Marty Knollenberg
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Martin "Marty" Knollenberg (born September 21, 1963) is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Michigan who previously served in the
Michigan 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, ado ...
from the 13th district. He was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives, representing the 41st District which covers the cities of Troy and Clawson in
Oakland County Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Metro Detroit, metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, its population was 1, ...
. He is the son of former
U.S. Congressman 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 ...
Joe Knollenberg, who represented
Michigan's 9th congressional district Michigan's 9th congressional district is a United States congressional district located in parts of Oakland County and Macomb County in the southeast areas of the State of Michigan. It includes the communities of Ferndale, Royal Oak, Hazel P ...
from 1993 until 2009. Knollenberg was elected to the State House in 2006 and re-elected in 2008 and 2010. He was term limited in 2012 and succeeded by Republican
Martin Howrylak Martin Howrylak (born 1974) is a Michigan politician who formerly served as a Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives. He represented the 41st District covering Troy and Clawson. He was elected in 2012, succeeding Marty Kn ...
. He had previously served as an Oakland County Commissioner from 2002 to 2004 and Oakland County Parks and Recreation commissioner from 2004 to 2006. He was the subject of controversy in 2015 for stating "the non-white population" was a contributor to the failure of Michigan's worst-performing schools in a State senate education committee meeting, adding that "We can't make an African American white." He later apologized for his "clunky" choice of words.


Education

Knollenberg has a bachelor's degree in history from Albion College.


Political career

Knollenberg has served three terms in the Michigan State House. He pushed for legislation in 2011 that would prevent teachers from receiving pay increases while they negotiate their labor contracts. He was the chief sponsor of House Bill 4054, a controversial right-to-work law in Michigan. During his tenure in the Michigan House, Knollenberg sat on the redistricting committee. Following his father's defeat in 2008 by Gary Peters, Knollenberg was expected to use his position to gerrymander the district. Political analyst
Bill Ballenger Bill Ballenger (born 28 March 1941) was the editor of ''Inside Michigan Politics'' a newsletter of Michigan Politics until January 2016. He previously served as a Republican member of both the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan ...
said "I didn't think there's any question that he would love to seek revenge on behalf of his father if the circumstances are right — especially if it's against Peters." In early 2013 Marty Knollenberg was among candidates planning to run for mayor of Troy after mayor
Janice Daniels Janice may refer to: * Janice (given name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) * '' Janice & Abbey'', a reality TV series * Processor codename of the Samsung Galaxy S Advance Android smartphone * Janice, Łódź Voiv ...
was recalled in the November 2012 election.


Elections


2004 election

Knollenberg was a candidate for election in the 2004 Republican primary for the 41st District House seat, being vacated by term-limited representative
John Pappageorge John George Pappageorge (born July 19, 1931) is a former member of the Michigan State Senate. Biography John Pappageorge was born to a Greek family on the east side of Detroit, Michigan. Pappageorge entered the United States Army after graduatin ...
. He faced former-State Representative Bob Gosselin who was running for his final term after leaving office in 2002 to run for state Senate, and upstart candidate Mike Bosnic. Bosnic was also a subject of Knollenberg's literature. He was accused by Knollenberg of accepting an illegal $2,500 contribution from the Heroes of Public Education, which was then a new
PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Military * Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit * Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile * Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramili ...
subject to a smaller campaign contribution limit. Campaign finance reports later revealed that the Secretary of State required Bosnic to repay $2,000 dollars of the donations because it exceeded campaign limits

Despite Pappageorge's endorsement of Knollenberg, the August primary was won by Gosselin with 38% of the vote, with Knollenberg garnering 29% and Bosnic 28%.


2006 election

In the August 2006 primary, Knollenberg faced Clawson School Board Trustee and attorney Mike Bosnic. Knollenberg won by a 53.5-46.5% margin. The contest was labeled by Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS), a Lansing-insider political publication, as the fourth most interesting primary in Michigan. Knollenberg defeated Democratic Party (United States), Democratic college student
Eric Gregory Eric Gregory may refer to: * Eric Gregory (speedway rider) (1911–1990), English motorcycle speedway rider * Eric Craven Gregory (1887–1959), publisher and benefactor of modern art and artists See also * Eric Gregory Award The Eric Gregory ...
in the November general election by a 58-42% margin.


2008 election

Knollenberg was re-elected with 57.46% of the vote for his second-term in November 2008, defeating opponent Evan Treharne (41.98%), a 24-year-old school teacher. In the campaign, Knollenberg made attacks ads about Treharne's age.


2010 election

Knollenberg was re-elected to the Michigan House for a final time in November 2010.


2012 election

Knollenberg was term-limited in 2012 and in 2011 formed a congressional campaign committee in anticipation of running for a seat in the US House of Representatives. He abandoned his plans after being redistricted into the same district as
Thaddeus McCotter Thaddeus George "Thad" McCotter (born August 22, 1965) is an American politician, radio host, and a member of the Republican Party who was the U.S. representative from from 2003 to 2012. The district at the time consisted of portions of Detroi ...
. Knollenberg ran for the office of Treasurer of Oakland County and was defeated by incumbent
Andy Meisner Andrew Meisner (born March 30, 1973) is a politician from Huntington Woods, Michigan. He is a former Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party member of the Michigan State House of Representatives. He served as the Oakland County, Michig ...
.


2013 election

Knollenberg ran in the special election to replace Janice Daniels as the Mayor of Troy, Michigan. He lost to Dane Slater, who was serving as interim mayor.


2014 election

Knollenberg was elected to the Michigan Senate in 2014 after the Troy Republican survived a crowded primary GOP field of candidates that included former Reps. Chuck Moss and Andrew Raczkowski. In the general election, Knollenberg defeated Democrat Cyndi Peltonen 58 to 42 percent.


2018 Election

Knollenberg ran for re-election to another term in the Michigan Senate. After running unopposed in the Republican primary, he was defeated in the general election by Democrat
Mallory McMorrow Mallory Ann McMorrow (born August 23, 1986) is an American politician who has served in the Michigan Senate since January 2019. She became senate Whip (politics), majority whip on January 1, 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), ...
48 to 52 percent.


Controversy

Knollenberg was the subject of controversy in 2015 for statements he made during a State senate education committee meeting that suggested failing schools could be fixed if African American students could be made white. He stated, "You mentioned why these school fail, and you mentioned the economically disadvantaged and non-white population are contributors to that. You know, we can’t fix that. We can’t make an African American white. It is what it is, and we can't fix that."


References


External links


Campaign website

Marty Knollenberg's Michigan House Republican website

The Michigan House Republicans website

Michigan State Senator Marty Knollenberg website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knollenberg, Marty County commissioners in Michigan Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives 1963 births Living people Albion College alumni Republican Party Michigan state senators 21st-century American politicians