2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumIn 1999 Socialist Daniel Hoan was named one of the best Mayors in US history.
I was born, raised, educated, grounded in the work ethic and a lot more in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which had three Socialist Mayors, the last one, Frank Zeidler, was in office during my birth and childhood.
I'm not into the neurolinguistic programing "patriot games" of those that have attempted to demonize "SOCIALIST" or equate it with totalitarian communism. F#ck you too.
Whoever is with me, so far, just look at the "far left radical" policies of some of the finest Mayors ever elected and then criticize what they attempted and achieved.
Daniel Hoan Mayor of Milwaukee 1916-1940 (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Hoan
Frank Zeidler Mayor of Milwaukee 1948-1960 (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zeidler
Who else has a positive view of the political word Socialist?
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)In the early 1930s, Bridgeport, an industrial city in southern Connecticut, was plagued by corruption and hard hit by the Great Depression. In 1931, voters had ousted the incumbent Republican mayor for Democrat Edward Buckingham and McLevy only lost by a couple thousand votes. By 1933, dissatisfaction had spread to both parties and McLevy trounced the competition, bringing along a Socialist majority on the Board of Aldermen, Bridgeport's city council. While people familiar with local politics had seen the writing on the wall in the 1931 results, the national media was astonished to find the Socialists in control in a New England city.
Contrary to the fears of some, capital did not flee Bridgeport and McLevy began upon a reform agenda rather than a revolution. In a time of reduced revenue due to the Depression and, with city coffers depleted by corruption, McLevy managed to meet the City's obligations and balance the books, even reducing taxes. He withheld the lucrative contract for trash hauling, instituting municipal trash collection, saving the city hundreds of thousands of dollars. He took over Pleasure Beach where concessionaires had been reneging on taxes and rent for years. He began the process of putting all city purchases out for competitive bidding. In one instance when asphalt suppliers all supplied identical bids, he threatened to create a municipal asphalt supplier and broke their cartel. He championed transparency, opening all board and commission meetings to the press and the public ("Operation Goldfish Bowl" . He sold the expensive limousine his predecessor had used. He instituted a merit system in the police and fire departments. McLevy went on to be reelected eleven times.
While he was a Socialist, McLevy was known for his fiscal restraint. When asked, after a snow storm, when the City would begin plowing snow, McLevy allegedly replied, "God put the snow there, let him take it away." McLevy gained a reputation for balancing budgets, reducing spending and micromanaging city affairs. In the vernacular of the time, McLevy was referred to as a "sewer socialist", a pragmatist who focused on the details of running a city.
bobthedrummer
(26,083 posts)effectively against Zeidler. Btw, Milwaukee is still the most physically racially segregated major city in the US.
ANOIS
(112 posts)of Milwaukee? And I believe I read that at that time Milwaukee won an award for being the best-run city in America.
bobthedrummer
(26,083 posts)Of course, during different eras. Public education during the Zeidler years included many of the first G.I. Bill teachers, veterans of WWII and Korea. I learned a lot from them all.
They informed my anti-fascist core.
bobthedrummer
(26,083 posts)bobthedrummer
(26,083 posts)Sorry about the double post, cyberwar is everywhere today, isn't it?
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)"During Hoan's administration, Milwaukee implemented the first public bus system in the United States[citation needed]. This was prompted by dangerous accidents: pedestrians were run over by street trolleys that ran down the middle of the road. Among the victims of such streetcar accidents was Hoan's fellow Socialist, Victor L. Berger, who was killed in 1929."
Just amazing.
According to the links, he died 38 years before he was named one of the best Mayors in US history. Damn. I'm sure he felt so at the time.