Roman R. Blenski (January 24, 1917August 30, 2002) was an American politician and perennial candidate from

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate and

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

, representing

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 ...

during the 1940s and 1950s.

Early life and education

Roman Richard Blenski was born on January 24, 1917, in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 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, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, son of Michael Francis and Hattie Jadwiga (Rozanowski) Blenski.Roman Blenski
/ref> He went to St. John's Military Academy and then graduated from Bayview High School in 1936. Blenski's father,

Michael F. Blenski Michael F. Blenski (September 27, 1862 – March 23, 1932) was a Polish American immigrant, book-keeper, and Democratic politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the south side of the city of Milwaukee during the ...

Sr., had been a member of 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, ...

. Roman also went to

Spencerian Business College Spencerian Business College is the name of various business schools established in the 19th century by Platt R. Spencer, his son Robert C. Spencer, or by Enos Spencer (whose relation to the other two Spencers is unclear), sometimes in association ...

and worked as an inspector in a

machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or plast ...

Career

In 1938, Blenski was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat in the

's 17th

district as a

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 ...

(his brother Michael Jr. was also a candidate for the 14th district, and also lost). He was elected to the same Assembly seat in 1944, serving from 1945 to 1946. In 1946, he failed to win the Democratic nomination for the 7th State Senate District. In 1948 he failed by 29 votes to reclaim his old Assembly seat, but in an August 1949 special election (to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Anthony P. Gawronski, to whom he'd lost the nomination in 1946) won the 7th District Senate seat. From 1949 to 1954 he served in the Wisconsin State Senate. In 1954 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge. He was also later an unsuccessful candidate for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

from Wisconsin in 1974 as an

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 * Independ ...

, losing to incumbent Gaylord Nelson. He ran in the Republican primary for Wisconsin's 4th congressional district in 2000, losing to

Tim Riener Tim Riener is a former political candidate in Wisconsin. Biography Riener was born on December 16, 1960. He was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and later attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Marquette University. Riener went on to s ...

. Riener lost to incumbent

Jerry Kleczka Gerald Daniel Kleczka (; November 26, 1943 – October 8, 2017) was an American politician and Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1984 to 2005, representing . The district included the city of Milwaukee. ...

in the general election. Blenski continued to run for office at varying levels and under various party labels for the rest of his life. At the time of his death, he was on the upcoming

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

ballot for the State Senate Democratic nomination won by Tim Carpenter.

Personal life

He was a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Polish National Alliance. Blenski died on August 30, 2002."Blenski pursued public office at all levels to the end" ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' September 2, 2002, pg. 4B

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blenski, Roman R. Politicians from Milwaukee Wisconsin state senators Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin Republicans Wisconsin Democrats 1917 births 2002 deaths 20th-century American politicians