Karl Emil Nygard, also known as Emil C. Nygard and under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Ada M. Oredigger (August 25, 1906 – April 26, 1984), was an American politician who was the first and only

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

mayor in the United States when he was elected president of the village council of

Crosby, Minnesota Crosby is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,386 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Brainerd, Minnesota, Brainerd Brainerd micropolitan area, Micr ...

, in 1932.

Political life

The son of Swedish-speaking immigrants from

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, Nygard was born in Iron Belt, Wisconsin, and grew up in Crosby, Minnesota. He ran for mayor in 1930 and 1931 but lost by 250 and 48 votes, respectively. In the November 1932 general election, he ran unsuccessfully for state railroad and warehouse commissioner, polling 9,458 votes statewide. In the December 6, 1932, village election, he won the mayoralty on the Workers Ticket with 529 votes, against 359 for incumbent F. H. Kraus and 301 for Ernest B. Erickson; he was inaugurated on January 3, 1933. Saying that he was "under the strict discipline of the Communist party", Nygard incorporated the Workers Advisory Committee into the municipal government by allowing it to pass bills before they went before the village council. On a controversial trip to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1933, he was accused of exaggerating his influence to Communist audiences and boasted of his challenges to the authority of Crosby police and businessmen. One of his acts in office was to declare

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

an official holiday. N. Waldimiross defeated Nygard in December 1933 by 788 votes. Nygard made his last run in 1934.

Personal life

Nygard married Helen Koski, a

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

, in 1936 and they raised their family in Becker County. Though he distanced himself from the Communist Party, he reportedly remained committed to

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

for the rest of his life. Nygard died in 1984.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nygard, Karl Emil 1906 births 1984 deaths People from Becker County, Minnesota People from Crosby, Minnesota American people of Finnish descent American people of Swedish descent Members of the Communist Party USA American Marxists Mayors of places in Minnesota Communist Party USA politicians 20th-century Minnesota politicians Minnesota socialists