An oral history interview with Kenneth Dameron, Jr.

              WISCONSIN
HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
An Oral History Interview with
KENNETH DAMERON JR.
Interviewer: .Anita Hecht, Life History Services
Recording Date: December 15, 2009
Place: Washington DC. Length: 3.5 hours
Ken Dameron, Jr., was raised in Columbus, Ohio, in a politically liberal family. He graduated
from Ohio State University with a degree in social science in 1957 and earned his M.S. degree in
political science in 1958. He then earned a J.D. from Columbia Law School and worked for a
Wall Street law firm before earning his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University.
Dameron joined Sen. William Proxmire's staff in 1975 as a legislative assistant, functioning as
the de facto in-house attorney. In 1982, he became Sen. Proxmire's legislative director. He said
that there were six "I" words that help to summarize Sen. Proxmire's character—intelligence,
independence, integrity, ingenuity, industrious, and involvement.
In Sen. Proxmire's office, Dameron played a large role in developing and writing the Golden
Fleece Awards, injecting much of the humor into those press releases. He believed that curtailing
government waste was very popular with the American people, especially voters in Wisconsin.
He also worked closely with the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Agriculture
Committee.
Dameron worked for Sen. Proxmire until the Senator's retirement in 1989, when he became
legislative director in Sen. John Glenn's office.