Gerald Daniel Kleczka (; November 26, 1943 – October 8, 2017) was an American politician and Democratic member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1984 to 2005, representing . The district included the city of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Life and education

After graduating from Milwaukee's Don Bosco High School, in 1961, he attended the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a ...

for two years. Afterward, he served as an accountant and a member of the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

Politics

Kleczka was elected to 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, ...

, serving from 1969 to 1974. Later, he was a member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

from 1975 to 1984. Kleczka was elected to the House in a special election following the death of Representative

Clement J. Zablocki Clement John Zablocki (November 18, 1912December 3, 1983) was an American politician who served nearly 35 years in the United States House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 4th congressional district. A liberal Democrat, he built his ...

, defeating

Milwaukee County District Attorney The Milwaukee County District Attorney is a state constitutional officer responsible for criminal prosecution in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The current district attorney is John T. Chisholm, who has served since 2007. History The first Milwau ...

E. Michael McCann Edward Michael McCann (born 1936) is an American attorney and politician who served as district attorney of Milwaukee County, Wis. from 1969 to 2007. A Democrat, McCann gained recognition for the length of his tenure and his successful record as ...

in the Democratic primary.

Tenure in Congress

While in Congress, Kleczka was a member of the

United States House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...

and later the

United States House Committee on the Budget The United States House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process, ...

. 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. 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 Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...

. After the 2000 census, the

5th District District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

, covering downtown and north Milwaukee and represented by fellow Democrat Tom Barrett, was eliminated, and most of its territory was merged with the 4th District. The new 4th was a more compact district located solely in

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

, and took in all of the city of Milwaukee; it was by far the most Democratic district in Wisconsin. While the 4th was more Barrett's district than Kleczka's, Barrett opted to run for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, effectively handing the seat to Kleczka. The pronunciation of Kleczka's name often proved baffling to the uninformed. Rep.

Frank Annunzio Frank Annunzio (January 12, 1915 – April 8, 2001) was an American politician from Chicago, Illinois. Annunzio, an Italian-American, was born in Chicago, where he remained for his entire childhood and much of his adult life. He attended Cra ...

(D-IL) repeatedly butchered it to the point that an exasperated Kleczka took to calling him "Rep. Annunciation".

Legal issues

Kleczka was arrested at least twice for drunk driving while in office. A 1995 arrest for drunken driving — his

blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For exampl ...

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.

Retirement and death

Kleczka announced his retirement in 2004, and did not run for

reelection The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

. He officially retired in January 2005 after ten terms in Congress, and was succeeded by State Senator

Gwen Moore Gwendolynne Sophia Moore (born April 18, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. In 2016, Moore was elected to serve as caucus whip of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 115th United States Congres ...

, also a Democrat. After Kleczka retired, he moved to

Middleton, Wisconsin Middleton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States, and a suburb of the state capital, Madison. Middleton's motto is "The Good Neighbor City." The population was 21,827 at the 2020 census. In 2007, Middleton was chosen as the best pla ...

with his wife. Kleczka died on October 8, 2017 from natural causes at a care facility, in the Madison, Wisconsin area.Gerald Kleczka-obituary
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References

External links

Honorary Degree: Doctor of Laws Conferred on Jerry Kleczka
Marquette University, 2005. * * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kleczka, Gerald 1943 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American politicians of Polish descent Businesspeople from Milwaukee Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Military personnel from Milwaukee People from Middleton, Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators 20th-century American businesspeople