Fred Kessler

Frederick P. Kessler (born January 11, 1940) is a retired American lawyer, arbitrator, judge, and Democratic Party politician. He served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for 24 years between 1961 and 2019, and served 11 years as a state judge in the 1970s and 1980s.[1]

The Honorable Fred Kessler
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 12th district
In office January 3, 2005 – January 1, 2019
Preceded by	Shirley Krug
Succeeded by	LaKeshia Myers
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Milwaukee Circuit, Branch 11
In office August 1, 1986 – 1988
Preceded by	Christ T. Seraphim
Succeeded by	Dominic S. Amato
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Milwaukee Circuit, Branch 23
In office August 1, 1978 – June 2, 1981
Preceded by	Transitioned from County Court
Succeeded by	Janine P. Geske
County Judge of Milwaukee County Branch 4
In office 1972 – August 1, 1978
Appointed by	Patrick Lucey
Preceded by	Christ T. Seraphim
Succeeded by	Transitioned to Circuit Court
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 10th district
In office January 13, 1965 – January 1, 1973
Preceded by	Patrick H. Kelly
Succeeded by	Position Abolished
In office January 11, 1961 – January 9, 1963
Preceded by	Patrick H. Kelly
Succeeded by	Patrick H. Kelly
Personal details
Born	January 11, 1940 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Judge Joan F. Kessler
Children	2
Residence	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Profession	attorney, arbitrator, redistricting consultant, former judge
Website	Official Website

He is married to retired Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Joan F. Kessler.

Early life

Kessler was born January 11, 1940, in Milwaukee, and attended Our Redeemer Lutheran School in Madison until he became a Page of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1955 and attending the House Page School. He is a graduate of Milwaukee Lutheran High School. He worked as a machine operator (becoming a member of the United Steel Workers) and salesman, before his 1960 election to the Assembly.[2]

First terms in the Assembly

In 1960, Kessler won a plurality in a six-way Democratic primary, with 38% of the vote, unseating incumbent fellow Democrat Patrick H. Kelly who represented the 10th Milwaukee County Assembly district (the 10th Ward of the City of Milwaukee); and went on to defeat Republican Herbert W. Smith 6,148 to 3,585. On the opening day of the 1961 legislative session, January 11, 1961, Kessler's 21st birthday, he became the youngest person, up to that time, ever to serve in the Wisconsin State Legislature. He was assigned to the standing committee on education.[3] In 1962, rather than running for re-election, he sought the Democratic nomination for the Wisconsin Senate, District 6, coming in second to Martin J. Schreiber in a four-way primary race. Patrick Kelly reclaimed his old Assembly seat.[4]

Kessler earned a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1962, and worked with Governor John W. Reynolds, Jr.'s staff on reapportionment litigation in 1964.

In 1964, he again unseated Patrick Kelly, taking an absolute majority in a five-way Democratic primary (Kelly himself came in third), and won the general election 7,004 to 2,525. He was assigned to the Assembly committees on elections and the judiciary, and a joint committee on revisions, repeals and uniform laws.[5] Kessler received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1966, and was re-elected easily in 1966,[6] 1968 [7] and 1970.[8] In the Assembly, Kessler was chairman of the elections committee. He was the principal negotiator for the Democrats in crafting the reapportionment bill which was the first bill that passed in a divided legislature (the Democrats had an Assembly majority and the GOP had a Senate majority), which required each Senate District to be composed of three whole Assembly Districts.

Judiciary

In 1972, the Assembly was redistricted to an extent which makes it hard to decide who would be considered Kessler's successor in the Assembly; he was not a candidate for re-election, having himself served on the Governor's Task Force on Voter Registration and Elections established by the governor in July 1971, and on the Reapportionment Commission created by the governor in January 1972, as well. In 1972 he was appointed a Milwaukee County Court Judge, and was elected in April 1973.[9]

Kessler was appointed to the Wisconsin Legislative Council Committee on Court Reorganization in 1978. He was a leader in the fight for a single level trial court and the appointment by the Supreme Court of the district Chief Judges (both which were approved by an 8 to 7 vote on the committee, and ultimately signed into law). He also initiated a successful effort in 1979, to outlaw commercial surety bail bonding, resulting in Wisconsin becoming the fourth state to prohibit the practice.

