[DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM] ZEIDLER, Frank P.

Signed Original Typescript: "Draft. Democratic Socialist Policies for the Government of the City of New York"

N.p., n.d. (ca. 1970s). Original carbon typescript with hand corrections throughout. Corner-stapled sheets, 7pp; signed in ink by Zeidler at conclusion. Text toned, with small chips at corners and a few brief, closed tears in margins; Very Good. Undated, but likely mid-1970s from context (see note below).

A timely document, foreshadowing the ascension of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani by half a century. Zeidler presents a detailed plan for the transformation of New York City's Mayor-Council governmental structure into "a more democratic and representative body, so that it acts like a legislature on matters of city wide concern, in which issues and policies can be debated and ventilated...in which people in the boroughs have a real voice in the affairs that affect boroughs." This is followed by a detailed 20-point plan calling for a wide variety of reforms, including height limits on new construction; the reduction of motor vehicle traffic; city beautification; and the rebuilding of Harlem. Given the document's multiple references to New York's financial financial difficulties, we assume it to have been written during the mayoralty of Abraham Beame (1974-1977), when the city nearly declared bankruptcy in the face of a $600 million dollar debt-service shortfall.

Frank Zeidler (1912-2006) was perhaps America's most successful socialist politician in the post-WW2 era, serving three terms as Mayor of Milwaukee from 1948-1960. In what were arguably the worst years in American history to be a professed Socialist, Zeidler remained highly popular among his constituents, and under his tenure Milwaukee was consistently rated among the best-governed cities in the U.S. After retiring from office he remained active as a left-wing policy maker. He became Chairman of the Socialist Party USA in 1973 and was the party's candidate for President in 1976. It is not clear in what context the current document was drafted, but if our dating is correct we would surmise it was meant to be a SPUSA public policy statement, perhaps intended to draw attention to Zeidler at the time of his Presidential run. We find no evidence that the manuscript was ever separately published; only one other physical copy appears to exist, in the Milwaukee Public Library's collection of Zeidler's papers.

Price: $450.00

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