Administrative/Biographical History
The All Rockford Party was organized in February 1957 to support the mayoral candidacy of seventh ward alderman Benjamin T. Schleicher. Many of Rockford’s independent voters and leading industrialists, disillusioned with the administration of Milton Lundstrom, lent organizational and financial support to the new party. Clifford Carlson served as the party’s first chairman. The All Rockford Party ticket, consisting of Schleicher, Robert J. Lindley for city clerk and Emil P. Olson for city treasurer, won the election by a margin of almost two to one. During the early years of the All Rockford Party the emphasis was placed on capital improvements such as bridge repair, schools, off street parking, flood control, and the removal of trees damaged by Dutch elm disease.
Mayor Schleicher was reelected in 1961, 1965, and 1969. In 1969 he ran as a Republican and defeated the popular and powerful Democratic candidate E. J. "Zeke" Giorgi. The anti- Republican backlash of the Watergate era, combined with local political conditions, were among the factors that led to Schleicher’s defeat in 1973 by his Democratic challenger Robert McGaw.
Some political observers give credit to Schleicher and the All Rockford Party for leading the city through an era of significant growth and development. Most often cited as major accomplishments include: restoring the city’s financial stability, capital improvements, urban renewal, improvements in the police and fire departments, and establishing a reforestation program for the city.
