James H. Vint (January 14, 1881 – January 7, 1965) was a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

from

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 ...

who served three terms as 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 ...

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, ...

. In later years, he moved to

Union Grove, Wisconsin Union Grove is a village in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,806 at the 2020 census. History Governor Henry Dodge named the area that became Union Grove, combining the word “Union” with “Grove” because of the ...

and became a farmer.

Background

Vint was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, Canada on January 14, 1881, and came to Milwaukee in 1892, where he was educated in the Milwaukee Public Schools. He became a machinist and a member of the Machinists Union (his 1913

Wisconsin Blue Book The ''Wisconsin Blue Book'' is a biennial publication of the Wisconsin's Legislative Reference Bureau. The ''Blue Book'' is an almanac containing information on the government, economics, demographics, geography and history of the state of Wisc ...

profile says he had been a union member eleven years).

Service in the legislature

In 1910, Vint was elected to the Assembly to represent the Eighth

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 (the 8th and 23rd

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

of the City of Milwaukee). He received 1521 votes, to 1501 for Republican incumbent

Fred R. Zimmerman Frederick Robert Zimmerman (November 20, 1880December 14, 1954) was a German American politician from Milwaukee, who served as the 25th Governor of Wisconsin. He served before and after his governorship as Wisconsin Secretary of State—for ...

, 143 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 ...

Harry McLogan, and 12 for Prohibitionist William Trout. He was assigned to the standing committees on agricultural exhibitions, and on

express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

and

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

. In 1912, after a

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

, he ran from the 11th Milwaukee County district, which included the 23rd ward from his old district, and the 11th ward, which had formerly constituted the 11th district and been represented by fellow Socialist

Frederick Brockhausen Frederick Carl Brockhausen, Jr. (May 20, 1858 – June 16, 1929) was a cigar maker and trade union activist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who spent four terms as a Socialist Party of America, Socialist member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Backg ...

(who was running for the Wisconsin State Senate). He won re-election, with 2242 votes to 2015 for Democrat J. F. Hefferman, 1146 for Republican L. A. Conlan, and 103 for Prohibitionist Lucia Willis; and was transferred to the committee on state affairs, and the

special committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

on rules. In 1914, he was again re-elected, with 2062 votes to 1426 for Republican William Klug, 997 for Democrat Clement Emery, and 61 for Prohibitionist Willis. He remained on the rules committee, but also moved to the standing committees on

taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...

and 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 ...

. He did not run for re-election in 1916, and was succeeded by fellow Socialist William E. Jordan.

After the legislature

Vint soon moved to Union Grove in

Racine County Racine County (, sometimes also ) is a county in southeastern Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 197,727, making it Wisconsin's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Racine. The county was founded in 1836, then a par ...

, where he operated an 80-acre farm and served as manager of the Farmers' Cooperative Elevator company. In 1927, he was appoint head of the Wisconsin Department of Markets. In May 1929, he became chairman of the newly-organized Wisconsin affiliate of the National Potato Institute. Late in 1929, the Department of Markets was merged into the new state Department of Agriculture and Markets. In 1931, Vint was elected as a delegate to a meeting of progressive Republicans which would nominate a candidate for the special election for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

to replace

Henry Allen Cooper Henry Allen Cooper (September 8, 1850 – March 1, 1931) was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin. Early life Cooper was born in Spring Prairie, Wisconsin, son of former Free Soil Party State Representative Joel H. Cooper, a physician. In ...

. The

Progressives Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...

were not yet officially a

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...

. He died January 7, 1965 at a hospital in Milwaukee. Local newspapers said that he'd lived in Union Grove for fifty years, where he was a member of the local Masonic lodge and director of two

consumer cooperatives A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a fo ...

. He was survived by his wife Laura and two children. He was buried in Milwaukee's Forest Home Cemetery."James H. Vint, 83, Dies; Former State Commissioner" ''Racine Journal Times'' January 8, 1965; p. 13, col. 6
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vint, James 1881 births 1965 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States Farmers from Wisconsin Machinists Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario People from Union Grove, Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee Socialist Party of America politicians from Wisconsin Wisconsin Progressives (1924)