Irving Freese
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Irving C. Freese (February 19, 1903 – September 11, 1964) was the
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
Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...
.


Life and family

Freese attended a one-room school in
East Brunswick, New Jersey East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the city ...
, and was graduated from
New Brunswick High School New Brunswick High School (NBHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in New Brunswick, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the main secondary school of the N ...
. He first came to Norwalk in 1928, while visiting his brother Arnold. He found work as the assistant credit manager at the Norwalk Tire and Rubber Company, as a
Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...
salesman, as a cost accountant at the American Hat Company, and at the Standard Safety Razor Corporation as a credit manager. He later started a
photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
business. In October 1933, he met Elizabeth Hutchinson, the niece of the newly elected mayor of nearby
Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...
,
Jasper McLevy Jasper McLevy (March 27, 1878November 20, 1962) was an American politician who served as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut from 1933 until 1957. He was a member of the Socialist Party, later leaving in protest to join the Social Democratic Fed ...
at his victory party. They were married in June 1934. They had a son they named Jasper, after her uncle, in August 1936.


Political career

Freese was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor in 1939, 1941, 1943 and 1945. In those unsuccessful elections, he received between 400 and 600 votes apiece. Then he was a candidate for the
Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...
from Norwalk in 1946. In 1947, the citizens of Norwalk elected
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 ...
Freese as mayor with a total of 8,561 votes. Freese was elected again as a Socialist in 1949. In 1951, he broke from the Socialist Party and defeated
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate Stanley Stroffolino, despite Stroffolino's endorsement by the Republicans, the Democrats and the Socialists with whom Freese had just parted company. He was elected three times after forming the Independent Party of Norwalk in 1951, 1953 and 1957.


Legacy

* Irving Freese Park at 1 Main Street in downtown Norwalk is named for him. * Troop 19, the oldest
Boy Scout Troop A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted infa ...
in Norwalk, was founded on March 3, 1930 by FreeseBoy Scout Troop 19
 * The Irving Freese Apartments, a
public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
residence at 57 Ward Street, as well as the Irving Freese Community Room at the same location are named for him.


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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freese, Irving 1903 births 1964 deaths Mayors of Norwalk, Connecticut New Brunswick High School alumni People from East Brunswick, New Jersey Socialist Party of America politicians from Connecticut 20th-century American politicians