He became a Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge in 1979, and elected on April 3, 1979.[10] He resigned from that position on June 2, 1981.[11]

In 1982 Kessler was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin's 5th congressional district, coming in second to eventual victor Jim Moody in a ten-way race which included several past and present legislators and county supervisors, as well as the wife of Milwaukee mayor Henry Maier.[12]

In April 1986, Kessler ran for and defeated controversial Circuit Judge Christ T. Seraphim by a final margin (after recounts) of 485 votes (55,690 to Seraphim's 55,205).,[13] and served until 1988.

After the judiciary

After leaving the court, Kessler worked as an attorney, labor arbitrator and redistricting consultant.

As a civic leader, Kessler, in 1979, along with Milwaukee School Board member Leon Todd successfully led an effort to create three language immersion elementary schools in Milwaukee, one each in German, French and Spanish, see Milwaukee German Immersion School, Milwaukee French Immersion School. On May 15, 2014, Kessler and Todd receive a lifetime achievement award from the German Immersion Foundation for their effort in 1979.

He ran again in the Democratic primary for Congress against incumbent Jim Moody in 1988, this time coming in a distant fifth in a six-way race;[14] and once more in 1992, coming in third in another six-way race won by Tom Barrett.[15]

Return to the Assembly

On April 6, 2004, his wife Joan F. Kessler, a long-time member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Wisconsin, unseated incumbent Court of Appeals Judge Charles B. Schudson. In November 2004, Fred Kessler was once more elected to the Assembly, from the 12th District (northwestern Milwaukee, a part of Wauwatosa and one precinct in Waukesha County), by a vote of 18,720 to 1761 for Constitution Party nominee Joan Tatarsky. He was assigned to the committees on campaigns and elections; criminal justice and homeland security; the judiciary; and state-federal relations.[16] He was re-elected without opposition in the primary or general election in 2006 and 2008; and in 2010 won re-election with 13,758 votes to 4868 for Republican Sam Hagedorn.[17]

In 2012, after a drastic redistricting by the Republican-controlled legislature removed his home from the 12th and changed the racial complexion completely,[18] Kessler faced a challenge in the Democratic primary from African-American newcomer Mario Hall, who was reported to be a school choice supporter with backing from the pro-voucher American Federation for Children and allied organizations.[19] Kessler (who had to move into the redrawn district) won with 71% of the vote, and faced no challenger in the November general election. Kessler was re-elected without significant opposition in 2014 (one Democratic and one Republican challenger failed to make the ballot; the Republican received .3% of the vote in the general election as a write-in candidate). In 2016, he had no challenges in the primary or general election.

Kessler ran for re-election in 2018 but was defeated in the Democratic primary by schoolteacher LaKeshia Myers.

Personal life

Kessler is a member of Goethe House (vice president, former president); the Milwaukee Chapter of the ACLU (board member, former president); World Affairs Council of Milwaukee (board member); Wisconsin Bar Association; Wisconsin State Historical Society (board member); Industrial Relations Research Association, DANK (German-American National Congress) - Milwaukee chapter (former vice president); Milwaukee Donauschwaben; Amnesty International Group 107 (former chairman); Milwaukee Turners; N.A.A.C.P.; and a former member of the City of Milwaukee Harbor Commission.

He and Joan have two children.

