Karl Emil Nygard

Karl Emil Nygard, also known as Emil C. Nygard and under the pen name Ada M. Oredigger (August 25, 1906 – April 26, 1984), was an American Communist politician who became the first Communist mayor in the United States when he was elected president of the village council of Crosby, Minnesota, in 1932.[1]

Karl Emil Nygard
Mayor of Crosby, Minnesota
In office
January 3, 1933 – January 2, 1934
Personal details
Born(1906-08-25)August 25, 1906
Iron Belt, Wisconsin
DiedApril 26, 1984(1984-04-26) (aged 77)
Political partyCommunist
SpouseHelen Koski

Political life

The son of Swedish-speaking immigrants from Finland, Nygard was born in Iron Belt, Wisconsin, and grew up in Crosby, Minnesota.[2] He ran for mayor in 1930 and 1931 but lost by 250 and 48 votes, respectively. In the November 1932 general election, he ran unsuccessfully for state railroad and warehouse commissioner, polling 9,458 votes statewide. In the December 6, 1932, village election, he won the mayoralty on the Workers Ticket with 529 votes, against 359 for incumbent F. H. Kraus and 301 for Ernest B. Erickson; he was inaugurated on January 3, 1933.

Saying that he was "under the strict discipline of the Communist party", Nygard incorporated the Workers Advisory Committee into the municipal government by allowing it to pass bills before they went before the village council. On a controversial trip to New York City in 1933, he was accused of exaggerating his influence to Communist audiences and boasted of his challenges to the authority of Crosby police and businessmen. One of his acts in office was to declare May Day an official holiday. Nygard was defeated for reelection in December 1933[3] and made his last run in 1934.

Personal life

Nygard married Helen Koski, a Mennonite,[4] in 1936 and they raised their family in Becker County. Though he distanced himself from the Communist Party, he reportedly remained committed to Marxism for the rest of his life. Nygard died in 1984.

References
  1. 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
  2. Alanen, Arnold Robert (2012). "Finland Swedes". Finns in Minnesota. St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 9780873518604. OCLC 918316682. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  3. "Town's Communist Mayor Defeated". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, MO. December 6, 1933. p. 15. Retrieved December 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. "Helen e. Nygard Obituary". Archived from the original on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
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