Clement J. Zablocki

Clement John Zablocki (November 18, 1912 – December 3, 1983) was an American politician who served nearly 35 years in the United States House of Representatives, representing the heavily Polish American south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[1] A liberal Democrat, he built his reputation in foreign policy, taking strong anti-Communist positions and supporting the Vietnam War and rose to become Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the last six years of his career.[2]

Clement Zablocki
Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
In office January 3, 1977 – December 3, 1983
Preceded by	Thomas E. Morgan
Succeeded by	Dante Fascell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 4th district
In office January 3, 1949 – December 3, 1983
Preceded by	John C. Brophy
Succeeded by	Jerry Kleczka
Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 3rd district
In office January 1, 1943 – January 1, 1949
Preceded by	Arthur L. Zimny
Succeeded by	Casimir Kendziorski
Personal details
Born	Clement John Zablocki (1912-11-18)November 18, 1912 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Died	December 3, 1983(1983-12-03) (aged 71) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	St. Adalbert's Cemetery Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Blanche M. Janic (died 1977)
Children	Joseph Paul Zablocki (b. 1953; died 1991)
Alma mater	Marquette University

Career

Zablocki was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and he graduated from Milwaukee's Marquette University. Zablocki was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1942, at age 30, representing the 3rd senatorial district. He served one full four-year term and was re-elected in 1946.

In 1948, he challenged incumbent Republican congressman John C. Brophy, who had been narrowly elected in a three-way race in 1946. Zablocki faced no opposition in the Democratic primary, and defeated Brophy in the general election, carrying 55% of the vote.[3] He was sworn in as the representative of Wisconsin's 4th congressional district for the 81st United States Congress and was subsequently reelected 17 times, serving from January 3, 1949, until his death from a heart attack on December 3, 1983.[4] Zablocki was the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee from 1977 until his death in 1983. He served during the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, a period that included several significant international events, including the Iran hostage crisis. Zablocki introduced the Taiwan Relations Act on February 28, 1979.

Zablocki's official portrait in the 90th Congress, 1967.

Zablocki was a co-author of the Case-Zablocki Act of 1972 which required that executive agreements by the president be reported to Congress in 60 days. He in 1970-72 helped design an early version of the War Powers Act, which put presidential war-making power under congressional control. He was instrumental in House passage of the final version in late 1973 over President Nixon's veto.[5]

Personal life

Zablocki was buried at St. Adalbert's Cemetery in Milwaukee. [6] Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 5000 West National Avenue in Milwaukee is named for him,[7] as is the Zablocki Library and the Clement J. Zablocki Elementary School in Milwaukee.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1942, 1946)

Wisconsin Senate, 3rd District Election, 1942[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Democratic Primary, September 1942
	Democratic	Clement J. Zablocki	3,015	55.89%
	Democratic	Maruszewski	2,608	39.49%
Plurality			407	16.40%
Total votes			5,623	100.0%
General Election, November 3, 1942
	Democratic	Clement J. Zablocki	10,253	48.81%	+11.38%
	Progressive	Alfred J. Melms	6,299	29.99%	-5.75%
	Republican	Harry E. Chelminiak	3,810	18.14%	-8.70%
	Socialist	Edward Schultheis	644	3.07%
Plurality			3,954	18.82%	+17.13%
Total votes			21,006	100.0%	-7.41%
	Democratic hold

Wisconsin Senate, 3rd District Election, 1946[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
Democratic Primary, August 13, 1946
	Democratic	Clement J. Zablocki	4,271	67.63%	+14.01%
	Democratic	Martin B. Franzkowiak	2,044	32.37%
Plurality			2,227	35.27%	+28.03%
Total votes			6,315	100.0%	+12.31%
General Election, November 5, 1946
	Democratic	Clement J. Zablocki (incumbent)	17,414	66.81%	+18.00%
	Republican	Joseph F. Lindner	7,736	29.68%	+11.54%
	Socialist	Edward Schultheis	916	3.51%	+0.45%
Plurality			9,678	37.13%	+18.31%
Total votes			26,066	100.0%	+24.09%
	Democratic hold