Electoral History

Wisconsin Assembly (1960)

Wisconsin Assembly, Milwaukee 10th District Election, 1960[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, September 13, 1960
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler	932	28.21%
	Republican	Herbert Warren Smith	852	25.79%
	Democratic	Patrick H. Kelly (incumbent)	654	19.79%
	Democratic	Thomas J. Higgins	264	7.99%
	Democratic	George D. Havey	241	7.29%
	Democratic	Joseph H. Herro	213	6.45%
	Democratic	Jess F. Klingenberg	148	4.48%
Total votes			'3,304'	'100.0%'
General Election, November 3, 1960
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler	6,148	63.17%
	Republican	Herbert Warren Smith	3,585	36.83%
Total votes			'9,733'	'100.0%'
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Senate (1962)

Wisconsin Senate, 6th District Election, 1962[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, September 11, 1962
	Democratic	Martin J. Schreiber	3,250	30.65%
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler	2,890	27.25%
	Republican	Edward A. Backus	2,732	25.76%
	Democratic	Richard C. Emery	1,344	12.67%
	Democratic	John Schaller	389	3.67%
Total votes			'10,605'	'100.0%'
General Election, November 6, 1962
	Democratic	Martin J. Schreiber	15,367	76.92%
	Republican	Edward A. Backus	4,612	23.08%
Total votes			'19,979'	'100.0%'

Wisconsin Assembly (1964, 1966, 1968, 1970)

Wisconsin Assembly, Milwaukee 10th District Election, 1970[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, September 8, 1970
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler (incumbent)	1,016	74.71%
	Republican	Paul E. Chovanec	344	25.29%
Total votes			'1,360'	'100.0%'
General Election, November 3, 1970
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler (incumbent)	3,795	77.48%
	Republican	Paul E. Chovanec	1,103	22.52%
Total votes			'4,898'	'100.0%'
	Democratic hold

U.S. House of Representatives (1982)

Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District Election, 1982[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, September 14, 1982
	Democratic	Jim Moody	17,073	16.14%
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler	15,804	14.94%
	Democratic	Orville E. Pitts	15,264	14.43%
	Republican	Rod K. Johnston	13,498	12.76%
	Democratic	Warren D. Braun	13,320	12.59%
	Democratic	Marty Aronson	11,799	11.15%
	Democratic	Kevin D. O'Connor	10,368	9.80%
	Democratic	Karen Lamb	3,814	3.60%
	Democratic	Harout O. Sanasarian	2,812	2.66%
	Democratic	Roman R. Blenski	1,409	1.33%
	Democratic	John Werner	539	0.51%
	Libertarian	William G. McCuen, Jr.	112	0.11%
Total votes			'105,812'	'100.0%'
General Election, November 2, 1982
	Democratic	Jim Moody	99,713	63.55%
	Republican	Rod K. Johnston	54,826	34.94%
	Libertarian	William G. McCuen, Jr.	1,498	0.95%
	Independent	Walter G. Beach	526	0.34%
	Independent	Cheryl Y. Hidalgo	353	0.22%
Total votes			'156,916'	'100.0%'
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Circuit Court (1986)

Wisconsin Circuit Court, Milwaukee Circuit, Branch 11 Election, 1986[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, April 1, 1986
	Nonpartisan	Frederick P. Kessler	55,690	50.22%
	Nonpartisan	Christ T. Seraphim (incumbent)	55,205	49.78%
Total votes			'110,895'	'100.0%'

Wisconsin Assembly (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010)

Wisconsin Assembly, 12th District Election, 2004[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, September 14, 2004
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler	3,112	55.22%
	Democratic	Rene Settle-Robinson	2,496	44.29%
	Constitution	Joan Tatarsky	10	0.18%
		Scattering	18	0.32%
Total votes			'5,636'	'100.0%'
General Election, November 2, 2004
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler	18,720	90.98%
	Constitution	Joan Tatarsky	1,761	8.56%
		Scattering	95	0.46%
Total votes			'20,576'	'100.0%'
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly, 12th District Election, 2006[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, September 12, 2006
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler (incumbent)	2,633	99.06%
		Scattering	22	0.94%
Total votes			'2,658'	'100.0%'
General Election, November 7, 2006
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler (incumbent)	13,193	98.76%	+7.78%
		Scattering	166	1.24%
Total votes			'13,359'	'100.0%'	-35.07%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Assembly (2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)

