Edmund J. Berner was a trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 activist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 who served four terms as a Socialist

Socialist Party of America

The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...

 member of the Wisconsin State Assembly

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....

.

Background

Berner was born in Freistadt, Wisconsin in Ozaukee County on May 17, 1864, and came to Milwaukee in 1872. A cigar maker by trade, he became active in the Cigar Makers' International Union

Cigar Makers' International Union

The Journeymen Cigar Makers' International Union of America was a labor union established in 1864 that represented workers in the cigar industry...

 and the trade union movement, and held various offices therein before being elected to the Assembly.

Legislative races and service

In 1896 Berner ran for the Assembly for the 9th district of Milwaukee County (9th ward of the City of Milwaukee) 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...

/Populist, losing to 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...

 Reinhard Klabunde. In 1902 he ran as a Socialist, losing to 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...

 Jacob Kehrein

Jacob Kehrein

Jacob Keihrein was a schoolteacher and a Democratic Party politician who served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly....

, who received 1,043 votes against 1,031 for 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...

 George Christianson, 939 for Berner, and 40 for independent Louis Ziener.

In 1904 Berner challenged incumbent Kehrein and won, with 1,348 votes to 1,168 votes for Republican Frank Mueller, 844 votes for Kehrein, and 28 votes for Independent Republican Elias Lehman. He was assigned to the standing committee

Standing Committee

In the United States Congress, standing committees are permanent legislative panels established by the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate rules. . Because they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees consider bills and issues and recommend measures for...

 on public health

Public health

Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...

 and sanitation

Sanitation

Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...

. He was re-elected in 1906, defeating both Kehrein and Republican Arthur Lambeck; and was additionally assigned to the Assembly committee on libraries. In 1908 he again won out over Democratic and Republican opponents. He now listed himself as a "cigar dealer" by trade, and transferred to the Assembly committee on public improvements. He was re-elected again in 1910, for the first time polling more votes than his two major party opponents combined; and moved to the Assembly's committees on national and interstate relations, on cities, and on legislative procedure.

In 1912 he chose to run for the Wisconsin State Senate

Wisconsin State Senate

The Wisconsin Senate, the powers of which are modeled after those of the U.S. Senate, is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature, smaller than the Wisconsin State Assembly...

's 6th District seat, losing by a 97-vote margin to Democrat George Weissleder. He was succeeded in the Assembly by Democrat William E. Walsh

William E. Walsh (Wisconsin)

William E. Walsh was a tailor from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who served one term as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.- Background :...

.