Irving Freese

Freese attended a one-room school in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and was graduated from New Brunswick High School. He first came to Norwalk in 1928, while visiting his brother Arnold. He found work as the assistant credit manager at the Norwalk Tire and Rubber Company, as a Johnson & Johnson salesman, as a cost accountant at the American Hat Company, and at the Standard Safety Razor Corporation as a credit manager. He later started a photography business. In October 1933, he met Elizabeth Hutchinson, the niece of the newly elected mayor of nearby Bridgeport, Jasper McLevy at his victory party. They were married in June 1934. They had a son they named Jasper, after her uncle, in August 1936.{{Cite web|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2229&dat=19530322&id=ulYmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DwAGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6005,3375450|title = Jasper Inspired Me To Clean Up Norwalk|last = Freese|first = Irving C.|date = 1953-03-22|website = Google News|publisher = Connecticut Sunday Herald|access-date = 2016-04-15}}

Freese was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor in 1939, 1941, 1943 and 1945.{{Cite web|url = http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/CT/ofc/norwalk.html|title = The Political Graveyard: Norwalk, Connecticut|last = Kestenbaum|first = Lawrence|website = politicalgraveyard.com|access-date = 2016-04-15}} In those unsuccessful elections, he received between 400 and 600 votes apiece. Then he was a candidate for the Connecticut House of Representatives from Norwalk in 1946.{{Citation needed|date = February 2013}}

In 1947, the citizens of Norwalk elected Socialist Freese as mayor with a total of 8,561 votes. Freese was elected again as a Socialist in 1949. In 1951, he broke from the Socialist Party{{cite news |first= |last= |title=Freese Quits Socialists In Norwalk: Mayor Heads Party of Independents for November Election |url= |work=Hartford Courant |publisher= |date=August 14, 1951}} and defeated Republican candidate Stanley Stroffolino, despite Stroffolino's endorsement by the Republicans, the Democrats and the Socialists with whom Freese had just parted company.{{Cite web|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VKgtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RXYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5847,2238035&dq=irving+freese&hl=en|title = Irving Freese, Five-Time Mayor, Dies of Heart Ailment At Age 61|date = 1964-09-12|website = Google News|publisher = The Norwalk Hour|access-date = 2016-04-15}} He was elected three times after forming the Independent Party of Norwalk in 1951, 1953 and 1957.{{Cite news|url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C00E1DC123AE233A25754C0A9669D946693D6CF|title = SOCIALISTS SWEEP NORWALK ELECTION; Party's Candidates for Mayor, Sheriff, Treasurer, and 11 for City Council Win|date = 1947-10-07|newspaper = The New York Times|issn = 0362-4331|access-date = 2016-04-15}}

• Irving Freese Park at 1 Main Street in downtown Norwalk is named for him.
• Troop 19, the oldest Boy Scout Troop in Norwalk, was founded on March 3, 1930 by Freese[http://www.scoutlander.com/publicsite/unithome.aspx?UID=20650 Boy Scout Troop 19] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324034434/http://www.scoutlander.com/publicsite/unithome.aspx?UID=20650 |date=March 24, 2013 }}
• The Irving Freese Apartments, a public housing residence at 57 Ward Street, as well as the Irving Freese Community Room at the same location are named for him.

• List of elected socialist mayors in the United States

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{{succession box|title=Mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut|before=Edward J. Kelley|after=George Brunjes|years=1947-1955}}

{{succession box|title=Mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut|before=George Brunjes|after=John Shostak|years=1957-1959}}

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Category:1903 births

Category:1964 deaths

Category:Mayors of Norwalk, Connecticut

Category:New Brunswick High School alumni

Category:People from East Brunswick, New Jersey

Category:Socialist Party of America politicians from Connecticut

Category:20th-century mayors of places in Connecticut