The following is a list of mayors who have declared themselves to be socialists or have been a member of a

socialist party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. In 1911 it was estimated that there were twenty-eight such mayors and in 1913 thirty-four. In 1967, however, James Weinstein's table of "Cities and Towns Electing Socialist Mayors or Other Major Municipal Officers, 1911–1920" counted 74 such municipalities in 1911 and 32 in 1913, with smaller peaks in 1915 (22) and 1917 (18).Weinstein, James (1967). ''The Decline of Socialism in America 1912–1925''. New York:

Monthly Review Press The ''Monthly Review'', established in 1949, is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. The publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...

, reprinted in 1969 by

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...

(

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

), Table 2: "Cities and Towns Electing Socialist Mayors or Other Major Municipal Officers, 1911–1920", pp. 116–118.

List of mayors

Denotes incumbent

Notes

*I Barewald resigned from the Socialist Party during the first week of January 1921 and captured national headlines by declaring radicals "insane" and instructing local police to greet unwanted members of the Industrial Workers of the World with "hot lead." See
"Wants Town Rid of IWW: Mayor Barewald Advises Use of Riot Guns,"
Eugene ''Morning Register,'' Jan. 9, 1921, pg. 1. *II Ran for the Rockford Progressive Party, which was formed by dissidents of the Rockford Labor Party in 1929.Nelson 1968, pp. 102. *III Clavelle became a member of the Democratic Party in 2004. *IV Chase and Coulter were both elected mayor for the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

, but the party later merged itself with a dissident faction of the

Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

in 1901 and founded 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 ...

. *V His name is alternatively spelled Lewis J. Duncan. *VI Was running for the Rockford Labor Legion from 1921–1927, in 1929 the Labor Party refused to nominate him on the grounds that he had moved from some of the party's principles. He ran as an independent from 1929-33. ** The Rockford Labor Legion was a coalition of local

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

, socialist organizations and temperance societies. *VII Lumumba was self-described as a socialist. *VIII Sanders has declared himself to be a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

. *IX Van Lear was expelled from the Socialist Party in 1918

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Benjamin F. Arrington, ''Municipal History of Essex County in Massachusetts.'' Chicago: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1922; pg. 976. * Henry F. Bedford, ''Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912.'' Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1966. * Henry Bengston, ''On the Left in America: Memoirs of the Scandinavian-American Labor Movement.'' SIU Press, 1999; pg. 237. * Hiram Taylor French, ''History of Idaho: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its Principal Interests.'' New York: New York Public Library, 1914; pg. 976. * C. Hal Nelson, ''Sinnissippi Saga: A History of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois.'' Winnebago County Illinois Sesquicentennial Committee, 1968; pg. 536. * Jack Ross, "Socialist Elected Officeholders, 1897-1960." ''The Socialist Party of America: A Complete History.'' Lincoln, NE: Potomac Books, 2015; pp. 609–638. * James Weinstein, ''The Decline of Socialism in America 1912–1925''. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1967; pp. 116–118. {{DEFAULTSORT:Elected socialist mayors in the United States

Socialists 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 econ ...

Mayors Socialism-related lists