Joe Knollenberg

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Joe Knollenberg

United States Representative from Michigan's 9th district
In office 1993-present
Preceded by	Dale Kildee
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	November 28, 1933 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 the state's 9th Congressional district (see map) in the U.S. House.

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 to the United States House of Representatives for the 103rd Congress and to the six succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1993 to the present. He replaced William Broomfield, who was not a candidate for reelection. Knollenberg has supported NAFTA and President George W. Bush's steel tariffs, although he did ask for a review of the tariffs after hearing of price increases. Knollenberg was reelected to his seventh term in 2004. He garnered 58% of the vote in his district.

Knollenberg is on the United States House Committee on Appropriations. He serves as the Chairman on U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, The Judiciary, District of Columbia. He also is on the sub-committee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs.

[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.

Despite troubling poll numbers, Knollenberg's election was widely considered to be relatively easy given the traditionally Republican leanings of Troy, the largest city in his district. However, an internal Skinner poll recent poll put him at 44% support, as opposed to Skinner's 40% with a margin of error at ±4.9%.

Final results showed that Knollenberg won 51.5% of the vote securing his seat for the 110th Congress. Skinner received 46.2% of the vote. Abel received .9%, and Goodman received 1.3%

[edit] Family

Knollenberg has two sons with his wife, Sandy. One of them, Stephen Knollenberg, a gay [1] interior designer with offices in Birmingham, Michigan, and Washington, D.C. [2]. His father's Congressional voting record reflects positions contrary to those of gay civil rights groups. [3]. Some political analysts speculate that Knollenberg's other son, Marty Knollenberg, may eventually run for election to succeed his father when his father retires. Marty Knollenberg was elected in November 2006 by a 58% - 42% margin to the Michigan State House of Representatives in the 41st District representing Troy and Clawson.