List of elected socialist mayors in the United States

The following is a list of mayors who have declared themselves to be socialists or have been a member of a socialist party in the United States.

U.S. towns electing Socialist
mayors or major officers,
1911–1920
Year No. Year No.
191174 19128
191332 19145
191522 19166
191718 19182
19195 19202
Source: James Weinstein, 1967 [1]

In 1911 it was estimated that there were twenty-eight such mayors[2] and in 1913 thirty-four.[3] 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).[1]

List of mayors
Mayor Term
start		 Term
end		 City State   Party
Ray Austin[4] 1905[5] Red Lodge Montana Socialist Party of America
C.L. Barewald [I] 1920[6] Davenport Iowa Socialist Party of America
David Belgum 1976[7] 1987[7] University Heights Iowa Socialist Party of America
J.B. Bitterly 1911[8] 1915[8] Victor Colorado Socialist Party of America
C. Henry Bloom[II] 1933[9] 1953[10] Rockford Illinois Rockford Progressive Party[11]
Charles A. Born 1903[12] Sheboygan Wisconsin Socialist Party of America[13]
Eugene Bootz 1914[8] 1915[8] Edgewater Colorado Socialist Party of America
John C. Chase 1898
1899[14]		 1899
1900		 Haverhill Massachusetts Social Democratic Party /
Socialist Party of America[15]
Major Church 1918 1921 Eureka Utah Socialist Party of America[16]
Peter Clavelle[III] 1989
1995		 1993
2006		 Burlington Vermont Vermont Progressive Party
W. H. Cook 1911[17] Edmonds Washington Socialist Party of America
Charles H. Coulter[IV] 1900[18] 1901 Brockton Massachusetts Social Democratic Party /
Socialist Party of America[15]
A. Barton Cross 1913[8] 1914[8] Naugatuck Connecticut Socialist Party of America
John Dobler 1911[19] 1913[19] Gulfport Florida Socialist Party of America
Louis J. Duncan[V] 1911[20] 1914 (October)[21] Butte Montana Socialist Party of America
Elijah Falk 1915[8] 1919[8] Eureka California Socialist Party of America
John Fetterman[22] 2005 2019 Braddock Pennsylvania Democratic Party
Parkman B. Flanders 1903[23]
1920[24]		 1904?
1923[24]		 Haverhill Massachusetts Socialist Party of America
Thomas M. Fluhart 1912[25] Linden Heights Ohio Socialist Party of America
Edward Foe 1911[26] Red Cloud Nebraska Socialist Party of America
John Frinke 1903[27] Anaconda Montana Socialist Party of America
James B. Furber 1922[28] Rahway New Jersey Socialist Party of America
Irving Freese 1947[29] 1951[30] Norwalk Connecticut Socialist Party of America
John H. Gibbons 1919 (November)[31] Lackawanna New York Socialist Party of America
Robert Gordon 1916[32] 1917[32] Barre Vermont Socialist Party of America
W.E. Griffin 1911[20]   Beatrice Nebraska Socialist Party of America
J.M. Haley 1912[8] 1916[8] Paonia Colorado Socialist Party of America
Alexander Halliday 1911[33] Two Harbors Minnesota Socialist Party of America
J. Herman Hallstrom[VI] 1921[11]
1929[11]		 1927[11]
1933[11]		 Rockford Illinois Rockford Labor Legion
Independent
Frank B. Hamilton 1918[34] Piqua Ohio Socialist Party of America
H.P. Houghton 1911[20] Girard Kansas Socialist Party of America
Daniel Webster Hoan 1916 1940 Milwaukee Wisconsin Socialist Party of America
George A. Huscher 1912[35] 1915[36] Murray Utah Socialist Party of America
J.F. Johnston 1912 (September)[37] 1914[38] Fairhope Alabama Socialist Party of America
M.E. Kirkpatrick 1911[39] Granite City Illinois Socialist Party of America