Wisconsin Assembly, 12th District Election, 2018[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, August 14, 2018
	Democratic	LaKeshia Myers	3,709	58.78%
	Democratic	Frederick P. Kessler (incumbent)	2,545	40.33%
		Scattering	56	0.89%
Total votes			'6,310'	'100.0%'
General Election, November 6, 2018
	Democratic	LaKeshia Myers	17,428	98.45%
		Scattering	274	1.55%
Total votes			'17,702'	'100.0%'
	Democratic hold

References

1. Kessler, Frederick P. 1940 Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
2. "Fred Kessler". Retrieved August 21, 2019.
3. Toepel, M. G.; Theobald, H. Rupert, eds. The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1962 Madison: State of Wisconsin, 1962; pp. 51, 797, 868.
4. Theobald, H. Rupert, ed. The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1964 Madison, 1964; p. 53, 716, 722.
5. Theobald, H. Rupert, ed. The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1966 Madison, 1966; pp. 53, 743, 757.
6. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1968 Madison, 1968: pp. 53, 715, 726.
7. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. The State of Wisconsin Blue Book, 1970 Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, distributed by Document Sales, 1970; pp. 53, 805, 819.
8. The State of Wisconsin Blue Book, 1971 Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, distributed by Document Sales, 1971; pp. 53, 303, 320.
9. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., ed. The State of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, distributed by Document Sales, 1973; pp. 363-364, 378, 871.
10. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. The State of Wisconsin 1979-1980 Blue Book Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, distributed by Document Sales, 1979-1980; pp. 683, 685, 885.
11. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. The State of Wisconsin 1981-1982 Blue Book Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, distributed by Document Sales, 1981-1982; p. 959.
12. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., ed. The State of Wisconsin 1983-1984 Blue Book Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, distributed by Document Sales, 1983-1984; p. 883.
13. Kloss, Gerald. "State, city scene was busy" Milwaukee Journal December 28, 1986; p. 3J, col. 3.
14. Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert, eds. State of Wisconsin 1989-1990 Blue Book Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, distributed by Document Sales, 1989-1990; p. 906]
15. Barish, Lawrence S.; Theobald, H. Rupert, ed. State of Wisconsin 1993-1994 Blue Book Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, distributed by Document Sales, 1993-1994; p. 898.
16. Barish, Lawrence S., Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. State of Wisconsin 2005-2006 Blue Book Madison: Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature; pp. 26, 27, 894, 928.
17. Barish, Lawrence S., Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. State of Wisconsin 2011-2012 Blue Book Madison: Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, Wisconsin Legislature; p. 907.
18. "Frederick P. Kessler for State Assembly—12th District". Shepherd Express. August 7, 2018.
19. Noth, Dominique Paul (August 1, 2012). "How Fred Kessler Gets Under GOP Skin". Milwaukee Labor Press. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
20. Toepel, M. G.; Theobald, H. Rupert, eds. (1962). "Wisconsin elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1962 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 797, 868. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
21. Theobald, H. Rupert, ed. (1964). "Elections in Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1964 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 797, 868. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
22. "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin Blue Book, 1971 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. 1971. pp. 303, 320. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
23. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1983). "Elections in Wisconsin". In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1983-1984 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 883, 905. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
24. Theobald, H. Rupert; Barish, Lawrence S., eds. (1987). "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1987-1988 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 863. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
25. Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (2005). "Elections". State of Wisconsin 2005-2006 Blue Book (PDF) (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 924, 928. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
26. Barish, Lawrence S., ed. (2007). "Elections". State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book (PDF) (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 918, 921. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
27. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (2019). "Election Results and Wisconsin Parties". Wisconsin 2019-2020 Blue Book (PDF) (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 609, 612. Retrieved February 29, 2020.

External links

• Official government website
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Follow the Money - Fred Kessler
  • 2008 2006 2004 campaign contributions
• Campaign 2008 campaign contributions at Wisconsin Democracy Campaign