Frank P. Zeidler
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Frank Paul Zeidler (September 20, 1912 – July 7, 2006) was an American
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 ...
politician and
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 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, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
, serving three terms from April 20, 1948, to April 18, 1960. Zeidler, a member of the
Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...
, is the last Socialist Party candidate to be elected mayor of a large American city.


Early life and career

Zeidler was born in
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 ...
on September 20, 1912. He studied at both the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
and
Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
, 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. 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 Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
, especially communism linked in any way to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. Indeed, he was (and remained) an active Lutheran, a religious commitment which he saw as being fulfilled rather than contradicted by his Socialist activism. Later however, he credited his adoption of socialism to reading
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
literature, with the majority being written by
Eugene V. Debs Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialism, socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five times the candidate ...
and Norman Thomas during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Zeidler became an active member of the Young People's Socialist League (YPSL), the youth branch of the
Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...
, he later became the leader of the Milwaukee branch of the
Red Falcons Red Falcons was the name of various socialist children's organizations, popular in Europe and the United States which emerged during the First and Second World Wars. The first such group was founded in the early 20th century by Anton Tesarek, a soci ...
during the 1930s.


Elections

Zeidler was elected
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 ...
Surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
in 1938 on the Progressive Party ballot line (the Socialist Party and Progressives were in coalition in Milwaukee at that time). 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. In 1942, Frank Zeidler was the Socialist nominee for
Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...
, 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.Frank Zeidler's Milwaukee, by John McCarthy, ''Next American City'', Winter 2007 The large field of candidates was due to Mayor
John Bohn John L. Bohn (1869 – April 20, 1955) was an American politician who served as mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1942 to 1948. Early life John Louis Bohn, the son of German Lutheran immigrants, was born 1869 in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. ...
declining to seek re-election in 1948. Among the candidates that year was attorney
Henry S. Reuss Henry Schoellkopf Reuss (February 22, 1912 – January 12, 2002) was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Wisconsin. Early life Henry Schoellkopf Reuss was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the son of Gustav A. Reuss (pronounced ''Royce'' ...
, 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 Emil Seidel (December 13, 1864 – June 24, 1947) was a prominent German-American politician. Seidel was the mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912. The first Socialist mayor of a major city in the United States, Seidel became the Vice Presidential ...
910-12and
Daniel Hoan Daniel Webster Hoan (March 12, 1881 – June 11, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 32nd Mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1940. A lawyer who had served as Milwaukee City Attorney from 1910 to 1916, Hoan was a promi ...
916-40, making Milwaukee the largest American city to elect three Socialists to its highest office.


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
Town of Lake The Town of Lake was formerly a town in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, which existed from January 2, 1838 to April 6, 1954. Geography After 1840, using current street names, the Town of Lake encompassed the area bordered by Greenfie ...
and most of the Town of Granville were annexed to the city. The park system was upgraded. Zeidler spearheaded planning and construction of the beginning of Milwaukee's freeway system, and turned it over to
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 ...
in 1954. A transportation advocate claims that Zeidler always maintained that the projected Milwaukee freeway system should have been built and that the city's competitiveness had been compromised by the failure to complete the planned system. 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." Zeidler faced the vexing issue of race relations as Milwaukee's
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
population tripled during the 1950s. Zeidler was a vocal supporter of the civil rights movement and his opponents tried to exploit this to their advantage. Zeidler's political enemies spread false rumors that Zeidler had put billboards in the South asking blacks to come north. Many workers in Milwaukee were threatened for supporting Zeidler. One manufacturer even threatened to fire employees who voted for Zeidler. Zeidler cited bad personal health and the race issue as reasons for not running for re-election in 1960.


After leaving office

After leaving office, Frank Zeidler worked as a
mediator Mediator may refer to: *A person who engages in mediation *Business mediator, a mediator in business * Vanishing mediator, a philosophical concept * Mediator variable, in statistics Chemistry and biology *Mediator (coactivator), a multiprotein ...
, as development director for
Alverno College Alverno College is a private Roman Catholic women's college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. History Chartered in 1887 as St. Joseph's Normal School, Alverno became Alverno Teachers College in 1936. It adopted its current name in 1946. Academics Alve ...
, and served in the administration of
Wisconsin Governor The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...
John W. Reynolds. As a leader of the Public Enterprise Committee, Zeidler was a frequent and severe critic of his successor, Henry Maier. He supported a number of unsuccessful attempts to defeat Maier in subsequent elections. Zeidler was instrumental in re-forming the
Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...
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 John Quinn Brisben (September 6, 1934 – April 17, 2012) was an American teacher, author, and political activist from Chicago, Illinois. Brisben was on the Socialist Party USA's presidential ticket twice. He was the party's vice-presidential no ...
, received 6,038 votes, including approximately 2,500 in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. On July 26, 2004 Zeidler appeared at the 2004 Green Party National Convention in Milwaukee to welcome delegates to the convention. He died July 7, 2006, and is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee. His mayoral and personal papers are archived at
Milwaukee Public Library Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) is the public library system in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, consisting of a central library and 13 branches, all part of the Milwaukee County Federated Library System. MPL is the largest public library sys ...
alongside those of his brother Carl Zeidler. Several additional boxes of his papers are archived at the
Golda Meir Library Golda is a term of which the various forms stem from Proto-Germanic '' gulþą'' "gold", and may refer to: Geography * Golda, the original name of Gouda, South Holland, Netherlands * Golda, the earliest known name for the river Gouwe in the Nether ...
of the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...
.


Writing and scholarship

Zeidler wrote several books, including not only treatises on
municipal government A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
,
labor law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
, socialism, and Milwaukee history, but
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, renditions of four of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's plays into present-day English, and
children's stories Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...
. His 1961 memoir of his time as mayor, ''A Liberal in City Government'', was published in 2005 by Milwaukee Publishers LLC, a local company formed for the purpose. On June 13, 1958 Zeidler was the first person to receive an honorary doctorate from the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...
., which now sponsors the Frank P. Zeidler International Graduate Student Travel Award, a
scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...
enabling a non-American scholar to study for a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in
American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...
at UWM. The
Wisconsin Labor History Society The Wisconsin Labor History Society (WLHS), founded in 1980, is a non-profit association, based in Milwaukee, to research and inform academics, workers, and general public on the labor history in the US state of Wisconsin. It commemorates the Ba ...
also sponsors an annual undergraduate Frank P. Zeidler Scholarship in labor history. The
Milwaukee Public Library Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) is the public library system in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, consisting of a central library and 13 branches, all part of the Milwaukee County Federated Library System. MPL is the largest public library sys ...
's historic collections are housed in the Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Room, named in his honor. On May 21, 2006 he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.


Jeanne Zeidler

Zeidler's daughter, Jeanne Zeidler, served as mayor of
Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, from 1998 until 2010, when she retired."Zeidler looks back on career as Williamsburg's first female mayor"
/ref>


See also

*
List of elected socialist mayors in the United States The following is a list of mayors who have declared themselves to be socialists or have been a member of a socialist party in the United States. In 1911 it was estimated that there were twenty-eight such mayors and in 1913 thirty-four. In 1967, ...


References


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''

includes tributes by Mayor Tom Barrett and historian John Gurda {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeidler, Frank P. 1912 births 2006 deaths American Christian pacifists American Christian socialists American Lutherans American people of German descent American political party founders University of Chicago alumni Marquette University alumni Mayors of Milwaukee Politicians from Milwaukee Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin Socialist Party USA presidential nominees Candidates in the 1976 United States presidential election University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Writers from Wisconsin School board members in Wisconsin Socialist Party USA politicians from Wisconsin Lutheran socialists 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Lutherans