Bob Kiss 2006 2012 Burlington Vermont Vermont Progressive Party
N. L. Larson 1912[40] 1913 Crookston Minnesota Socialist Party of America
James Larson 1911[20] Marinette Wisconsin Socialist Party of America
Daniel T. Leigh 1906 1907 Cedar City Utah Socialist Party of America[41]
Arthur LeSueur 1910[42] 1911 Minot North Dakota Socialist Party of America
David Love 1916[43] West Allis Wisconsin Socialist Party of America
James Love 1914[19] 1916[19] Lake Worth Florida Socialist Party of America
Chokwe Lumumba[VII] 2013 2014 Jackson Mississippi Democratic Party
Chokwe Antar Lumumba[44] 2017 present Jackson Mississippi Democratic Party
George R. Lunn 1911[45]
1915[45]		 1913[45]
1917[45]		 Schenectady New York Socialist Party of America
Edward Mauck 1911[20] Wymore Nebraska Socialist Party of America
Jasper McLevy 1933 1957 Bridgeport Connecticut Socialist Party of America
John A. C. Menton 1911[20] 1912 (April)[46] Flint Michigan Socialist Party of America
Andrew Mitchell 1908[47] Eureka Utah Socialist Party of America
Robert Murray 1911 1915 Toronto Ohio Socialist Party of America
A. Ousdahl 1909 1910 Brainerd Minnesota Socialist Party of America[48]
Thomas W. Pape 1912[25] Lorain Ohio Socialist Party of America
Alfred A. Perrin 1912[25] 1913 Mount Vernon Ohio Socialist Party of America
E.E. Robinson 1911 1913 Mineral Ridge Ohio Socialist Party of America
Bernie Sanders[VIII] 1981 1989 Burlington Vermont Independent
Henry M. Schutte 1915 Adamston West Virginia Socialist Party of America
Emil Seidel 1910 (April 6)[49] 1912 Milwaukee Wisconsin Socialist Party of America
William Shay 1911 1917 Star City West Virginia Socialist Party of America
Corbin Shook 1912[25] Lima Ohio Socialist Party of America
Peter Stewart 1912 (April 3)[50] 1914 (April)[51] Hartford Arkansas Socialist Party of America
Henry Stolze, Jr. 1911[20] Manitowoc Wisconsin Socialist Party of America
Ernst Gottfrid Strand 1916[52] 1917[52] Two Harbors Minnesota Socialist Party of America
J. Henry Stump 1927
1935
1943		 1931
1939
1947		 Reading Pennsylvania Socialist Party of America
William Swoboda 1931 (April)[53] 1932 (April)[54] Racine Wisconsin Socialist Party of America
Fred W. Suitor 1929[32] 1931[32] Barre Vermont Socialist Party of America
Albert B. Thomas 1911[55] Greenville Michigan Socialist Party of America
William Thum 1911[20] 1913[8] Pasadena California Socialist Party of America
Thomas M. Todd 1909[8] 1914[8] Grand Junction Colorado Socialist Party of America
Walter V. Tyler 1912[56] 1915 New Castle Pennsylvania Socialist Party of America
George Urie 1912 1913 Cedar City Utah Socialist Party of America[41]
Thomas Van Lear[IX] 1917[57] 1919 Minneapolis Minnesota Public Ownership Party
A. W. Vincent 1914[58] 1915 St. Johns Oregon Socialist Party of America
Joseph Warnock 1912[59] Harbor Springs Michigan Socialist Party of America
Brand Whitlock 1908?[60] 1912? Toledo Ohio Socialist Party of America
Scott Wilkins 1912[61] 1913 St. Marys Ohio Socialist Party of America
J. Stitt Wilson 1911[20] 1913 Berkeley California Socialist Party of America
John T. Wood 1911[62] 1913[62] Coeur d'Alène Idaho Socialist Party of America
Seth Wood 1913[8] 1914[8] Lafayette Colorado Socialist Party of America
Ewell Work 1910 (April)[63] 1912? Ledford Illinois Socialist Party of America
Frank P. Zeidler 1948 1960 Milwaukee Wisconsin Socialist Party of America

