Frank P. Zeidler
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Frank P. Zeidler (September 20, 1912 – July 7, 2006) was an American politician and Socialist Party of America mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from 1948 to 1960. He was the most recent Socialist mayor of any major American city.[1]
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 a very aggressive campaign of municipal annexations: large parts of the Town of Lake and most of the Town of Granville were annexed to the city. The park system was upgraded. Federal funding was obtained to complete the highway system that had started under Daniel Hoan.
Zeidler wrote several books, including not only treatises on municipal government, labor law, socialism, and Milwaukee history, but poetry, renditions of four of Shakespeare's plays into present-day English, and children's stories. On June 13, 1958 Zeidler was the first person to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.[2] The Milwaukee Public Library's historic collections are housed in the Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Room, named in his honor.
Zeidler was instrumental in re-forming the Socialist Party USA 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. He and his running mate, J. Quinn Brisben, received 6,038 votes.
Zeidler credited his activism as a socialist to his deep Lutheran faith; he adopted his socialist beliefs during the Great Depression while reading socialist literature at the library.[3] He became a leader of the Young People's Socialist League as a teenager, and was active and involved in politics as a Socialist until his death at age 93.
His brother Carl Zeidler, the so-called "Singing Mayor," served as mayor of Milwaukee from 1940 to 1942. Carl was more conservative in political philosophy than Frank.[4]
Zeidler's daughter, Jeanne Zeidler, has served as mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia, since 1998.[5]
On July 26, 2004 Zeidler appeared at the 2004 Green Party National Convention in Milwaukee to welcome delegates to the convention. [6]
He is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- The Papers of Frank Zeidler at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Golda Meir Library
- Milwaukee Renaissance, Frank Zeidler, Home Page
- http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/08/ap/politics/mainD8IO3KG00.shtml
- "Years-old memoir of city's Zeidler years now published" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel May 30 2005
- "The Last Socialist Mayor". Interviewer, Amy Goodman. Democracy Now!. June 21, 2004.
- "Frank Zeidler, Milwaukee mayor from 1948-'60, dies" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel July 9, 2006
- Funeral service video clips includes tributes by Mayor Tom Barrett and historian John Gurda
- James J. Casey, Jr., "Mayor Frank P. Zeidler: Transportation Development in Post-War Milwaukee" (American Public Works Association, 2006).
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Bohn |
Mayor of Milwaukee 1948–1960 |
Succeeded by Henry W. Maier |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by — |
Socialist Party Presidential candidate 1976 (lost) |
Succeeded by David McReynolds |
