Eugene Dorff

Eugene Joseph Dorff (February 25, 1930  September 7, 2005) was an American politician from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Kenosha in the Wisconsin State Assembly for twelve years and served as interim mayor of Kenosha for nearly a year, following the resignation of mayor John D. Bilotti.

Eugene Dorff
Interim Mayor of Kenosha
In office
June 15, 1987  April 19, 1988
Preceded byJohn D. Bilotti
Succeeded byPatrick E. Moran
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 1, 1973  January 3, 1983
Preceded byDistrict established
Succeeded byJoanne Huelsman
Constituency65th district
In office
January 4, 1971  January 1, 1973
Preceded byRussell A. Olson
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
ConstituencyKenosha 2nd district
Personal details
Born(1930-02-25)February 25, 1930
Kenosha, Wisconsin
DiedSeptember 7, 2005(2005-09-07) (aged 75)
Mesa, Arizona
Cause of deathCancer
Resting placeGreen Ridge Cemetery
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Spouse
Donna Lupi
(m. 1948)
Children
  • Donald Dorff
  • Gerald Dorff
  • Allan Dorff
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
U.S. Navy Reserve
Years of service19471962

Early life and career

Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Dorff graduated from Mary D. Bradford High School, where he met his future wife, Donna.[1] While in high school, Dorff enlisted with the United States Navy Reserve and remained in the service until 1962.[2]

Career

After graduating from high school, Dorff worked as a sheet metal worker before becoming a supervisor in the facilities and equipment department of the American Motors Corporation plant in Kenosha. He served three terms on the Kenosha Common Council from 1964 until 1970, but did not run for a fourth term in 1970.[3]

Wisconsin Assembly

Dorff made his first bid for Wisconsin State Assembly in 1968. Kenosha County, in 1968, was divided into two assembly districts: the 1st, which only contained wards of the city of the Kenosha; and the 2nd, which contained the remaining southern city wards plus the rest of Kenosha County.[3] Dorff resided in one of the city wards belonging to the vast 2nd district. He narrowly won the Democratic Primary in September, but fell far short of defeating the incumbent, Republican Russell A. Olson of Randall, in the general election.

In 1970, Dorff tried again, running as a fiscal moderate and favoring property tax relief for homeowners. Dorff also made an issue of the Legislature's bi-annual sessions, suggesting that the state would be better-run if they returned to annual sessions. The Sterling Hall bombing on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus became a significant issue in the fall. Dorff again turned that issue back to a critique of the incumbent, saying the Governor should have called a special session of the Legislature to deal with the issue.[3] On election day, Dorff eked past Olson, taking 52% of the vote in a Democratic wave year in the state.[4]

During a special session in 1972, the Legislature passed a significant new redistricting law, which ended the practice of allocating assembly districts to counties, and instead allowed for districts to be drawn across county boundaries. Dorff now resided in the 65th assembly district, composed of just the southern part of the city of Kenosha and the neighboring town of Pleasant Prairie. After redistricting, Dorff went on to win re-election five times in his new district with relative ease before retiring at the end of his sixth term.[5]

During his time in the Assembly, he served on the committees for Labor (19711974 & 19791980), Transportation (19711974 & 19771978 & 19811982), Veterans and Military Affairs (19751976), Insurance and Banking (19751978), Financial Institutions (19791980), Consumer and Commercial Credit (19811982), and was chairman of the committee on Excise and Fees from 1975 until the end of his assembly career.[2]

Mayor of Kenosha

Dorff returned to local politics in 1984, unseating incumbent alderman Jesse Kolmos in the April 1984 city election.[6] He went on to win another term in 1986. In 1987, when Kenosha mayor John D. Bilotti resigned to accept an appointment in the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, the City Council elected Dorff to act as interim mayor until the 1988 election.

Dorff decided to run for a full term as mayor in 1988. He survived a crowded six-person primary, but was defeated in the head-to-head general election by freshman alderman Patrick Moran.[7][8][9] Following his defeat in the mayoral election, Dorff was elected to one final term on the Kenosha Common Council in 1990. He did not seek re-election in 1992.