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.[10][11]
  • III^ Clavelle became a member of the Democratic Party in 2004.
  • IV^ Chase and Coulter were both elected mayor for the Social Democratic Party, but the party later merged itself with a dissident faction of the Socialist Labor Party in 1901 and founded the Socialist Party of America.[64]
  • V^ His name is alternatively spelled Lewis J. Duncan.[65][66]
  • 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.[11]
    • The Rockford Labor Legion was a coalition of local trade unions, socialist organizations and temperance societies.[11]
  • VII^ Lumumba was self-described as a socialist.[67]
  • VIII^ Sanders has declared himself to be a democratic socialist.[68]
  • IX^ Van Lear was expelled from the Socialist Party in 1918

Footnotes
  1. Weinstein, James (1967). The Decline of Socialism in America 1912–1925. New York: Monthly Review Press, reprinted in 1969 by Vintage Books (Random House), Table 2: "Cities and Towns Electing Socialist Mayors or Other Major Municipal Officers, 1911–1920", pp. 116–118.
  2. Hoxie, Robert F. (October 1911). ""The Rising Tide of Socialism": A Study" (PDF). The Journal of Political Economy. 19 (8): 609–631. doi:10.1086/251906. JSTOR 1819423.
  3. Ghent, W.J., ed. (1916). Socialism and Government: Working Programs and Records of Socialists in Office. Girard, KS: Appeal to Reason. pp. 46. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  4. Ross 2015, p. 619.
  5. "Deadly Assault on Socialist Mayor," Chicago Daily Socialist, Dec. 17, 1906, pg. 3.
  6. "Socialists Elected," San Bernardino County Sun, April 4, 1920, pg. 3.
  7. Belgum, David Rudolph (1990). Memoirs of Iowa's Only Socialist Mayor. Iowa City: Rose of Sharon Publishing House.
  8. Ross, The Socialist Party of America, pg. 610.
  9. Hal Nelson 1968, pp. 102.
  10. Nelson 1968, pp. 102.
  11. Bengston 1999, pp. 209.
  12. "Socialist Mayor Assumes Office: The Inauguration of Mayor Born at Sheboygan Marks the First Municipal Victory for Socialism in Wisconsin," Social Democratic Herald [Milwaukee], April 25, 1903, pg. 1.
  13. Expelled by State Executive Board of the Social Democratic Party of Wisconsin on Jan. 16, 1904, for approving a private concession for a city trolley line. See: "The Expulsion of Mayor Born," Social Democratic Herald, Jan. 23, 1904, pg.5.
  14. Bedford 1966, pg. 90.
  15. Bedford 1966, pg. 117.
  16. John S. McCormick and John R. Sillito, A History of Utah Radicalism: Startling, Socialistic, and Decidedly Revolutionary. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2011; pg. 192.
  17. "Edmonds and Its Socialist Mayor," The Coming Nation, whole no. 34 (May 6, 1911), p. 5.
  18. Won election in November 1899 by a plurality of 1,564. See: Appeal to Reason, Dec. 16, 1899, pg. 4.
  19. Ross, The Socialist Party of America, pg. 612.
  20. "The Socialist Avalanche," Political Action [Milwaukee], whole no. 39 (April 15, 1911), pg. 1.
  21. "Butte Mayor and Sheriff Ousted". Herald Journal. October 7, 1914. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  22. Hook, Jim (September 16, 2016). "Mayor John Fetterman to speak to local Democrats". Public Opinion. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  23. "Address of a Socialist Mayor," American Labor Union Journal, vol. 1, no. 26 (April 2, 1903), pg. 2
  24. Arrington 1922, pp. 487.
  25. "1,000 Socialists Now in Office," Chicago Daily Socialist, vol. 6, no. 33 (Dec. 2, 1911), p. 1.
  26. Political Action [Milwaukee], whole no. 39 (April 15, 1911), pg. 1.
  27. Peter Buckingham, "Red Tom" Hickey: The Uncrowned King of Texas Socialism. College Station, TX: Texas A&M Press, 2020; p. 153
  28. "A Socialist Mayor: New Jersey Socialists Carry Rahway," The New Age (Buffalo), June 1, 1922, pg. 5.
  29. "Socialists Sweep Norwalk Election; Party's Candidates for Mayor, Sheriff, Treasurer, and 11 for City Council Win". The New York Times. October 7, 1947. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  30. "Freese Quits Socialists In Norwalk: Mayor Heads Party of Independents for November Election," Hartford Courant, August 14, 1951. Freese ran again for office as an independent, winning additional two year terms in 1951, 1953, and 1957. See: Ross, The Socialist Party of America, pg. 612.
  31. "Elect Socialist Mayor" (PDF). The New York Times. November 5, 1919. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  32. Fry, Amy Lyons (2003). "Socialist Mayors". In John J. Duffy; Samuel B. Hand; Ralph H. Orth (eds.). The Vermont Encyclopedia. University of Vermont Press. p. 274.
  33. "Socialists Elect Mayor of Two Harbors, Minn.," Chicago Daily Socialist, vol. 5, no. 126 (March 23, 1911), p. 1.
