Editor’s Note
Zohran Mamdani was an obscure state assembly member when he entered the New York City mayor’s race polling at around one percent. Building support on social media with a relentless message of making the city more affordable, he won handily against former Governor Andrew Cuomo. His come-from-behind victory left many New Yorkers scratching their heads, wondering how a professed socialist could be elected mayor of the country’s most populous city.
There was a time, however, when socialists played a significant role in local government. A 1912 article in the National Municipal Review, for instance, counted the number of socialists elected to local office in the spring of 1911:
Twenty-eight mayors, village presidents, and township chairmen; 167 aldermen, councilors, and village and township trustees; 15 assessors; 62 school officials; 65 connected with the administration of justice and the police, and 67 others in minor capacities.
According to the Review, the total number of socialists serving in state and local offices that year was estimated to be between 1,100 and 1,200.
The Socialist Party of America was founded in 1901 when the short-lived Social Democratic Party merged with a reformist faction of the more radical Socialist Labor Party. Pursuing a non-revolutionary strategy of winning power through the ballot box, the party grew rapidly with support from industrial unionists, agrarian populists, social reformers, and European immigrants.
At the local level, the party’s candidates tended to downplay ideology, focusing instead on fighting corruption and improving city services. Their nuts-and-bolts emphasis on professionalism and infrastructure earned them the label of “sewer socialists,” a term some observers have associated with Mamdani.
The sewer socialists and Progressive Era municipal reformers had some common areas of interest. Both groups supported home rule charters, proportional representation, and direct democracy measures (the initiative, referendum, and recall). Both sought to make local government more efficient and less beholden to corrupt party bosses. They disagreed on whether local elections should be party or nonpartisan. The Socialists hoped to use local elections as a means of building a national party and achieving their goal—gradually replacing capitalism with a “co-operative commonwealth.”
The Socialist Party began to lose support after World War I. Many Socialists were jailed, ejected from public office, or deported in the “Red Scare” of 1920. The socialist movement was deeply divided over the Bolshevik Revolution, and a combination of external repression, declining public support, and sectarianism plagued the party, which never regained the promise it showed in 1920, when presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs won nearly a million votes while serving a prison sentence.
Of all the sewer socialists, none was more successful than Daniel P. Hoan, who served as mayor of Milwaukee from 1916 until 1944. According to the online Encyclopedia of Milwaukee, Hoan “transformed Milwaukee from a graft-ridden, ineffective municipality to a well-governed city that received national recognition for its high-quality services. Winning ten consecutive citywide elections as a Socialist, Hoan joined the Democrats during World War II and helped reshape the modern state party.”
What follows is a profile of Mayor Hoan written in 1940 by political scientist Joseph P. Harris, a frequent contributor to the National Municipal Review.
By Joseph P. Harris
“We cannot afford to turn the city over to the Socialists again,” said Mayor Bading in the 1916 mayoralty campaign, when he opposed the youthful Socialist candidate, Daniel W. Hoan. He went on to say: “It would paralyze the world. It would mean that the city would be isolated, it would be shunned.”
Mayor Hoan is now serving his fifth term, and in 1932, at the end of the present term, he will have been mayor of the city of Milwaukee for sixteen years. This record is all the more remarkable in view of the fact that Milwaukee is not a Socialist city, despite the common impression to the contrary, and the Socialists have not commanded a majority in the council at any time during these terms. At the last election, the Socialists lost five members in the council, but “Dan” Hoan was elected by the largest majority he ever received. In fact, his opponents now complain that they cannot get a good candidate to run against him, for the public confidence in his honesty, ability, and zeal for the public welfare is so great that no outstanding person in public life cares to oppose him…
He was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, a small city near the outskirts of Milwaukee, in 1881. His father was the village blacksmith and town radical, who was not looked upon with favor by his fellow townsmen because of his radicalism. When Dan was fourteen years of age, his father died, and he was forced to stop school to support the family. He started to work in one of the resort hotels in Waukesha as a helper in the kitchen. By the time he was twenty-one years of age, he had become a chef and had worked in some of the finest hotels in Milwaukee and Chicago…
At the age of twenty-one, Daniel Hoan returned to school, entering the University of Wisconsin. There, he worked his way as a cook for a fraternity, but his work did not prevent him from being active in student life. He organized the first Socialist club among the students and was elected president of the senior class in his last year…
He entered Kent Law School, graduated and was admitted to the bar in 1908. At that time, he was offered an attractive position with a prosperous law firm which had a large corporate practice, but he refused and started into business for himself…
In 1910, when Hoan was only twenty-nine years of age and had been admitted to the bar only two years, he was put on the Socialist ticket as a candidate for city attorney. The leaders of the party had confidence in him, and there were none too many attorneys within the ranks of the party to choose from. By chance, a Socialist landslide of that year carried the entire ticket, headed by Emil Seidel for mayor, into office. Two years later, the Socialists were swept out of power, but the office of city attorney had been given a four-year term, and so Hoan remained in office. In 1914 he was reelected city attorney by a small majority.
As city attorney of Milwaukee, Hoan made a remarkable record. He selected as subordinates capable young attorneys who have since risen to the top of the profession…Hoan not only looked after the routine legal business of the city in an efficient and energetic manner, but he also attracted a great deal of attention by bringing suits against the local gas and electric companies and winning them. He forced down the utility rates, forced the streetcar company to pave and sprinkle between its tracks, and brought action successfully against the railroads to abolish many grade crossings in the city. He also won an important case concerning the power of the city to regulate billboards. His vigorous prosecution of the duties of the office and defense of the rights of the public earned him the public approval and confidence that made him mayor.
In 1916, Hoan was chosen by the Socialists to run for mayor. He was elected by a narrow majority. Mayor Bading, his opponent, charged the Socialists with being “liars, indecent, un-American, red-flaggers, not fit for office, anarchists and political pirates…” In a typical speech, he said:
“The slogans of the Nonpartisans (coalition of the Democrats and Republicans against the Socialists) included the following: “Either Socialism or the American government must perish. Join the nearest anti-Red club, young man. It is up to you, young man, to recall the spirit of ’76 and retire all the Reds.”
Candidate Hoan, however, was a doughty campaigner. He replied to the charge of radicalism, red flag, and “save Milwaukee,” as follows:
“The main issue of this campaign is whether the flag of the streetcar company will float over the City Hall instead of the Stars and Stripes left there by Emil Seidel, former Socialist mayor. I refuse to believe that it is necessary to sell out the City Hall to the streetcar company and its black flag of monopolistic piracy in order to be American citizens.”
Hoan charged that his opponents were the tools of the utilities. In order to make his charges against the utilities more effective, he took to his public meetings a piece of water pipe taken from the city mains, which had holes in it eaten by electrolysis from the escaping current of the utility company. When the election was over, Hoan had won by a narrow majority, but the council was against him, and the other city offices were filled by Nonpartisans. The election of 1918 turned largely upon the loyalty issue. The Socialist platform of that year contained a plank opposing the entrance of the United States into the World War, and the patrioteers whooped it up against Hoan.
The mayor, however, defended his war record and support of the national government, and, while he lost many votes because of the war hysteria, he undoubtedly gained other votes from racial (sic) groups opposed to the war, particularly the Germans, and was returned to office by a narrow majority. The same issue was used in the election of 1920, and the result again was close. In this election, Hoan was criticized for failure to invite the King of Belgium to visit the city. He was reported to have replied during the campaign: “To hell with the King; I am for the common man.”
In 1924, he was opposed by Dave Rose, a former mayor of the city who had served five terms, and who was a seasoned campaigner with a flamboyant style of oratory. In the old days, when Rose was mayor of the city…it was wide open to every sort of vice, gambling, and prostitution, and to corruption in the city hall. During his last term, Rose spent much of the time making anti-prohibition speeches throughout the country for the brewery interests.
After retiring from the office of mayor, Rose became connected with several questionable financial ventures, became bankrupt, later tried to establish himself in China, New York City, and other places, and finally returned to Milwaukee to save the city from Socialism. It appeared at first that Rose would be a formidable candidate, and in the primary, he polled more votes than Hoan, but before the election was held, his record was exposed, the women voters were aroused against him, and Hoan was reelected by a majority of over 17,000 votes.
In this campaign, Rose ran on a platform of economy and reduced taxes, as well as the old standby—the bogey of Socialism. Mayor Hoan took the bold stand that there could be no reduction in the taxes without sacrificing the schools, the park system, the public health work, or other essential work of the city. He dared to tell audiences of wealthy citizens that they, and not the radicals, were the real enemies of the city, for they would cripple the city’s activities by shouting about high taxes.
In the 1918 election, no opposing candidate of any considerable strength announced himself against Hoan. His opponent in the final election, Charles Shallitz, while strong enough to capture the Republican nomination and be elected sheriff two years earlier, had no chance of election, and Hoan made no campaign whatever. He was reelected by a majority of 18,000 in an extremely light election. In this election, he carried even the wealthiest and most conservative wards of the city. He is commonly looked upon by the conservative groups of the city as being one-tenth a Socialist and nine-tenths a lawyer and businessman, and a good one.
His popularity is not due to a magnetic personality, though he is democratic, approachable, and tactful. It is always easy to see the mayor, and his office is not infested with politicians. He is not a silver-tongued orator, though an effective speaker. There is no bluff or bluster about him. In short, he does not maintain his popularity with the people of the city by any of the usual arts of the politician, but rather by his rugged honesty, his constant fight for the public interest, and his far-sighted judgment and vision of a greater and better city.
Legally a Weak Mayor
In announcing his candidacy in 1928, Hoan declared that the city of Milwaukee had developed from one of the worst-governed cities in the country in 1910 to one of the best-governed cities. He went on to point out that the various municipal departments had been reorganized and cleaned up, despite obstructions and opposition of the city council. This is an actual record of achievement, and one that is remarkable in view of the limited legal powers of the mayor and, with the exception of one term, the opposition of the city council.
The powers of the mayor of Milwaukee are weak. He appoints the heads of the principal departments, but his appointments are subject to confirmation by the council, and he does not have the power of removal. Although Hoan was first elected mayor in 1916, it was not until 1922 that he was able to secure confirmation for a single mayoral appointment, except that of chief of police. The old chief of police he was able to force out by evidence of corruption and graft, which he secured. During the period before 1922, the council kept the incumbents in office by refusing to confirm the new appointments sent in by the mayor. A number of offices were mismanaged, and for years the mayor tried to clean them up, but to no avail until he secured a sympathetic council. For example, a former building commissioner permitted the building code to be violated at the request of members of the council, and administered the duties of the office in a way which the mayor disapproved, but it was not until finally a coalition could be formed between the Socialists and several Polish Nonpartisan members of the council that a new commissioner, a Polish architect, could be confirmed.
With the election of eleven Socialist councilmen in 1920, and the support of two other members, Hoan secured a majority of the council, and proceeded to clean up the city departments by appointing men of outstanding ability to head them.
A Friend of City Planning
Mayor Hoan has taken a leading part in all the large projects for the development of Milwaukee. For years, he had been a strong advocate of city planning and has backed up the public land commission (the city planning board) with vigorous vetoes when the council has attempted to break down the zoning law.
In 1926, the council voted an amendment to the zoning law to permit the building of two-story flats over stores. Hoan vetoed the ordinance.
Mayor Hoan has realized for years the importance of the harbor and has supported plans for its development. One of the problems of harbor development was that of acquiring riparian rights to the land bordering on the lake. Years ago, a committee of the council was created to see what could be done toward securing one large strip along the lakefront, which was still privately owned. For ten years, this committee carried on, but made no progress. Finally, the mayor took the initiative to see what he could do. He broached the matter to some of the wealthiest citizens who owned land along the lakefront, and was soon able to get the landowners to donate the riparian rights along the lakefront to the city, and now the city owns the entire lakefront. One large tract was purchased for park purposes at an extremely favorable price. Another part of the harbor development has been the building of a lakefront park. When Mayor Hoan first began to talk about the development of a lakefront park, of securing riparian land rights, and of developing the harbor, he was looked upon as a visionary and was opposed by selfish real estate interests. Now that the land has been secured, and at practically no cost, the lakefront park built, and harbor plans laid, the whole development is looked upon as one of the largest achievements of the city.
Led the Fight for Home Rule
Mayor Hoan led the fight for home rule in the state. This fight, too, was an uphill and discouraging affair. Once the voters of the state voted down the referendum proposition. The present home rule amendment to the state constitution, which is one of the broadest grants in any of the states, was drafted by Hoan. He secured the support of the state League of Municipalities and was by far the most influential person backing the amendment before the state legislative sessions at which the matter came up.
Within recent years, his interests in state legislation have centered largely on the so-called power bills. Legally, the cities of the state may acquire their utilities and operate them, but practically, they have a very limited power because of the narrow debt limit of cities, which in most cases has been practically used up. In 1928, the League of Municipalities adopted a legislative program to make it possible for the cities to own and operate their utilities. One bill would permit the cities to issue utility bonds, which would be a charge against the utility and would not become a part of the indebtedness of the city. Another bill would permit the cities with municipally-owned utilities to form a utility district, merging the utilities of the various cities so that the economies of large-scale production would be possible. Another bill related to the taxing of utilities, and so this program was submitted to the league; there was little or no opposition. Various persons explained and defended the program, but no one opposed it. Hoan arose and urged that no vote be taken until every member was fully aware of what the program meant, and proceeded to advance every argument which would be made against it, and to discuss each.
In many other public matters, Mayor Hoan has taken a very important part in protecting the public interest and planning for the future. Many important developments have been made, which should be credited in large part to him. Some years ago, the position of real estate agent was created to protect the city against the paying of exorbitant prices for real estate. Milwaukee is probably the only city in the country which has a commissioner of annexation, whose business it is to work for the annexation of outlying suburbs. Hoan has been particularly active in promoting annexation, often making speeches in the outlying sections, explaining the advantages of coming into the city. Mayor Hoan was one of the first persons to urge the state to bring suit against the city of Chicago for excessive diversion of water from Lake Michigan.
At the present time, an investigation is being conducted by a special committee of the council, which competent observers say is designed to embarrass the mayor. One part of the investigation has to do with a fund of $10,000, which the mayor has from the sale of government surplus goods following the war. Since the city did not have the power to undertake the sale of the army surplus goods, the mayor undertook it in his capacity as a private citizen, arranging for the sale in the public market. Several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of goods were sold, and a profit of $10,000 was realized. This the mayor has in his own name in a special fund. He has offered it to the council five or six times, with the stipulation, however, that it be used in connection with the development of a public market. The council has refused to accept it under the terms and is now investigating the well-known fact that there is such a fund in existence. Other charges and rumors of a more serious nature, involving members of the council, are being overlooked or whitewashed. While a vigorous attempt will be made to discredit the mayor, it seems quite likely that he will be stronger at the end of the investigation than at the start.
