Theodore Fritz (August 27, 1851December 19, 1922) was a grocer and local politician from

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, who served as a member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

from 1887 to 1888. He was born in Falkenburg, Prussia, and moved to Milwaukee with his family in 1856. He attended

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and

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

in Milwaukee, and became a grocer.

Public office

In May 1882, Fritz was elected to the

Milwaukee Common Council The municipal government of the U.S. city of Milwaukee, located in the state of Wisconsin, consists of a mayor and common council. Traditionally supporting progressive politicians and movements, this community has consistently proved to be a stro ...

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for the Sixth

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

to succeed Henry Smith, who had just resigned to become city

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

. He would serve four more years on the Common Council. He became a member of the state

executive committee 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 ...

of the Wisconsin People's Party, sometimes called the Labor Party (of which he'd been a founding member when in 1884 it was organized as a fusion of the

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an Political parties in the United States, American political party with an Competition law, anti-monopoly ideolog ...

and

Anti-Monopoly Party The Anti-Monopoly Party was a short-lived American political party. The party nominated Benjamin Butler for President of the United States in 1884, as did the Greenback Party, which ultimately supplanted the organization. Organizational hist ...

), and was elected to the Wisconsin Senate from the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

(the 1st, 6th, 9th, 10 and 13th Wards of the City of Milwaukee, and the

Towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Granville,

and

Wauwatosa Wauwatosa ( ; colloquially Tosa) is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 48,387 at the 2020 census. Wauwatosa is a suburb located immediately west of Milwaukee and is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It ...

) in 1886 on the People's Party ticket, with 5,612 votes to 4,322 for Republican

Fred. G. Isenring Frederick G. Isenring (April 1, 1854 – 1???) was an American politician and businessman. Biography Born in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Isenring went to a business college. He served in the Wisconsin Militia and was commissioned captain. H ...

, 2,939 for

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Garrett Dunck, and 52 for

Prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

F. W. Wallace. He was assigned to the

standing committee 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. Fritz was described in 1887 as, "smaller than the average of men; has light hair and beard, and blue eyes, and is modest in his dress. He has not had much to say so far, but has expressed his convictions by his votes." The Senate was

redistricted Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

, putting Fritz into the

4th district Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

, and in 1888 he lost to the 4th District incumbent Republican John J. Kempf, with 5,262 votes for Kempf; 3,631 for Democrat August Rebhahn; and 1,301 for Fritz. In 1892, he was the

Populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

nominee for

Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District Wisconsin's 4th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin, encompassing a part of Milwaukee County and including almost all of the city of Milwaukee (except the slivers of the c ...

, losing to Democratic incumbent

John L. Mitchell John Lendrum Mitchell (October 19, 1842June 29, 1904) was an Americans, American politician and philanthropist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A Democratic Party United States, Democrat, he served one term each in the United States Senate (1893&ndash ...

, who polled 19,616 votes to 18,294 for

Theobald Otjen Theobald Otjen (October 27, 1851 – April 11, 1924) was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin. Theobald was born to German immigrants John Conrad and Dorothea (Schreiner) Otjen, in west China Township in St. Clair County, Michigan and atten ...

, and 829 for Fritz. In 1900, he was the Populist nominee for Mayor of Milwaukee against corrupt incumbent

David Stuart Rose David Stuart Rose (June 30, 1856 – August 8, 1932) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. Background Born in Darlington, Wisconsin, Rose joined his father's law firm in Darlington. He served as mayor of Darlington in 1883 an ...

Heritage and private life

Fritz's son, Oscar M. Fritz, would become Chief Justice of the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

. He died in his son's home on December 19, 1922.Associated Press. "Aged Settler of Milwaukee Dies" ''The Oshkosh Northwestern'' December 20, 1922; p. 14, col. 4
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritz, Theodore 1851 births 1922 deaths American grocers Politicians from Milwaukee Prussian emigrants to the United States Wisconsin city council members Wisconsin Greenbacks Wisconsin Laborites Wisconsin Populists Wisconsin state senators 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature