Frederick P. Kessler (January 11, 1940 – November 12, 2024) was an American lawyer, arbitrator, judge, and Democratic Party politician. He served as 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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

for 24 years between 1961 and 2019, and served 11 years as a state judge in the 1970s and 1980s. Fred Kessler was married to retired

Wisconsin Court of Appeals The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appe ...

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

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, serving from 1955 and attending the House Page School. He ultimately graduated from

Milwaukee Lutheran High School Milwaukee Lutheran Middle & High School is a school located in Milwaukee, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The school was originally known as Lutheran High School (Milwaukee), Lutheran High School, established in 1903, making Milwaukee Lutheran o ...

and worked briefly as a machine operator (becoming a member of the

United Steel Workers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headqua ...

) and salesman, before his 1960 election to the Assembly. He was involved in the movement to draft John F. Kennedy to run for President in 1960, serving as Chairman of the Wisconsin Youth for Kennedy Club in 1959. He was the youngest Chairman of the Wauwatosa City Democratic Committee at age 19.

First terms in the Assembly

In 1960, Kessler ran for

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county 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, containing about 1 ...

's 10th Assembly district (at the time the district comprised just the 10th ward of the city of Milwaukee). Kessler was one of five Democrats challenging incumbent

Patrick H. Kelly Patrick Henry Kelly (June 13, 1890 – July 30, 1965) was an American educator and politician, who served two 2-year terms as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Backgro ...

in the Democratic primary. Kessler ultimately prevailed with 38% of the vote and went on to defeat Republican Herbert W. Smith in the general election. 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 Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

. He was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

. In 1962, rather than running for re-election, he sought the Democratic nomination for the

Wisconsin's 6th State Senate district The 6th Senate district of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin Senate. Located in southeast Wisconsin, the district is entirely contained within central Milwaukee County. It includes parts of north, west, and downtown Milwaukee, ...

, but came in 2nd to Martin J. Schreiber in a four-way primary. Patrick Kelly reclaimed his old Assembly seat. While serving in the Assembly, Kessler earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1962, and after his term expired, he worked with

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

John Reynolds' staff on

reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionment ...

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 An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

and the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

, and a joint committee on revisions,

repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...

s and uniform laws. Kessler received a law degree from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

in 1966, and was re-elected easily in 1966, 1968 and 1970.

Redistricting

Kessler played a significant role in Wisconsin's

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

fights of the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1960s, he was part of Governor Reynolds' team arguing before the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

over the failure of the state Legislature to pass a new redistricting plan after the 1960 census. After the Legislature failed to meet several deadlines, the Court ultimately drew its own map. Governor Reynolds embraced the court-ordered map and called it, "the culmination of my four-year fight for equal voting rights for the people of the state of Wisconsin." In 1971, Kessler was chairman of the Assembly elections committee and the principal negotiator for Democrats crafting a new reapportionment bill. The 1970s redistricting was further complicated by the new federal

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

and accompanying

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

opinions which set a legal mandate for states to seek equal representation in legislative districts. Requirements in the Wisconsin Constitution created unique technical challenges to achieving equal representation, and the state government was under divided partisan control. Kessler set out a plan to achieve the various goals by disregarding strict adherence to county boundaries, eliminating 1 Assembly seat, and establishing a uniform 3-to-1 ratio of Assembly to Senate seats. Republicans and Democrats soon agreed with his recommendations, but disagreed over the final map. Finally, in an April 1972 special session of the Legislature, a compromise was reached.

Judiciary

After the end of the Legislative session in 1972, Lucey appointed Kessler to a vacant county judgeship. He was subsequently elected to a full term in April 1973. 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. Due to the judicial reform law, his position of county judge was abolished and he was transitioned into a circuit judge for Milwaukee County, effective August 1, 1978. He was elected to another term April 3, 1979. Kessler resigned his judgeship on June 2, 1981, to attempt a run for the vacant seat in

Wisconsin's 5th congressional district Wisconsin's 5th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin, covering most of Milwaukee's northern and western suburbs. It presently covers all of Washington County, Wisconsin, W ...

in 1982. Kessler came in 2nd in the crowded ten-person Democratic

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, which included several past and current legislators, county supervisors, and the wife of Milwaukee mayor

Henry Maier Henry Walter Maier (February 7, 1918 – July 17, 1994) was an American politician and the longest-serving mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, holding office from 1960 to 1988. A Democrat, Maier was a powerful and controversial figure, presiding ove ...

. In April 1986, Kessler ran for and defeated controversial Wisconsin circuit judge Christ T. Seraphim by a final margin (after

recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

s) of 485 votes (55,690 to Seraphim's 55,205). He resigned the judgeship in early 1988 when he planned to make another run for

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, but ultimately dropped out before the primary.

After the judiciary

After leaving the court, Kessler worked as an attorney,

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

arbitrator, and

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 made another run for Congress in 1992 when the 5th congressional district seat became vacant again, but came in 3rd in a six-person Democratic primary.

Return to the Assembly

On April 6, 2004, his wife Joan F. Kessler, a long-time member of the

board of governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

of the State Bar of Wisconsin, unseated incumbent

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

Judge Charles B. Schudson. In November 2004, Fred Kessler returned to the Assembly, from the 12th District (northwestern Milwaukee, a part of

Wauwatosa Wauwatosa ( ; colloquially Tosa) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is a suburb located immediately west of Milwaukee and is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It ...

and one precinct in

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its median income of $88,985 placed ...

). He was assigned to the committees on campaigns and

;

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

and

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

; the

; and state-federal relations. He was re-elected without opposition in 2006 and 2008; and in 2010 won re-election over Republican Sam Hagedorn. In 2012, after a drastic redistricting by the Republican-controlled legislature removed his home from the 12th and changed the racial complexion completely, Kessler faced a challenge in the Democratic primary from African-American newcomer Mario Hall, who was reported to be a

school choice School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to traditional public schools. School choice options include scholarship tax credit programs, open enrollment laws (which allow students to att ...

supporter with backing from the pro-

voucher A voucher is a bond of the redeemable transaction type which is worth a certain money, monetary value and which may be spent only for specific reasons or on specific goods. Examples include house, housing, travel, and food vouchers. The term vou ...

American Federation for Children and allied organizations. Kessler (who had to move into the redrawn district) won with 71% of the vote, and faced no challenger in the November

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. 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 challengers 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 and death

Kessler was a member of Goethe House (vice president, president); the Milwaukee Chapter of the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. ...

(board member, 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 (vice president); Milwaukee

Donauschwaben The Danube Swabians ( ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in the Kingdom of Hungary in east-central Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in greater numbers in the 17 ...

;

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Group 107 (chairman); Milwaukee

Turners Turners (, ) are members of German-American gymnastic clubs called Turnvereine. They promoted German culture, physical culture, and liberal politics. Turners, especially Francis Lieber (1798–1872), were the leading sponsors of gymnastics as ...

; N.A.A.C.P.; and a member of the City of Milwaukee Harbor Commission. Fred and Joan Kessler had two children. He died from cancer on November 12, 2024, at the age of 84.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1960)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, September 13, 1960 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1960

Wisconsin Senate (1962)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, September 11, 1962

Wisconsin Assembly, Milwaukee 10th district (1964–1970)

U.S. House of Representatives (1982)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, September 14, 1982

Wisconsin Circuit Court (1986)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 1, 1986

U.S. House of Representatives (1988, 1992)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, September 13, 1988 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, September 13, 1988

Wisconsin Assembly, 12th district (2004–2018)

References

External links

Official government website
* *''Follow the Money'' - Fred Kessler
200820062004
campaign contributions
Campaign 2008
campaign contributions at ''Wisconsin Democracy Campaign'' , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, Fred 1940 births 2024 deaths Politicians from Milwaukee University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin circuit court judges 2012 United States presidential electors Lawyers from Milwaukee 20th-century Wisconsin state court judges Deaths from cancer in Wisconsin 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature