Emil Seidel

Emil Seidel (December 13, 1864 – June 24, 1947) was an American woodworker, patternmaker and politician. Seidel was the mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912. The first Socialist mayor of a major city in the United States, Seidel became the vice presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America in the 1912 presidential election.

Early years

Seidel was born December 13, 1864, in the town of Ashland in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, the son of ethnic German emigrants from Pomerania. His family moved to Wisconsin in 1867, living first in Prairie du Chien before moving to the state capital of Madison.

In 1895, Seidel married Lucy Geissel.

Early political involvement

When Seidel returned to the United States in 1892 he joined the Socialist Labor Party of America. Seidel was a charter member of the first SLP branch in Milwaukee.

Seidel later joined the Social Democracy of America (established 1897), the Social Democratic Party of America (established 1898), and the Socialist Party of America (established 1901) in turn. He resided briefly in Washington state, serving as the first secretary of Local Redmond SPA in the fall of 1901.

First and second Common Council tenures (1904–1908; 1909–1910)

In 1904 Seidel was one of nine Socialists to win electoral victory as Milwaukee city aldermen on the Milwaukee Common Council (city council), being elected in the city's 20th ward. Seidel served two consecutive terms as 20th ward alderman before making his first mayoral run in 1908. Despite winning more votes in 1912 than in 1910, Seidel was defeated by Gerhard Bading, local doctor, professor of surgery, and commissioner of health, on a fusion Democratic-Republican ticket. Seidel was a Wisconsin delegate at the 1932 Socialist National Convention, which was held in Milwaukee.

Later years Seidel retired from political life in the mid-1930s. He remained a resident of Milwaukee, living on the northwest side of the city, passing his time painting, composing music, creating poetry, and writing his autobiography.

Death and legacy Seidel died in Milwaukee on June 24, 1947, following an illness of several months' duration related to complications from a heart condition. His grave was unmarked for 70 years until 2017 when a marker was placed.

Seidel's unpublished memoirs reside in Madison at the Wisconsin Historical Society, where they are available to scholars on microfilm.