From 1977 to 2009, Kildee was a municipal elected official. On November 6, 2012, he was elected the U.S. representative for Michigan's 5th district, succeeding his uncle, Dale Kildee.[1]
At age 18, Kildee became one of the nation's youngest elected officials when he was elected to the Flint Board of Education in 1977.[4]
In 1984, Kildee was elected to serve on Genesee County's board of commissioners, subsequently serving for 12 years, including five as chair.[5]
In 1991, he ran for mayor of Flint. He was one of four candidates to challenge incumbent Mayor Matthew Collier in the August 6 nonpartisan primary election. City Councilman Woodrow Stanley finished first with 24% of the vote. Collier ranked second with 23% of the vote, qualifying for the November election. Kildee finished third with 18%.[6]
County Treasurer
In 1996, Kildee was elected Genesee County Treasurer. He was reelected in 2000, 2004, and 2008. He was reelected in 2008 with 72% of the vote.[7]
Land Bank
In 2002, Kildee helped create the Genesee County Land Bank, a Washington-D.C. based nonprofit organization focused on urban decay.[8][9] The land bank has helped to clean up vacant and abandoned structures in the community.[10]
The Genessee County Land Bank was the first community land bank in the U.S. The concept of community land banks has since expanded to other U.S. cities.[11][12]
Center for Community Progress
In 2009, Kildee co-founded and served as president of the Center for Community Progress, a nonprofit focused on urban revitalization.[13][14] He resigned as county treasurer to oversee the group.[15]
U.S. House of Representatives
Dan Kildee at the spring 2017 Michigan Democratic Convention
In 2019, Kildee helped secure $11.2 million in federal funding to demolish blighted homes in Saginaw.[19] He supported Steny Hoyer's "Make it in America" legislation, which would remove tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas.[20]
In a September 2016 speech on the U.S. House floor, Kildee claimed that House Republican leaders were refusing to approve emergency aid to Flint because a majority of its residents are Black.[21] Congress passed a funding measure that provided $170 million in aid to communities including Flint that sought infrastructure improvements for their water.[22]
As of September 2022, Kildee had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[23]
Political positions
Gun policy
In 2022, Kildee voted for H.R. 1808: Assault Weapons Ban of 2022.[24][25]
Abortion
Kildee is a supporter of abortion rights and emphasized the issue during his 2022 reelection race.[26] In September 2022, he hosted a reproductive rights roundtable alongside Representative Sara Jacobs in Midland, Michigan.[27]
COVID-19 policy
On January 31, 2023, Kildee voted against H.R.497:Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, a bill which would lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.[28][29]
On February 1, 2023, Kildee voted against a resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency.[30][31]
In 2019, Kildee voted for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's amendment to H.R. 2500, which would prohibit the president from deploying troops on the southern border to enforce immigration law.[33]
Impeachment of Donald Trump
Kildee voted to impeach then-president Donald Trump in both 2019 and 2021.[34] On July 27, 2019, he was one of 95 Democrats to vote against the motion to table H. Res. 498, which would table the impeachment inquiry into Trump.[35][36]
Filibuster
Kildee has criticized the 60-vote majority Senate rule and compared it to Jim Crow Era laws.[37]
Electric vehicles
Kildee introduced legislation that included a provision for a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle buyers.[38][39]
Private property
In 2014, Kildee voted against H.R. 1944: The Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2014, which would have prohibited government use of eminent domain for the purpose of economic development.[40][41]
Kildee supports humanist chaplains and in 2013, Kildee voted against an amendment that would prohibit funds from being used to appoint chaplains without an endorsing agency.[44][45]
Reparations
Kildee is a sponsor of H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act. The bill would allow history books to go into more depth on African American struggles and set up a reparations commission for those with enslaved ancestors.[46][47]
Syria
In 2013, Kildee voted in favor of intervention and arming the Syrian Opposition against Bashar al-Assad and ISIS.[48]
Trade
In 2022, Kildee was among the representatives to sign a letter calling on President Joe Biden to lift tariffs on China.[49][50]
Kildee speaks at a 2017 rally against gerrymandering.
Kildee voted for the Ayanna Pressley amendment to H.R. 1, the Voting Rights Act which would lower the voting age to 16.[51]
On February 9, 2023, Kildee voted against H.J.Res. 24: Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 which condemns the District of Columbia's plan that would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.[52][53]
Kildee has been married to Jennifer Kildee since 1988. They have three children.[17]
On March 31, 2023, Kildee announced that he had been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, saying that a "very small tumor" had been found in one of his tonsils. He said he would undergo surgery and described his prognosis as "excellent".[61]
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