Alexander J. Chmurski (April 19, 1899 – January 20, 1951) was an American

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

who served one term (1929-1930) as a Republican member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

from the 11th

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

district (the City of Milwaukee's 11th and 24th wards).

Background

Chmurski was born April 19, 1899, in Milwaukee. He attended

parochial schools A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The w ...

and

Milwaukee Public Schools Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is the largest school district in Wisconsin. As of the 2015–16 school year, MPS served 75,568 students in 154 schools and had 9,636 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. The system is one of the largest i ...

, later also attending the

Marquette Conservatory of Music Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Initially a ...

and the Milwaukee Art Institute. He worked in the printing trade, then as an office clerk. In 1915 he started working for

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...

, and by 1918 had advanced to machinist in the factory.

Legislative and electoral history

In 1928 he unseated incumbent

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Elmer Baumann in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, with 3,358 votes to 3,056 for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

George H. Brier and 2,989 for Baumann. He was assigned to the

standing committees A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

on engrossed bills and on state affairs. Chmurski was himself unseated in the Republican

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

of 1930; his victorious opponent, John C. Bauer or Baur, in turn lost the general election to Socialist George L. Tews. He sought nomination in the next two primaries in the 11th district, losing in the 1932 Republican primary. He ran in the 1934 primary of the Progressive Party (which in Wisconsin had split from the Republicans), and won nomination; but came in third in a five-way race, behind the Democrat and the Socialist, but ahead of the Republican nominee and an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. Chmurski died on 20 January 1951.''The Rhinelander Daily News'', 22 January 1951
p.1
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References

1899 births Machinists Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from Milwaukee 1951 deaths Marquette University alumni Wisconsin Progressives (1924) 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Republican-1890s-stub