An Interview with Jeanne Zeidler

By Jason Sibert

Although Jeanne Zeidler didn’t serve as mayor of a major city or run for the highest office in the land like her father, his spirit lived on in her own political career and in her life. Jeanne’s dad, Frank Zeidler (1912-2006), was the well-known socialist mayor (1948-1960) of Milwaukee, Wisc.  Frank Zeidler was considered a “sewer socialist,” a municipal movement that stressed public ownership of sewers and electrical systems, quality public services, and also social insurance to protect working people from the downs of the economy. Jeanne Zeidler served as the Mayor of Williamsburg Va. from 1998 to 2010. She was a trailblazer in this respect, as she was the first female mayor of the small Virginia municipality. Her thoughts on the issues of the day can serve as a guide for those who are striving to make our country a better place from the ground up in their individual municipalities.

Question: Your father was dedicated to the cause of peace and internationalism. We was involved in both the United Nations Association and the World Federalist Association. What were your remembrances of him being involved in these causes?

Mrs. Zeidler: When I think of my father and peace, I think of his striving for world peace and him writing about it and intentionally trying to create an understanding between people of different backgrounds and cultures. What comes to my mind specifically is peace in the community and trying to create a harmonious community where all people are treated equitably and his continual fight for civil rights of all people. It’s not international peace, I know, but to me they are so linked together because that is who he is. He fought locally, regionally, nationally and internationally on the same sorts of issues that are about connecting people and taking care of people and reaching out to those who are less advantaged that we are. That’s what I think about when I think about him and peace. He was active in the World Federalist Association and for many years chaired the United Nations Association chapter in Milwaukee. Those were vehicles for him to realize this larger vision.

Question: Have your father’s ideas on peace been passed on to you?

Mrs. Zeidler: I hope so. They are certainly the way I profess to live and encourage others to do so as well.

Question: Your father called himself a socialist. Do you call yourself a socialist as well?

Mrs. Zeidler: In his tradition, yes, the Social Democratic Party of America. In a pragmatic sense, I have aligned with the Democratic Party in my community and my state, as my mother did, but not as a way of moving away from my father’s values – as I share them – but as a way of trying to accomplish the task of making the world a better place.

Question: We’ve seen the emergence in the United States, and in Europe as well, of what some call right-wing populism and that includes Donald Trump in the United States and Marine LePen in France and Nigel Farage in the United Kingdom. It differs from 80’s era Reaganism, particularly on immigration and trade. If your father were still alive, how horrific would he find this trend?

Mrs. Zeidler: He would speak against them, no question about it. I don’t know if horrific is a word I would apply to my father in any way, but he would be very outspoken and I think compelling in his thinking and arguments about it.

Question: Was your dad involved in the opposition to the Vietnam War?

Mrs. Zeidler: He spoke against it, but he really was not aligned with some of the more violent protests that came out of it, the student protests – that was left to us kids. I was at the University of Wisconsin at the time, and I was involved in some of those tear gassed things.

Question: Your dad was involved with what’s been called “sewer socialism,” what some called the right-wing of the Socialist Party.

Mrs. Zeidler: I don’t know if I would apply the term left-wing or right-wing, but his philosophy was that public enterprise – as he called it – needs to step in where the needs of the people and the community are not being met by private enterprise. He was not a communist or looking for the takeover of all the means of production, but there were things like education and transportation, and public utilities that he felt were necessary for all people and that needed to be delivered more equitably and efficiently by public enterprise than by private enterprise.

Question: Can there be a modern version of this (sewer socialism) that emerges. If so, what does that mean?

Mrs. Zeidler: I think those are important and valuable ideas and that they need to be striven for and worked toward. I can’t give you an example of a place where this has played out particularly, and I think that’s because I’ve been concentrating on my community. I have continued to believe that those are viable ideas, but that will take us to a better and more equitable society where everybody can have an opportunity to achieve their potential.

Question: Did you have a vibe for politics when you saw your dad as mayor?

Mrs. Zeidler: It was something I didn’t want to do. Politics can be very hard on families because if you are in politics you’ll be making decisions that aren’t popular with everyone. When people get really angry at you, they take it out not just on your but on your family – your children. I was determined to stay away from politics, until I didn’t.

Question: You were appointed to the Williams and James School board in 1990, were elected to the Williamsburg City Council in 1994, and to vice-mayor of the city in 1996 before serving as mayor. I know you also worked for a museum.

