Joe Knollenberg

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Joe Knollenberg
Joe Knollenberg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office 
January 3, 1993
Preceded by Dale Kildee
Born October 28, 1933 (1933-10-28) (age 74)
Mattoon, Illinois
Political party Republican
Spouse Sandie Knollenberg
Religion Roman Catholic

Joseph (Joe) Knollenberg (born November 28, 1933) is a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, representing Michigan's 9th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Knollenberg was born in Mattoon, Illinois and graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1955. After graduation, he served in the United States Army from 1955 to 1957. He became an insurance agent and moved to Oakland County, Michigan in 1967.

In 1992, Knollenberg was elected as a Republican from Michigan's 11th congressional district to the United States House of Representatives for the 103rd Congress. He replaced William Broomfield, who was not a candidate for reelection who had been representative from the 18th district which was removed following the 1990 census. He served in that district from January 3, 1993 to 2003 when redistricting moved him to the 9th district. Knollenberg has supported North American Free Trade Agreement and President George W. Bush's steel tariffs. Knollenberg was reelected to his seventh term in 2004 with 58% of the vote. Knollenberg was re-elected to his eighth term in 2006 with 51.6% of the vote.[1][2] In 2002 he was awarded the Mkhitar Gosh Medal by the President of the Republic of Armenia.[3]

Contents

[edit] Committee Assignments

  • Appropriations Committee
    • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
    • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)

[edit] 2006 election

Knollenberg was challenged in the 2006 Republican primary by moderate Republican Patricia Godchaux. Democratic candidate Nancy Skinner, a former radio-talk show host, was her party's nominee for the 9th district. Matt Abel of the Green Party and Adam Goodman of the Libertarian Party 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, the largest city in his district. Final results showed that Knollenberg won 51.5% of the vote[1] securing his seat for the 110th Congress. Skinner received 46.2% of the vote. Abel received .9%, and Goodman received 1.3%. The narrowness of this margin, coupled with a demographic shift in Oakland County generally favoring Democrats (despite the City of Troy's leanings, Knollenberg's 9th District covers a large swath of the remainder of the county, including the highly Democratic City of Pontiac), has caused this district to be one of the most highly targeted districts by both parties in 2008.

Knollenberg spent $2.7 million in his campaign.[4]

[edit] 2008 election

 This section contains information about one or more candidates in an upcoming or ongoing election.
Content may change as the election approaches.

In January 2006, Congressman Knollenberg announced his intent to seek re-election in 2008.

Although his past Democratic challengers have not received financial support from the national party, as is the norm in seats considered "safe", Knollenberg's seat has now been identified as a "target" for the Democrats in 2008.[5] The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting Congressional Districts where Republicans garnered less than 55% of the vote.[6]

Several Democratic contenders for the 2008 race have emerged, including Michigan's former Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters and 2006 Democratic Party nominee Nancy Skinner, but Skinner withdrew from the race on February 25.[7]

No Republican primary contenders have emerged to date.

On 12 March 2008, Dr. Jack Kevorkian announced that he will challenge Knollenberg as an independent candidate.[8]

Knollenberg's position on the controversial children's health care bill is discussed by Detroit News columnist Laura Berman,[1] and his environmental positions discussed here.[2]

Joe Knollenberg's Chief of Staff Trent Wisecup has recently been asked to apologize for statements made to Bruce Fealk including calling Mr. Fealk unpatriotic.[3] The footage was later played on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

[edit] Family

Knollenberg has two sons with his wife, Sandy. Stephen Knollenberg is an interior designer with offices in Birmingham, Michigan, and Washington, D.C.[9] It has been reported that he is gay.[10] Nonetheless, according to established gay civil rights groups, his father's Congressional voting record reflects positions generally contrary to those of these groups (although he has voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment).[11]

His other son, Marty Knollenberg, was elected in November 2006 by a 58%-42% margin to the Michigan State House of Representatives from the 41st District, representing Troy and Clawson, and defeating Democratic college student Eric Gregory of Troy. In the August 2006 primary he defeated Clawson School Board Trustee Mike Bosnic by a 53.5-46.5% margin, despite the endorsement of Bosnic by then-representative Robert Gosselin. That contest was labeled by a Lansing-insider political publication as the fourth most interesting primary in Michigan. MIRS News Service, Subscription only.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b 9th District Representative in Congress 2 Year Term (1) Position Files In OAKLAND County. Election Results, GENERAL ELECTION, November 7, 2006. Michigan Department of State, Bureau of Elections (November 27, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
  2. ^ Armenian Caucus co-chairs call on Bush administration to renounce accusations by State Department official on Nagorno-Karabakh
  3. ^ Armenian National Committee of America. Rep. Knollenberg receives Order of Mkhitar Gosh Award
  4. ^ "Knollenberg shifts role after nearly losing seat", Detroit Free Press, December 25, 2006. 
  5. ^ Rehman, Marc. "Michigan GOP Rep. Knollenberg Draws Democrats’ Scrutiny for 2008", The New York Times, January 30, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. 
  6. ^ Price, Deb. "Dems slap bulls-eye on 2 GOP U.S. Reps", The Detroit News, January 31, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. 
  7. ^ Skinner won't challenge Knollenberg | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
  8. ^ "Dr. Jack Kevorkian Will Run for US House as Independent", Ballot Access News, 12 March 2008 (accessed 13 March 2008).
  9. ^ Stephen Knollenberg. www.stephenknollenberg.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
  10. ^ Steve Knollenberg. Artifacts & Disclosures: Michigan's LGBT Heritage. Lavender Information and Library Association. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
  11. ^ U.S. Congress and Scorecards: Evaluate Your Members of Congress. Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Robert W. Davis		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 11th congressional district
1993–2003		 Succeeded by
Thad McCotter
Preceded by
Dale Kildee		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 9th congressional district
2003–present		 Incumbent
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