Samuel J. Eldersveld
Encyclopedia
Samuel J. Eldersveld was an American
academic, political scientist, and Democratic
politician. He served as Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan from 1957 to 1959.
at the University of Michigan
, and was professor emeritus at that institution at the time of his death. The American Political Science Association
recognized Eldersveld's achievements in 1986 by creating the annual Samuel J. Eldersveld Award, meant "to honor a scholar whose lifetime professional work has made an outstanding contribution to the field," and by naming Eldersveld the first year's winner.
Eldersveld was elected mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan
as a Democrat
in 1957. He ran against the incumbent Republican
mayor William E. Brown, Jr. and independent candidate Dominick A. DeVarti, who had lost the 1957 Republican primary to Brown. Mayor William E. Brown, Jr., had served an unprecedented twelve consecutive years in office, and Eldersveld successfully quashed Brown's bid for a seventh term in the mayor's post. Eldersveld served one two-year term as mayor, but decided not to run for reelection in 1959. He died of congestive heart failure in Ann Arbor in March 2010. He was cremated and his ashes interred in the St. Andrews Episcopal Church Memorial Cloister
Garden in Ann Arbor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
academic, political scientist, and Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician. He served as Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan from 1957 to 1959.
Biography
Eldersveld had a long and distinguished career as a political scientist and professor. He spent most of his career as professor of political sciencePolitical science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, and was professor emeritus at that institution at the time of his death. The American Political Science Association
American Political Science Association
The American Political Science Association is a professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903, it publishes three academic journals...
recognized Eldersveld's achievements in 1986 by creating the annual Samuel J. Eldersveld Award, meant "to honor a scholar whose lifetime professional work has made an outstanding contribution to the field," and by naming Eldersveld the first year's winner.
Eldersveld was elected mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
in 1957. He ran against the incumbent Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
mayor William E. Brown, Jr. and independent candidate Dominick A. DeVarti, who had lost the 1957 Republican primary to Brown. Mayor William E. Brown, Jr., had served an unprecedented twelve consecutive years in office, and Eldersveld successfully quashed Brown's bid for a seventh term in the mayor's post. Eldersveld served one two-year term as mayor, but decided not to run for reelection in 1959. He died of congestive heart failure in Ann Arbor in March 2010. He was cremated and his ashes interred in the St. Andrews Episcopal Church Memorial Cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
Garden in Ann Arbor.
Selected book publications
- Eldersveld, Samuel J., and James K. Pollock. Michigan Politics in Transition: An Areal Study of Voting Trends in the Last Decade. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1942.
- _____, and Amry Vandenbosch. Government of the Netherlands. Lexington: Bureau of Govt. Research, Univ. of Kentucky, 1947.
- _____ and Albert A. Applegate. Michigan's Recounts for Governor, 1950 and 1952: A Systematic Analysis of Election Error. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1954.
- _____. Political Affiliation in Metropolitan Detroit. Ann Arbor: Institute of Public Administration, University of Michigan, 1957.
- _____. Political Parties: A Behavioral Analysis. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1964.
- _____, V. Jagannadham, and A. P. Barnabas. The Citizen and the Administrator in a Developing Democracy. Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresman, 1968.
- _____ and Bashiruddin Ahmed. Citizens and Politics: Mass Political Behavior in India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978.
- _____, Jan Kooiman, and Theo van der Tak. Bestuur en Beleid: Politiek en Bestuur in de Ogen van Kamerleden en Hoge Ambtenaren. Assen: Van Gorcum, 1980.
- _____, Jan Kooiman, and Theo van der Tak. Elite Images of Dutch Politics: Accommodation and Conflict. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1981.
- _____. Political Elites in Modern Societies: Empirical Research and Democratic Theory. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1989.
- _____, Lars Strömberg, and Wim Derksen. Local Elites in Western Democracies: A Comparative Analysis of Urban Political Leaders in the U.S., Sweden, and the Netherlands. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995.
- _____. Party Conflict and Community Development: Postwar Politics in Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1995.
- _____. Political Parties in American Society. New York: Basic Books, 1982. Second edition, with Hanes Walton, Jr., Boston: St. Martin's, 2000.
- _____ and Mingming Shen. Support for Economic and Political Change in the China Countryside: An Empirical Study of Cadres and Villagers in Four Counties, 1990 and 1996. Lanham, Md.: Lexington, 2001.
- _____ Poor America: A Comparative-Historical Study of Poverty in the U.S. and Western Europe. Lanham, Md.: Lexington, 2007.
External links
- Mayors of Ann Arbor page at PoliticalGraveyard.com
- Samuel J. Eldersveld on Arborwiki