Mrs. Zeidler: I was not going to enter politics, but there was part of my background in growing up was the idea that people have an obligation to serve their community or work collaboratively with their community to make it better. So, it was the public service/public servant role that I got from my father and my family. I think it began as I worked for an organization in Hampton (Virginia) that was started by an African-American man and a white woman who were creating arts and history and cultural programs to bring black and white children not so long after school desegregation here. The work that I learned from my family and my father about working for civil rights and providing opportunity for everyone, that came natural to me when I started working in Hampton. When I went to Hampton University, it was an extension of that work in many ways, through my work at the museum, to create an understanding of other cultures though the museum and through the history of the school. One thing in Hampton is that they have a very strong commitment to public service and to working as a community. While I was there I was able to take a position on the school board in Williamsburg and after four years on the school board I ran for a seat on the city council where I served for 16 years.

Question: Did your dad’s experiences as Mayor of Milwaukee influence how you handled your job as mayor of Williamsburg?

Mrs. Zeidler: Yes, it was a different job because of the size of the municipality. My dad was the chief executive in Milwaukee. Williamsburg, like most Virginia cities, has a city manager/council form of government. The job of the mayor is not to run the city but to lead the elected body in making policy and hiring the city manager and chief administrator, that sort of thing. It was a different job, but I will tell you that I learned a lot from my father about listening to constituents and showing up where you need to show up so people knew not only that you were interested in them but what was happening in the community and that you know their aspirations as well as their fears. You also had to learn to lead a board and run a meeting in a way that instilled confidence in citizens that their government is well-run and in a way that provides each member of that board the opportunity to have their ideas expressed and discussed and taken seriously because that’s what you have to do to be an effective leader and to get the best decisions.

Question: There have been attempts in recent years to push through reforms, such as a higher minimum wage and more renewable energy, on a municipal level. Can you talk about the future of municipal reform?

Mrs. Zeidler: I think it looks pretty promising, the mayors – particularly large city mayors – have more clout and power and have taken a lead on the climate issue. The same with governors of states. When I was mayor, I did sign on to a national mayors’ climate change plan, it was an attempt to reduce our carbon footprint…We were able to do some things that made a difference for our environment. When you make a commitment to do it, there are big and small things and they all help.  Weather or not there is a movement on the national level to deal with it, we still have to pay attention to our own backyards and what we’re going because we all contribute to it.

Question: A town board in Lansing, New York recently discussed a resolution supporting nuclear arms control. Can cities have their own foreign policy?

Mrs. Zeidler: Yes, I think it brings attention to the issue and making people aware. It can always make a difference. I don’t know that every city having their own foreign policy is the way to go. We really need to rally people around a common cause.

Question: Your dad, and the sewer socialists in general, believed in clean government and balanced budgets in delivering services to their constituents.  When any government program is implemented, one of the critiques is that there will be too much graft and too much money spent. How important is clean government to a municipal reformer? Did you find out about this as a mayor?

Mrs. Zeidler: Clean government is foundational, you can’t have progress or move toward an equitable system if you have corruption and graft. Clean government is foundational concept. I’ll say that Williamsburg is small, and I’m proud to say that I can think of no instances that I’m aware of that there was graft or corruption. We had people who disagreed on policy and direction for the city but not anybody who not honest and didn’t have the best interests at heart. They just understood what the best was differently.

Question: Would you say delivering services was your most important accomplishment as mayor?

Mrs. Zeidler: That (city services) and leading the city team, I worked hard in making sure we were all moving in the same direction and when the elected members had differences everyone felt heard and respected. We were also clear in explaining our actions to our citizens so people had confidence in their government.

Question: Do you remember your father’s run for President (on the Socialist Party U.S.A. ticket) in 1976? Did he campaign and speak around the country?

Mrs. Zeidler: Yes, his first speech was here in Williamsburg. His inaugural campaign speech was here, so that was cool. In the summer of 1976, my husband and I went to England where he was an exchange professor for that year. He was not in the United States for the last months of that campaign.

Question: Your father was a Lutheran? I guess he was what you would call a Christian socialist? His socialism came out of his Christian faith?

Mrs. Zeidler: He was an active Lutheran. He was very active in the Lutheran church and was on the board of the (Lutheran) Church in America, or one of those organizations. His brother, my uncle, was president of the Lutheran seminary. My father was a Christian, but I don’t know if I would call him a Christian socialist, that has other connotations. He was a socialist who was a Christian who saw the church and its ethical teachings as a vehicle to promote a society that works for all.

Jason Sibert is the executive director of the Peace Economy Project.