[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 92 (Friday, July 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7553-S7554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       THE LIFE OF FRANK ZEIDLER

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I join the city of Milwaukee and 
the entire State of Wisconsin in mourning the loss of Mayor Frank 
Zeidler. When he passed away on July 7, Wisconsin lost one of its most 
principled and progressive leaders.
  Mayor Zeidler was born in 1912 in Milwaukee, WI, and lived there 
throughout his life. He grew up in the Merrill Park neighborhood on the 
city's west side and attended Marquette University and the University 
of Chicago. In addition to his long career in public service to the 
city of Milwaukee, Zeidler read relentlessly, loved statistics, 
collected fossils, and rewrote Shakespeare.
  Mayor Zeidler served in public office for more than 20 years and is 
widely known as Milwaukee's last socialist mayor. His career in public 
service began in 1938 when he was first elected to public office as 
county surveyor, and he then went on to serve for 7 years on the 
Milwaukee School Board.
  Then, in 1948, he was elected to serve as mayor of the city of 
Milwaukee, a position he would hold for over a decade. When he took 
office, his goal was

[[Page S7554]]

to act in ``the public welfare'' and he did so by presiding over 
Milwaukee during a period of growth and prosperity.
  Under Mayor Zeidler's leadership, Milwaukee reached new heights, as 
he improved city services and led Milwaukee in a time of strong 
economic growth. During his 12 years in office, Mayor Zeidler presided 
over a period of great development and prosperity: Milwaukee factories 
were booming, poverty and crime remained low, and the city's population 
peaked at over 740,000. He also revamped and expanded a wide array of 
city services.
  It has been said that Mayor Zeidler was the ``opposite of a 
politician in it for the money.'' In 1953, when he earned $16,500 as 
the mayor of Milwaukee, he gave $2,400 of it back to the city. By 1983, 
when he was 70 years old, it was reported that he received Social 
Security but did not take a pension. He also took the bus for most of 
his life.
  Zeidler was an expert on the history of Milwaukee and a man of 
unquestioned personal integrity. This is what made him one of 
Milwaukee's most respected political figures and local institutions. In 
1985, the Greater Milwaukee Conference on Religion and Urban Affairs 
began awarding a Frank Zeidler Award for contributions to social 
concerns in the religious community. Then, in 1995, the Milwaukee 
government office building immediately east of City Hall was named the 
Frank Zeidler Municipal Building.
  Throughout his life, Mayor Zeidler remained an active and respected 
member of the Milwaukee community. Wisconsin will always be grateful 
for what he achieved, and for who he was--a man dedicated to principle, 
progressive ideas, and public service.

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