Frank Zeidler was born in Milwaukee on September 20, 1912, the son of a barber and the third of four children in a German Lutheran family. He grew up in the Merrill Park neighborhood on Milwaukee's near west side. After graduating from West Division High School and attending classes at Marquette University, he found himself compelled by the Depression to seek employment. He worked as a surveyor and topographical engineer from 1931 to 1948.
Despite the hardships of the Depression, Frank Zeidler continued to educate himself by studying extensively at the Clybourn Street branch of the Milwaukee Public Library. There he read the works of many prominent Socialists and was attracted by the ideal of cooperative commonwealths. He joined the Socialist Party in 1932 and became the secretary of the party in Milwaukee in 1937. He met his wife Agnes through work for the party and they married in 1939.
In 1940, Frank Zeidler's older brother Carl was elected mayor of Milwaukee. Ambitious, handsome and politically moderate, Carl Zeidler was considered a likely candidate for national office. However, Carl stepped down as mayor in the middle of his first term to join the war and was killed in action at sea.
In 1941, Frank Zeidler was elected to the Milwaukee School Board. In 1948, he ran for mayor against Henry Reuss. Zeidler won the race despite attempts by the press to brand him a dangerous subversive. He served as mayor until 1960 when he decided not to run for a fourth term.
As mayor, Frank Zeidler played a pivotal role in Milwaukee’s growth, more than doubling the land area of the city while fighting the forces of suburban sprawl. He led the city’s postwar urban renewal effort that saw the advent of public housing and numerous other improvements including the construction of a new expressway system, museum, arena and civic center. At the same time, he succeeded in advancing the tradition of honest and efficient government established by Milwaukee Socialists in the first half of the century.
After leaving office, Zeidler continued to pursue activities geared toward achieving social justice. He worked as an arbitrator, college instructor, consultant, historian and activist. In 1976, he ran for president as the Socialist Party candidate.
Frank Zeidler passed away on July 7, 2006, at the age of 93. He is survived by his wife Agnes and their six children. Their daughter Jeanne Zeidler is the mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia.
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