Joseph Kastl Knollenberg (November 28, 1933 – February 6, 2018) was an American politician from
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 the ...
. From 1993 to 2009, he was 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 ...
member of the
U.S. 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, representing and .
In his congressional term, Knollenberg was known as a staunch supporter of the
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
, President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
's stance on protecting manufactured goods and for voting against expanding
SCHIP in the later years of his career.
He was defeated by
Gary Peters
Gary Charles Peters Sr. (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representativ ...
in the
2008 election by a margin of 52% to 43%.
Early life
Knollenberg was born in
Mattoon, Illinois
Mattoon ( ) is a city in Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,870 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Lake Land College and has close ties with its neighbor, Charleston. Both are principal cities of the Charleston ...
, the son of Helen E. (née Kastl; 1903–1990), a teacher and William Herman Knollenberg Jr. (1902–1975), a farmer.
He was raised a Catholic
and grew up on a farm along with 12 siblings.
He graduated from
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...
in 1955.
After graduation, he served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
from 1955 to 1957 as a corporal in Germany, where he specialized in petroleum chemistry.
He then spent more than three decades as an insurance agent.
Initially working for
New York Life Insurance Company
New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) is the third-largest life insurance company in the United States, the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States and is ranked #67 on the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United State ...
as an assistant manager and later for
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
, he founded his own agency, Knollenberg Agency in the late 1980s.
He served as chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party from 1978 to 1982.
Congressional career
In 1992, Knollenberg signed on as campaign manager for Congressman
William Broomfield
William S. Broomfield, (April 28, 1922 – February 20, 2019) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Early life
Broomfield, the son of Scevillian C. and Fern Broomfield was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. His father was a d ...
, who had represented most of Oakland County in Congress since 1957.
However, at a meeting with Knollenberg and other advisers, Broomfield announced he would not run for a 19th term.
He then asked Knollenberg to run in his place in the 11th District, which had been renumbered from the 18th District after the 1990 census.
Despite being the only candidate in the three-way Republican primary not holding elected office, Knollenberg won the nomination by over 13 points.
As the 11th was one of the most Republican districts in Michigan and the nation at the time, he was virtually assured of becoming only the third person to represent the district. He was reelected six times without serious difficulty, never dropping below 55 percent of the vote.
Knollenberg was re-elected to his seventh term in 2004 with 58% of the vote.
In 2006, however, Knollenberg faced a tough campaign against
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Nancy Skinner, a liberal talk show host in the Detroit area, ultimately winning by six points.
Two years later, in a more difficult election cycle for Republican candidates, Knollenberg lost re-election to former state senator
Gary Peters
Gary Charles Peters Sr. (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representativ ...
.
Generally, Knollenberg's voting record was conservative. He supported the
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
and led the campaign against President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
's steel
tariff
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
s. In 2002 he was awarded the
Mkhitar Gosh
Mkhitar Gosh ( hy, Մխիթար Գոշ; 1130–1213) or Mkhitar the Thinbearded was an Armenian scholar, writer, public figure, thinker, and priest. He was one of the representatives of the Armenian Renaissance.
Biography
He was born in the city ...
Medal by the president of Armenia. On September 29, 2008, he voted against the
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, often called the "bank bailout of 2008", was proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, passed by the 110th United States Congress, and signed into law by President George W. Bush. It became ...
.
Committee assignments
*Appropriations Committee:
**Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
**Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
2006 election
Knollenberg was challenged in the 2006 Republican primary by moderate
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 ...
Patricia Godchaux
Patricia "Pan" Godchaux is a moderate Republican who ran for the United States Congress for the 9th federal congressional district in the state of Michigan. She challenged seven-term incumbent Joe Knollenberg in the Republican primary and hoped ...
.
Democratic candidate
Nancy Skinner, a popular former radio-talk show host in the Detroit area, was her party's nominee for the 9th district.