Later in life, Dorff moved to Mesa, Arizona, where he died of cancer in 2005.[1][10]

Personal life

Eugene Dorff married Donna Lupi on November 26, 1948, shortly after graduating from high school. They had three sons.[1]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1968, 1970)

Wisconsin Assembly, Kenosha 2nd District Election, 1968[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Primary, September 10, 1968
Democratic Eugene Dorff 1,933 42.22%
Democratic Julius Goldstein 1,814 39.62%
Democratic William C. Cress 831 18.15%
Plurality 119 2.60%
Total votes 4,578 100.0%
General Election, November 5, 1968
Republican Russell A. Olson (incumbent) 12,313 56.49% +1.87%
Democratic Eugene Dorff 9,217 42.29% -3.08%
Independent Joseph Cundari 265 1.22%
Plurality 3,096 14.21% +4.95%
Total votes 21,795 100.0% +28.55%
Republican hold
Wisconsin Assembly, Kenosha 2nd District Election, 1970[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Primary, September 8, 1970
Democratic Eugene Dorff 3,973 71.44%
Democratic Joseph Cundari 1,588 28.56%
Plurality 2,385 42.89%
Total votes 5,561 100.0%
General Election, November 3, 1970
Democratic Eugene Dorff 9,305 52.59%
Republican Russell A. Olson (incumbent) 8,389 47.41%
Plurality 916 5.18% -9.03%
Total votes 17,694 100.0% -18.82%
Democratic gain from Republican Swing 19.38%

Wisconsin Assembly (19721980)

Wisconsin Assembly, 65th District Election, 1972[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, November 3, 1972
Democratic Eugene Dorff 10,808 66.91%
Republican Arnold J. Esser 5,345 33.09%
Plurality 5,463 33.82%
Total votes 16,153 100.0%
Democratic win (new seat)

Kenosha Mayor (1988)

Kenosha Mayoral Election, 1988[7][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nonpartisan Primary, February 16, 1988
Nonpartisan Patrick Moran 5,377 42.77%
Nonpartisan Eugene Dorff (incumbent) 4,602 36.61%
Nonpartisan Michael Stancato 1,920 15.27%
Nonpartisan Jeffrey Wolkomir 401 3.19%
Nonpartisan Henry S. Kanecki 145 1.15%
Nonpartisan Michael Rasmussen 127 1.01%
Total votes 12,572 100.0%
General Election, April 5, 1988
Nonpartisan Patrick Moran 12,979 55.12%
Nonpartisan Eugene Dorff (incumbent) 10,566 44.88%
Plurality 2,413 10.25%
Total votes 23,545 100.0%

References

  1. "Eugene Dorff - 1930-2005". Kenosha News. September 23, 2005. p. 20. Retrieved August 30, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Dorff, Eugene 1930". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  3. "Olson and Dorff face off again in Second District". Kenosha News. Kenosha, Wisconsin. October 26, 1970. p. 7. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Russ Olson unseated by Dorff". Kenosha News. Kenosha, Wisconsin. November 4, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  5. Henkel, Barbara (January 8, 1982). "Dorff won't seek another term". Kenosha News. Kenosha, Wisconsin. p. 1. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  6. Shook, Dennis (April 4, 1984). "New aldermen to join City Council". Kenosha News. Kenosha, Wisconsin. p. 8. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  7. Engels, Dave (February 17, 1988). "Moran tops mayoral primary". Kenosha News. Kenosha, Wisconsin. p. 1. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  8. Engels, Dave (April 6, 1988). "Moran wins mayor's race". Kenosha News. Kenosha, Wisconsin. p. 1. Retrieved August 31, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  9. 'Upset Win in Kenosha Mayor's Race,' Chicago Tribune, Steve Johnson, April 7, 1988
  10. U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
  11. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1970). "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin Blue Book, 1970 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 804, 819.
  12. "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin Blue Book, 1971 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. 1971. pp. 302, 320.
  13. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1973). "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 828.
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