  34. "Socialist Mayor Frank B. Hamilton" was embroiled in a federal sedition case late in 1918. See: Ohio Socialist, whole no. 49 (Jan. 1, 1919), pp. 1, 4. He was elected in Nov. 1917, according to "Frank B. Hamilton," Archived 2014-03-12 at the Wayback Machine Miami County Genealogical Researchers, http://www.thetroyhistoricalsociety.org/
  35. Ann Arbor Call, whole no. 91 (August 17, 1912), pg. 2.
  36. Elected to two terms, 1911 and 1913. See: John S. McCormick and John R. Sillito, A History of Utah Radicalism, pg. 201.
  37. "Socialist Mayor Chosen" (PDF). The New York Times. September 18, 1912. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  38. Ross, The Socialist Party of America, pg. 609.
  39. Oscar Leonard, "From Mill Hand to Mayor," The Coming Nation, whole no. 37 (April 23, 1911), p. 14.
  40. "Elections Bring Victory!!" Social Democratic Herald [Milwaukee], vo. 14, no. 28, whole no. 693 (Nov. 11, 1911), p. 1.
  41. John S. McCormick and John R. Sillito, A History of Utah Radicalism, pg. 189.
  42. LeSueur was elected on a ballot which did not list party affiliation but he was a veteran Socialist nominated to run by Local Grand Forks. See: Mila Tupper Maynard, "A Socialist Mayor and an Almost Mayor," Social-Democratic Herald [Milwaukee], vol. 13, no. 35, whole no. 648 (Dec. 31, 1910), pg. 2.
  43. Love was elected by a margin of 164 votes in the April 1916 election. "About the Milwaukee Election: Socialists Elect Mayor and Two Socialist Aldermen in West Allis," St. Louis Labor, whole no. 794 (April 22, 1916), pg. 8.
  44. Gilbert, Katie (September 5, 2017). "The Socialist Experiment". Oxford American. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  45. "Democrats Fail in Hunt for Candidate" (PDF). The New York Times. July 6, 1918. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  46. "Socialst Mayor Defeated" (PDF). The New York Times. April 2, 1912. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  47. John S. McCormick and John R. Sillito, A History of Utah Radicalism, pg. 190.
  48. "Brainerd, Minn., Elects Socialist Mayor," St. Louis Labor, vol. 6, whole no. 429 (April 24, 1909), pg. 5.
  49. "Socialst Mayor for Milwaukee" (PDF). The New York Times. April 6, 1910. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  50. "Arkansas Socialist Mayor" (PDF). The New York Times. April 4, 1912. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  51. "Socialist Mayor Defeated". The Los Angeles Times. April 9, 1914. Retrieved February 5, 2010. (pay-fee for article)
  52. Bengston 1999, pp. 182.
  53. "'Fruits of Victory' Suit Fruit-Selling Mayor-Elect". Milwaukee Sentinel. April 9, 1931. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  54. "Socialst Mayor Resigns from Party". Reading Eagle. April 9, 1932. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  55. "Socialists in Greenville," The Coming Nation, whole no. 35 (May 13, 1911), p. 11.
  56. http://newcastlepa.org/History/Mayors/Mayors/mayors_13.html
  57. "Socialist Mayor Talks for Hillquit" (PDF). The New York Times. November 5, 1917. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  58. Michael Munk, "Socialist Party of Oregon," The Oregon Encyclopedia.
  59. A.R. Pontius, "Victory in Michigan," Appeal to Reason, whole no. 851 (March 23, 1912), p. 3.
  60. Won 4th term in Nov. 1911 according to "Elections Bring Victory!!" Social Democratic Herald [Milwaukee], vo. 14, no. 28, whole no. 693 (Nov. 11, 1911), p. 1.
  61. "Comrades Who Will Control the City Government of St. Marys Ohio for the Next Two Years," International Socialist Review, vol. 12, no. 6 (Dec. 1911), pp. 376-378.
  62. French 1914, pp. 917.
  63. "Elect Mayor as Socialist," Chicago Daily Socialist, vol. 4, no. 156 (April 27, 1910), pg. 4.
  64. Bedford 1966, pp. 122.
  65. "One Man is Killed in Rioting and Million Damage". The New York Times. June 24, 1914. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  66. "Butte Mayor is Stabbed by Miner". The New York Times. July 6, 1914. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  67. Sunkara, Bhaskar (2014-06-01). "Free the Land: An Interview with Chokwe Lumumba". Jacobin. Retrieved 2017-04-09. But he was quick to portray his movement as an inclusive socialist one.
  68. Lerer, Lisa (2009-07-16). "Where's the outrage over AIG bonuses?". The Politico. Retrieved 2009-08-04. Only a handful of members, including self-described democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), criticized Goldman’s payments and questioned whether the company also received additional government assistance through the Federal Reserve.

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.
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