Matthew R. Abel of the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
and Adam Goodman of the
Libertarian Party
Active parties by country
Defunct parties by country
Organizations associated with Libertarian parties
See also
* Liberal parties by country
* List of libertarian organizations
* Lists of political parties
* Outline of libertarianism ...
were third-party candidates also in the race.
Prior to 2006, Knollenberg's election was widely considered to be relatively easy given the traditionally Republican leanings of
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
, the largest city in his district.
The 2000s round of redistricting made Knollenberg's district much friendlier to Democrats.
While the district lost heavily Democratic
Southfield, it picked up equally Democratic
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
and lost a Republican-leaning spur of
Wayne County.
In the 2006 election, Knollenberg was nearly defeated, taking only 52 percent of the vote to Skinner's 46 percent.
Abel received .9%, and Goodman received 1.3%.
[
] This was the closest a Democrat had come to winning the district in 48 years; in 1958 Broomfield only won a second term by 5.5 points.
Knollenberg spent $2.7 million in his campaign.
[
]
2008 election
In January 2006, Congressman Knollenberg announced his intent to seek re-election in 2008.
The narrowness of his 2006 reelection bid, combined with his district's changing demographics led the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...
to target him for defeat. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee targeted Congressional Districts where Republicans garnered less than 55% of the vote.
The Democratic nominee was
Gary Peters
Gary Charles Peters Sr. (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representativ ...
, the former state lottery commissioner.
Skinner initially made plans for a rematch, but bowed out to clear the field for Peters. In March 2008,
Jack Kevorkian
Murad Jacob "Jack" Kevorkian (May 26, 1928 – June 3, 2011) was an American pathologist and euthanasia proponent. He publicly championed a terminal patient's right to die by physician-assisted suicide, embodied in his quote, "Dying is not ...
announced that he would challenge Knollenberg as an independent candidate.
[ Dr. Jack Kevorkian Will Run for US House as Independent]
, ''Ballot Access News'', March 12, 2008 (accessed March 13, 2008). The Libertarian nominee was Adam Goodman and the Green nominee was
Douglas Campbell.
Kevorkian, Goodman and
Campbell Campbell may refer to:
People Surname
* Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell
Given name
* Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
* Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
each raised and spent less money than the mandatory reporting threshold.
On November 4, 2008, Knollenberg was defeated, garnering 43 percent of the vote to Peters' 52 percent.
Knollenberg's candidacy was likely hurt by a heavy Democratic tide in the Detroit area;
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
carried Oakland County by a 15-point margin, six percentage points more than Peters' margin over Knollenberg.
A potential factor in Knollenberg's defeat was a series of advertisements criticizing his vote against expanding
SCHIP.
Personal life and death
Knollenberg had two sons, Stephen and Martin with his wife, Sandra "Sandie" Moco,
whom he married in September 1962 at St Frances Cabrini Church in
Allen Park, Michigan
Allen Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 28,638.
Ford Motor Company is an integral part of the community. Many of the company's offices and facilities lie within the city limit ...
.
His son,
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
, was elected in November 2006 by a 58%-42% margin to 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 ...
from the 41st District.
Knollenberg died on February 6, 2018, due to complications from
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
at a care facility in
Troy, Michigan
Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 87,294 at the 2020 U.S. census, making Troy the most populous city in the county and the 13th most-populous municipality in the state. Troy is a northern suburb of Me ...
at the age of 84.
References
External links
Federal Election Commission — Joseph K. Knollenbergcampaign finance reports and data
issue positions and quotes
OpenSecrets.org — Joe Knollenbergcampaign contributions
Project Vote Smart — Representative Joseph K. 'Joe' Knollenberg (MI)profile
Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Joe Knollenbergvoting record
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knollenberg, Joe
1933 births
2018 deaths
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
Deaths from dementia in Michigan
American people of German descent
Eastern Illinois University alumni
United States Army non-commissioned officers
People from Bloomfield, Oakland County, Michigan
People from Mattoon, Illinois
Military personnel from Illinois
Businesspeople from Michigan
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan
20th-century American politicians
21st-century American politicians
Catholics from Illinois
Catholics from Michigan
20th-century American businesspeople