List of Communist Party USA members who have held office in the United States

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The following American politicians are members of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) who have held elected office in the United States. The CPUSA used to field candidates under its own banner, or under the banner of a third party, such as the Nonpartisan League.

Contents

Federal officials

As of 2023, no Communist Party member has been elected to office in the federal government.

State officials

As of 2023, one Communist Party member has been elected to office in a state government.

Upper houses

Former (1)

NameDistrictStateOfficeTerm StartTerm EndNotesRef
Charles E. Taylor unk Montana Senate January 5, 1925March 13, 1929ran as Montana Farmer-Labor Party candidate, but not open Communist [1] [2] [3]

Local officials

As of 2023, six Communist Party members have been elected to a mayor's office or city council office.

Mayors

Former (1)

NameStateAreaOfficeDistrictTerm StartTerm EndNotesRef
Karl Emil Nygard Minnesota Crosby Mayor [lower-alpha 1] At-LargeJanuary 3, 1933January 2, 1934 [4]

City and county councils

Current (1)

NameStateAreaOfficeDistrictTerm StartTerm EndNotesRef
Denise Winebrenner Edwards Pennsylvania Wilkinsburg Borough CouncilWard 3January 2018January 2024ran as Democratic Party candidate, but also open Communist Party member [5]

Former (5)

NameStateAreaOfficeDistrictTerm StartTerm EndNotesRef
Wahsayah Whitebird Wisconsin Ashland City CouncilWard 6April 17, 2019April 2021 [6]
Denise Winebrenner Edwards Pennsylvania Wilkinsburg Borough CouncilWard 3January 1998January 2010ran as Democratic Party candidate, but also open Communist Party member [7] [8]
Kenny Jones Missouri St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 2219832002 [9]
Benjamin J. Davis Jr. New York New York City City Council At-largeMarch 1, 1943December 31, 1949
Peter Cacchione New York New York City City Council At-largeJanuary 1, 1942November 6, 1947

Other local officials

Former (1)

NameStateAreaOfficeDistrictTerm StartTerm EndNotesRef
Rodney Salisbury Montana Sheridan County SheriffAt-Large19221928ran as Montana Farmer-Labor Party candidate, but not open Communist [2]

See also

Notes

  1. Called "President of the Village Council".

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References

  1. "Charles E. Taylor". Ballotpedia.
  2. 1 2 "The Communists of Sheridan County". Montana Senior News. 2019-12-01.
  3. Dyson, Lowell K. (1972). "The Red Peasant International in America". The Journal of American History. 58 (4): 958–973. doi:10.2307/1917853. ISSN   0021-8723. JSTOR   1917853.
  4. Kreighbaum, Hillier (December 16, 1932). "Communist Mayor-Elect of Crosby, Minn., Tells of Plans". The Bakersfield Californian. Bakersfield, CA. p. 7. Retrieved December 3, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. "Borough Council". Wilkinsburg Borough Council.
  6. Johnson, Earchiel (2019-05-07). "Native American communist topples incumbent council president in Wisconsin town". People's World. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  7. Pecinovsky, Tony (2020-05-08). "100 years of CPUSA: A critical reply to "Jacobin"". Communist Party USA. And in 1997, Denise Winebrenner Edwards was elected to the Wilkinsburg, PA, city council.
  8. "Ballot Access News -- December 5, 1997". www.ballot-access.org. Retrieved 2020-08-02. On November 4, Denise Winebrenner Edwards was elected to the Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania borough council. Although she was a Democratic Party nominee, she is also a leader of the Communist Party, a fact which was well known during the campaign.
  9. Pecinovsky, Tony (2020-05-08). "100 years of CPUSA: A critical reply to "Jacobin"". Communist Party USA. Retrieved 2020-08-02. In 1983, the African American Communist Kenny Jones became the alderman of the 22nd Ward in St. Louis (...)