U.S. House of Representatives (1948–1982)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
1948[3]	General	November 2	Clement J. Zablocki	Democratic	89,391	55.89%	John C. Brophy (inc.)	Rep.	63,161	39.49%	159,929	26,230
							Edmund V. Bobrowicz	Prog.	5,051	3.16%
							Clement Stachowiak	Soc.	2,326	1.45%
1950[10]	Primary	September 19	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	27,717	72.16%	Thaddeus Wasielewski	Dem.	10,692	27.84%	38,409	17,025
	General	November 2	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	83,564	60.88%	John C. Brophy	Rep.	53,702	39.12%	137,266	29,862
1952[11]	Primary	September 9	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	43,710	77.84%	Edwin L. Nowak	Dem.	12,445	22.16%	56,155	31,265
	General	November 4	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	131,098	64.27%	John C. Schafer	Rep.	72,869	35.73%	203,967	58,229
1954[12]	General	November 2	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	100,120	71.09%	John C. Schafer	Rep.	40,723	28.91%	140,843	59,397
1956[13]	General	November 6	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	128,213	65.66%	William J. Burke	Rep.	67,063	34.34%	195,276	61,150
1958[14]	Primary	September 9	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	36,857	85.38%	Roman R. Blenski	Dem.	6,311	14.62%	43,168	30,546
	General	November 4	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	112,226	74.13%	James J. Arnold	Rep.	39,167	25.87%	151,393	73,059
1960[15]	Primary	September 13	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	47,718	88.00%	Roman R. Blenski	Dem.	6,505	12.00%	54,223	41,213
	General	November 8	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	155,789	71.71%	Samuel P. Murray	Rep.	61,468	28.29%	217,257	94,321
1962[16]	Primary	September 11	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	41,408	87.91%	Roman R. Blenski	Dem.	5,694	12.09%	47,102	35,714
	General	November 6	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	117,029	72.51%	David F. Tillotson	Rep.	44,368	27.49%	161,397	72,661
1964[17]	Primary	September 8	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	48,887	89.28%	Roman R. Blenski	Dem.	5,870	10.72%	54,757	43,017
	General	November 3	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	125,683	74.17%	Edward E. Estkowski	Rep.	43,773	25.83%	169,456	81,910
1966[18]	Primary	September 13	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	37,588	90.10%	Roman R. Blenski	Dem.	4,129	9.90%	41,717	33,459
	General	November 8	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	77,690	74.31%	James E. Laessig	Rep.	26,863	25.69%	104,553	50,827
1968[19]	Primary	September 10	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	32,121	86.04%	Roman R. Blenski	Dem.	5,212	13.96%	37,333	26,909
	General	November 5	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	118,203	72.62%	Walter McCullough	Rep.	44,558	27.38%	162,761	73,645
1970[20]	Primary	September 8	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	32,201	85.35%	Donald P. Lass	Dem.	5,529	14.65%	37,730	26,672
	General	November 3	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	102,464	80.35%	Phillip D. Mrozinski	Rep.	23,081	18.10%	127,530	79,383
							John A. Zierhut	Amer.	1,985	1.56%
1972[21]	Primary	September 12	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	32,087	75.78%	Therese M. Heimann	Dem.	4,337	10.24%	42,340	27,750
							Grant D. Waldo	Dem.	3,890	9.19%
							Roman R. Blenski	Dem.	2,026	4.79%
	General	November 7	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	149,078	75.66%	Phillip D. Mrozinski	Rep.	45,008	22.84%	197,032	104,070
							Eugene Annell	Amer.	2,946	1.50%
1974[22]	General	November 5	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	84,768	72.46%	Lewis D. Collison	Rep.	27,818	23.78%	116,990	56,950
							Herbert O. Jahnke	Amer.	4,404	3.76%
1976[23]	Primary	September 14	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	29,540	83.50%	Roman R. Blenski	Dem.	5,838	16.50%	35,378	23,702
	General	November 2	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	172,166	100.0%	Unopposed				172,166	N/A
1978[24]	General	November 7	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	101,575	66.09%	Elroy C. Honadel	Rep.	52,125	33.91%	153,700	49,450
1980[25]	Primary	September 9	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	29,411	89.40%	Roman R. Blenski	Dem.	3,489	10.60%	32,900	25,922
	General	November 4	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	146,437	70.02%	Elroy C. Honadel	Rep.	61,027	29.18%	209,134	85,410
							Lynn Rashkind	Ind.	1,670	0.80%
1982[26]	Primary	September 14	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	56,047	60.82%	Lynn S. Adelman	Dem.	36,102	39.18%	92,149	19,945
	General	November 2	Clement J. Zablocki (inc.)	Democratic	129,557	94.58%	Nicholas P. Youngers	Lib.	4,064	2.97%	136,988	125,493
							John F. Baumgartner	Ind.	2,421	1.77%
							John Gudenschwager	Cons.	946	0.69%

