Frank Zeidler
Frank Zeidler | |
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Mayor of Milwaukee | |
In office April 20, 1948 – April 18, 1960 | |
Preceded by | John Bohn |
Succeeded by | Henry Maier |
Personal details | |
Born | Frank Paul Zeidler September 20, 1912 University of Wisconsin |
This article is part of a series on |
Socialism in the United States |
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Frank Paul Zeidler (September 20, 1912 – July 7, 2006) was an American socialist politician and mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948, to April 18, 1960. Zeidler, a member of the Socialist Party of America, is the last Socialist Party candidate to be elected mayor of a large American city.[1][2]
Early life and career
Zeidler was born in Milwaukee on September 20, 1912. He studied at both the University of Chicago and Marquette University, but was never able to graduate due to ill health. He became a socialist because of socialism's emphasis on peace and improving the conditions for workers.[3]
In an interview, Zeidler said he chose the ideology of socialism in 1933 "because of several things in its philosophy. One was the brotherhood of people all over the world. Another was its struggle for peace. Another was the equal distribution of economic goods. Another was the idea of cooperation. A fifth was the idea of democratic planning in order to achieve your goals. Those were pretty good ideas". He distanced himself from the beliefs of communism, especially communism linked in any way to the Soviet Union. Indeed, he was (and remained) an active Lutheran, a religious commitment which he saw as being fulfilled rather than contradicted by his Socialist activism.[4]
Later, however, he credited his adoption of socialism to reading
Zeidler became an active member of the Young People's Socialist League (YPSL), the youth branch of the Socialist Party of America, he later became the leader of the Milwaukee branch of the Red Falcons during the 1930s.[6]
Elections
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2023) |
Zeidler was elected
He was elected to a six-year term on the Milwaukee Board of School Directors (a non-partisan office) in 1941, just after his brother Carl Zeidler was elected Mayor of Milwaukee in 1940.[4] In 1942, Frank Zeidler was the Socialist nominee for Governor of Wisconsin, receiving 1.41% of the vote in a six-way race. He was re-elected to the Milwaukee School Board in 1947.
After two years in office, Carl Zeidler enlisted in the Navy at the height of World War II. Carl was killed at sea when his ship was lost and became a local hero, helping to pave the way for his younger brother to become mayor. In 1948 Frank Zeidler ran for mayor in a crowded field of fourteen candidates and won, undoubtedly aided by the familiarity of his surname.[8] The large field of candidates was due to Mayor John Bohn declining to seek re-election in 1948. Among the candidates that year was attorney Henry S. Reuss, a Democrat who later went on to win election to Congress in 1954. Zeidler was re-elected in 1952 and 1956, but declined to seek another term in 1960, citing health reasons.
Zeidler was Milwaukee's third Socialist mayor (after Emil Seidel [1910-12] and Daniel Hoan [1916-40]), making Milwaukee the largest American city to elect three Socialists to its highest office (a fact that singer Alice Cooper pointed out in the 1992 film Wayne's World).
