{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder | name = Kenneth Merkel | state_assembly1 = Wisconsin | district1 = Waukesha 1st | term_start1 = 1965 | term_end1 = 1973 | preceded1 = | succeeded1 = ''district dissolved'' | state_assembly2 = Wisconsin | district2 = 99th | term_start2 = 1973 | term_end2 = 1975 | preceded2 = ''district created'' | succeeded2 = Susan Jane Shannon | birth_date = {{birth date|1926|08|09}} | birth_place = Marshfield, Wisconsin | death_date = {{death date and age|2012|04|23|1926|08|09}} | death_place = | party = Republican | spouse = Clemie | children = | education = Marquette University }}
'''Kenneth John Merkel''' (August 9, 1926 – April 23, 2012<ref name="obit">{{cite news|title=Kenneth Merkel obituary |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/jsonline/obituary.aspx?n=kenneth-j-merkel&pid=157233245&fhid=5694 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date=2012-04-25 |accessdate=2020-09-20}}</ref>) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 99th district.
==Biography== Merkel was born on August 9, 1926, in Marshfield, Wisconsin to Wendelin and Marie Merkel. After graduating from Marshfield High School, Markel served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. After being discharged in 1945, Merkel briefly attended Michigan State College before graduating from Marquette University in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree. Merkel worked as an electrical engineer at Kearney and Trecker.<ref name="obit"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=The State: The state of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book: Biographies and pictures|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/WI/WI-idx?type=turn&entity=WI.WIBlueBk1973.p0103&id=WI.WIBlueBk1973&isize=M }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/ |title= U.S> World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Kenneth John Merkel |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Ancestry.com, LLC |url-access=subscription |access-date=2020-09-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/ |title= U.S> 1930 Federal Census |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Ancestry.com, LLC |url-access=subscription |access-date=2020-09-20}}</ref>
==Political career== Merkel was first elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1964, representing Waukesha County's First Assembly District. After redistricting in 1972, he was reelected to represent the 99th District in the Assembly.
Merkel was a member of the John Birch Society and a fierce defender of Senator Joseph McCarthy, even after his death. At a ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of Senator McCarthy's death, Merkel was a featured speaker, stating that "McCarthyism, a derogatory term coined by the press, is our reminder of Joe's great fight against Communism. You and I are going to have to carry on the work of the great Sen. McCarthy."<ref>{{cite news|title=Appleton Service Honors McCarthy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=24049070&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjI5MDgyMzkxMywiaWF0IjoxNjAwNjM1MzQzLCJleHAiOjE2MDA3MjE3NDN9.okUWNyj_5XLIeX40W1aAcgCf_NV7IAyXz6ZdHpkfvc0 |newspaper=Post-Crescent |date=1967-05-08 | accessdate=2020-09-20}}</ref>
Merkel's house in Brookfield, Wisconsin was the target of picketing led by Father James Groppi several times 1969, given Merkel's support for cuts to welfare. After the second round of picketing at his house, Brookfield adopted an ordinance prohibiting residential picketing; when protesters returned the following week to picket, they were promptly arrested.<ref>{{cite news|title=Groppi Leads Welfare March | url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39774413/groppi-leads-welfare-march-arrested-in/ |newspaper=Oshkosh Northwestern |date=1969-09-22 |accessdate=2020-09-20| quote="Groppi and march leaders were arrested outside the home of Kenneth J. Merkel, a Republican assemblyman and a John Birtch Society member who had helped pilot welfare cutbacks through the legislature."}}</ref>
Merkel retired from the assembly in 1974. After Merkel declared that he would not run for re-election to the Assembly, Governor Patrick Lucey appointed him to a seat on the Wisconsin State Elections Board, the predecessor to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, in July 1974, where he served for several years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lucey Puts Merkel on Election Board | url=https://waukesha.newspaperarchive.com/waukesha-freeman/1974-07-08/page-3/ |newspaper=Waukesha Freeman | date=1974-07-08 |accessdate=2020-09-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Adamany to Head Elections Board | url=https://waukesha.newspaperarchive.com/waukesha-freeman/1976-07-21/page-2/ |newspaper=Waukesha Freeman | date=1976-07-21 |accessdate=2020-09-20}}</ref> Merkel also served as an alderman for the city of Brookfield, Wisconsin.<ref name="obit"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merkel, Kenneth}} Category:1926 births Category:2012 deaths Category:20th-century American far-right politicians Category:People from Marshfield, Wisconsin Category:People from Brookfield, Wisconsin Category:Politicians from Waukesha County, Wisconsin Category:Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Category:Wisconsin city council members Category:Military personnel from Milwaukee Category:Marquette University alumni Category:20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Category:John Birch Society members