Arthur Koegel (May 2, 1889 – May, 1974) was a

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman and tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. ...

from

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

who served five terms from 1933 to 1942 as a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Background

Arthur Koegel was born May 2, 1889, in Milwaukee. He graduated from local

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

and became a bricklayer. As of his 1932 election, he had been a member of the Bricklayers, Masons and Plasterers International Union of America for 24 years, and had never held public office.

Assembly service

Koegel was elected in November 1932 to the Assembly from the seventh

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

district (seventh ward of the City of Milwaukee), succeeding fellow Socialist

Philip Wenz Philip F. Wenz (born April 13, 1873) was a carpenter and machinist who served three terms (1927–1932) as a Socialist member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 7th Milwaukee County district (7th ward of the City of Milwaukee). Background ...

, who did not run for re-election. Koegel was unopposed in the

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, and in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

polled 3063 votes, to 2960 for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Charles Jungman, and 1537 for Republican Robert Scheffing. He was assigned to the Assembly's standing committee on

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

. In 1934, he was again unopposed in the primary, and received 2243 votes, to 1639 for Democrat Fred Stich, 1206 for

Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

Rudolph Korthals, and 665 for Republican George Becker. For the new session, he was assigned to the Assembly Committees on Contingent Expenditures and on State Affairs. In 1936, under the Socialist/Progressive

electoral fusion Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate. It is distinct from the process of electoral alliances in that the political parties remain separat ...

arrangement then prevailing, he was for the first time opposed in the primary, although he defeated his opponent Mueller by over 2:1. He then won the general election, with 4741 votes to 3223 for Democrat Robert Lange. For the new session, he remained on State Affairs and was assigned to the Committee on Taxation. In 1938 he was again unopposed in the Progressive/Socialist primary, and won re-election by 3030 votes, to 2048 for Republican George Schroeder, 1294 for Democrat Lange, and 69 votes for Herta Welch of

William Lemke William Frederick Lemke (August 13, 1878 – May 30, 1950) was an American politician who represented North Dakota in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party. He was also the Union Party's presidential cand ...

's Union Party. He transferred to the Assembly's Committee on Labor.Ohm, Howard F. & Bryhan, Leone G., eds. ''The Wisconsin blue book, 1940'' Madison: Democrat Printing Company, State Printer, 1940; p. 265
/ref> In 1940, he again faced primary opposition, prevailing over challenger Ludwigsen by over 3:1. In the general election, he pulled 4248 votes, to 3973 for Republican Martin E. Schreiber and 1828 for Democrat Clarence Findley. He remained on the Labor Committee. In 1942, although unopposed in the Socialist primary (fusion having ended), he lost the general election, polling only 818 votes to 2696 for Republican Schreiber and 1652 for Progressive Walter Ensslin. He would twice attempt to reclaim his Assembly seat, coming in second in the 1944 race (ahead of the Republican and the Progressive); and third in the 1950 race, behind the Republican challenger as well as the Democrat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koegel, Arthur 1889 births 1974 deaths American bricklayers Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from Milwaukee Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin 20th-century American legislators 20th-century Wisconsin politicians