Further reading

• Michael Barone et al. The Almanac of American Politics: 1976 (1975) pp 930–32

See also

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)

References

1. "Zablocki, Clement J. 1912". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
2. Schoenebaum, Eleanor W., ed. (1979). Profiles of an Era, the Nixon/Ford Years. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. p. 688. ISBN 9780156746625.
3. Ohm, Howard F.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1950). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1950 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 652, 754. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
4. Roberts, Steven V. (December 4, 1983). "Clement J. Zablocki of Foreign Affairs Panel Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
5. Eleanor W Schoenebaum, ed., Political Profiles: The Nixon/Ford Years (1979) p 688
6. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6855233/clement-john-zablocki
7. "VA government web site". Archived from the original on 2007-08-03. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
8. Ohm, Howard F.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1944). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1944 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 512, 580. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
9. Ohm, Howard F.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1948). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1948 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 608, 679. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
10. Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1952). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1952 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 675, 745. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
11. Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1954). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1954 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 657, 745. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
12. Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1956). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1956 (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 747. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
13. Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1958). "Parties and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1958 (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 774. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
14. Toepel, M. G.; Kuehn, Hazel L., eds. (1960). "Wisconsin state party platforms and elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1960 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 654, 695. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
15. Toepel, M. G.; Theobald, H. Rupert, eds. (1962). "Wisconsin elections". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1962 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 789, 865. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
16. Theobald, H. Rupert, ed. (1964). "Elections in Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1964 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 714, 761. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
17. Theobald, H. Rupert, ed. (1966). "Elections in Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1966 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 735, 752. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
18. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1968). "Elections in Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1968 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 707, 721. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
19. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1970). "Elections in Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1970 (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 797, 813. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
20. "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin Blue Book, 1971 (Report). State of Wisconsin. 1971. pp. 296, 312. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
21. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1973). "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 799, 819. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
22. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1975). "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1975 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 821. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
23. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1977). "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1977 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 886, 908. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
24. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1979). "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1979-1980 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 918. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
25. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1981). "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1981-1982 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 888, 909. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
26. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1983). "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1983-1984 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 882, 904. Retrieved August 1, 2020.

External links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Clement J. Zablocki Papers at Marquette University.
• Clement J. Zablocki, Photographs of Wisconsin’s “Mr. Democrat” at Marquette University.
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Clement John Zablocki at Find a Grave

Wisconsin State Senate
Preceded by Arthur L. Zimny	Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 3rd district January 1, 1943 – January 1, 1949	Succeeded by Casimir Kendziorski
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by John C. Brophy	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 4th congressional district January 3, 1949 – December 3, 1983	Succeeded by Jerry Kleczka
Preceded by Thomas E. Morgan Pennsylvania	Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee January 3, 1977 – December 3, 1983	Succeeded by Dante Fascell Florida