With the creation of the Socialist Party of America, this group formed the core of an element which favored Democratic socialism over Orthodox Marxism, deemphasizing social theory and revolutionary rhetoric and in favor of honest government and efforts to improve public health. The Sewer Socialists fought to clean up what they saw as "the dirty and polluted legacy of the Industrial Revolution,"[3] cleaning up neighborhoods and factories with new sanitation systems, city-owned water and power systems, and improved education. The movement has its origins in the organization of the Social Democratic Party, a precursor to the Socialist Party of America.

In this US, the profusion of levels of government means that if you don't win on national level you can fight locally.

I have to wonder whether the Left has to be redeemed at the local level before there can be national Left alone an international Left.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg