[This thesis examines the life of Charles B. Whitnall an important and influential member of Milwaukee's Socialist Party and a founding member on the both the city and county's planning boards in the early twentieth century, whose work has seldom been studied in its entirety. This paper shows how Whitnall used both his central position in the successful Socialist Party and his earlier life's lessons as a florist to advocate for early decentrali zation of the city and county of Milwaukee.]