Mayoralty
During Frank Zeidler's administration, Milwaukee grew industrially and never had to borrow money to repay loans. During this period, Milwaukee nearly doubled its size with an aggressive campaign of municipal annexations: large parts of the
Zeidler's plans for the city were only a partial success. Milwaukee doubled in area through annexation and it experienced very little decline in population during a period of American urban decline starting in the 1960s and lasting until about 1990. Suburban residents and governments fiercely resisted annexation and the politics of regional Milwaukee became highly factional. An attorney who sued to block annexation claimed Zeidler planted listening devices in his office. Zeidler, angry about the resistance to his plans, said in 1958: "The city consults with suburban governments, but we do not believe they have reason for existing."[8]
Zeidler faced the vexing issue of race relations as Milwaukee's
A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of the
Later years and death
After leaving office, Frank Zeidler worked as a
Zeidler was instrumental in re-forming the Socialist Party USA in 1973, and served as its National Chair for many years. He was the party's presidential nominee in 1976, getting on ten state ballots. The party had 400-600 members nationwide at the time. Zeidler agreed to run when other leading members of the SPUSA declined to do so. He and his running mate, J. Quinn Brisben, received 6,038 votes, including approximately 2,500 in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.[12]
On July 26, 2004, Zeidler appeared at the 2004 Green Party National Convention in Milwaukee to welcome delegates to the convention.[13]
He died on July 7, 2006, aged 93, and was interred at
Writing, scholarship, and legacy
Zeidler wrote several books, including not only treatises on
On June 13, 1958, Zeidler was the first person to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.,[16] which now sponsors the Frank P. Zeidler International Graduate Student Travel Award, a
The Milwaukee Public Library's historic collections are housed in the Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Room, named in his honor.[citation needed]
On May 21, 2006, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.[citation needed]
An urban park in downtown Milwaukee bears Zeidler's name. Zeidler Union Park (originally named for priest and explorer Jacques Marquette)[19] now hosts the Westown Farmer's Market and other smaller festivals and gatherings. [20]
Family
Zeidler's daughter, Jeanne Zeidler, served as mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia, from 1998 until 2010, when she retired.[21][22]
See also
References
- ^ Ferré-Sadurní, Luis (2021-06-23). "How India Walton Pulled It Off in the Buffalo Mayoral Primarywork=The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
- ^ "Frank Zeidler Dies — The Last American Socialist | Wisconsin Historical Society". 3 August 2012.
- ^ "Frank Zeidler – The Last American Socialist". Wisconsin History. July 9, 2006. Archived from the original on January 11, 2007. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b Borsuk, Alan J. (July 8, 2006). "Mayor served 'the public welfare'". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 11, 2006. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
- ^ "On this day: September 20". Wisconsin History. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
- ^ Tatlock, Julie. "Red Falcons: Children and the Socialist Party in Milwaukee". Marquette University. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
- ^ "New Farmer-Labor-Progressive Bloc Facing First Test as Milwaukee's Registrations Set Primary Record". Evening Independent (St. Petersburg), Associated Press, March 17, 1936, p. 12-A.
- ^ a b c Frank Zeidler's Milwaukee, by John McCarthy, Next American City, Winter 2007
- ^ Casey, James J., Jr., Mayor Frank P. Zeidler: Transportation Development in Post-War Milwaukee. American Public Works Association, 2006 Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 0-271-01876-3.
- ^ Johannes, John R. (May 22, 1994). "Interview with Mr. Richard Budelman, Former aide to Mayor Henry Maier" (PDF). Marquette University.
- ^ Horan, Chris (November 2, 2016). "Our Back Pages: When a presidential candidate spent election night in Milwaukee". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- YouTube
- ^ The Papers of Frank Zeidler at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Golda Meir Library. Accessed June 30, 2023.
- ^ Stephenson, Crocker. "Years-old memoir of city's Zeidler years now published". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, pg. 2B, May 30, 2005.
- ^ "A Few of UWM's Noted Alumni", uwm.edu. Accessed June 30, 2023.
- ^ The UW-Milwaukee Frank P. Zeidler International Graduate Student Travel Award Archived 2015-03-18 at the Wayback Machine, uwm.edu. Accessed June 30, 30, 2023.
- ^ ""Zeidler Scholarships" Wisconsin Labor History Society". Archived from the original on 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
- ^ "Milwaukee Zeidler Union Square".
- ^ "Zeidler Union Square | Travel Wisconsin".
- ^ ""Past Mayors and Governors"". Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
- ^ ""Zeidler looks back on career as Williamsburg's first female mayor"". Archived from the original on 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
Further reading
- Hayes, Paul G. "Remembering Zeidler". Wisconsin People & Ideas, vol. 52, no. 4 (Fall 2006), pp. 30–32.
External links
- Oral History Interview with Frank Zeidler, July 17, 1981
- "The Last Socialist Mayor". Interviewer, Amy Goodman. Democracy Now!. June 21, 2004.
- "Before Bernie Sanders, There Was Zeidler, a Religious Socialist", The New York Times
- Funeral service video clips includes tributes by Mayor Tom Barrett and historian John Gurda