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Jerry Kleczka

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Preceded by
  
Clement J. Zablocki

Nationality
  
Polish-American

Resigned
  
January 3, 2005

Succeeded by
  
Party
  

Preceded by
  
Name
  
Jerry Kleczka

Succeeded by
  
Political party
  
Jerry Kleczka httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons44

Full Name
  
Gerald Daniel Kleczka

Born
  
November 26, 1943 (age 80) Milwaukee, Wisconsin (
1943-11-26
)

Role
  
Former United States Representative

Previous office
  
Representative (WI 4th District) 1984–2005

Member of congress start date
  
April 3, 1984

American politician Jerry Kleczka Died at 73


Gerald Daniel "Jerry" Kleczka (born November 26, 1943), an American politician, was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1984 to 2005, representing Wisconsin's 4th congressional district. The district includes the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was born.

Contents

Mayor Barrett on passing of Jerry Kleczka


Life and career

After graduating from Milwaukee's Don Bosco High School, in 1961, he attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee for two years. Afterward, he served as an accountant and a member of the National Guard. Kleczka was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, serving from 1969 to 1974. Later, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate from 1975 to 1984. Kleczka was elected to the House in a special election following the death of Representative Clement Zablocki, defeating Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann in the Democratic primary.

While in Congress, Kleczka was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and later the House Budget Committee. 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.

Kleczka was arrested at least twice for drunk driving. A 1995 arrest for drunken driving - his blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit in Virginia - led him to acknowledge his alcoholism and seek treatment. Friends say it softened his rough edges. He turned to God as part of his recovery and continues to meet regularly with fellow recovering alcoholics.

The pronunciation of Kleczka's name often proved baffling to the uninformed. Rep. Frank Annunzio (D-IL) repeatedly butchered it to the point that an exasperated Kleczka took to calling him "Rep. Annunciation."

Kleczka announced his retirement in 2004, and did not run for reelection. He officially retired in January 2005 after 10 terms in Congress, and was succeeded by State Senator Gwen Moore, also a Democrat.

References

Jerry Kleczka Wikipedia


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