If this were baseball, U.S. Rep. Dale E. Kildee would be batting a thousand.

The Flint Democrat, whose district includes parts of Bay County, didn't miss any of the 675 votes cast in the House of Representatives in 2003.

He is the only member of Michigan's 15-person House delegation with a perfect voting record, and one of only nine of the House's 435 members, according to a new Congressional Quarterly report.

The average participation rate for the House was 95.6 percent last year. U.S. Reps. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, and Dave Camp, R-Midland, had scores of 90 and 98, respectively.

Kildee said he just takes voting seriously, since it's the only constitutional requirement of his office. He said he was raised to take other things seriously, too, trudging through snow up to his chest to get to school as a kid.

"When I was a senior in high school, we had the biggest snow storm up to that time in Flint's history," Kildee said, "and I was the only one who made it to St. Mary's High School."

Kildee has missed only one vote in the last 18 years, according to his staff, and has maintained a 99.9 percent voting record during his 27 years in Congress.

Kildee has the longest active voting participation streak of anyone currently serving in the House, according to official records, said Press Secretary Peter Karafotas.

Kildee has missed 21 of 15,311 votes since he first took office on Jan. 3, 1977 - one of the best records in Congress.

The record has earned him the nickname of the "Cal Ripken of Congress," a reference to the former Baltimore Orioles player who still maintains the record for the most consecutive games played, staff members say.

Kildee said the last vote he missed was a procedural roll call vote to approval the Congressional Journal on Oct. 28, 2000.

He was working during an unusual Saturday session that day, meeting with education committee staff in the Capitol to discuss the final details of a new K-12 education bill. Before that, he missed a vote in 1985 while in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer.

When Congress is in session, Kildee said, there can be as many as 30 votes a day. He said staff members help him keep up on the issues, and his wife, Gayle, helps remind him not to forget his family. The Kildees have a daughter and two sons, all in their 30s.

"I was fortunate; all my kids' graduations were held at Constitution Hall, which is just down the street from the Capitol Building," Kildee said.

He said he's also been able to slip out for a half hour or so during long debates to see his sons pitch in Little League, and attend other family functions. The Kildees maintain homes in Flint and the Washington, D.C., area, and their children attended public school across the river in Virginia.

"You try to balance your family and your responsibilities to your constituents," Dale Kildee said.

Kildee's 5th Congressional District encompasses all of Genesee and Tuscola counties and parts of Bay and Saginaw counties.

He said he's proud of his voting record, but is disappointed he'll never be able to beat former U.S. Rep. William Natcher, who never missed a roll call or vote in more than 40 years in Congress.

- Jeff Kart covers the environment and politics for The Times. He can be reached at 894-9639.