% , , - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 107,286 , , 53% , , , John Kupiec , , 89,680 , , 44% , , , J. Matthew de Heus , ,

, , 2,649 , , 1% , , , Michael Moon , ,

, , 2,648 , , 1% ,

References

External links

Official U.S. House webpage
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kildee, Dale E. 1929 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American expatriates in Pakistan 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