nov 20, 1910 - Emil Seidel becomes first Socialist mayor

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Emil Seidel, an alderman, and owner of a small pattern shop became Milwaukee's first Socialist mayor. Earnest, upright, and plain-spoken, Seidel did especially well in the working-class wards. In 1908, Seidel ran for mayor coming within 2,200 votes of David Rose. In 1910, Seidel ran again, alongside Charles B. Whitnall for treasurer and Daniel Hoan for city attorney. This time the Social Democrats pulled out all the stops on behalf of their ticket. A Polish-language weekly, Naprzod ("Foward"), was launched to pull Polish voters away from the Democratic fold. A small arm of stump speakers haunted the factory gates and union halls. The Bundle Brigade circulated nearly 750,000 pieces of literature, everything from municipal stone quarry to better parks. The document closed by inviting all well-meaning voters "to join in our undertaking for the emancipation of mankind." The party spent a grand total of $5,569 on the 1910 campaign, most of it for printing.

The outcome of the contest was a resounding victory for the Socialist. Voters chose Seidel and all his running mates, along with 21 of 35 aldermen, 10 of 16 county supervisors, and 2 judges.

The working man and working woman had triumphed. The ethnic industrial character of Milwaukee, so pronounced for so many years, had finally found mature political expression. For the first time in a major American city, the people had turned over their entire government to card-carrying Socialists who rose from and spoke for the working class.

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