Robert Kenneth Straus (October 22, 1905 – February 24, 1997) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who served on the New York City Council from 1938 to 1941, representing Manhattan. He bought the San Fernando Valley Sun in 1958 and founded Sun Litho Inc., a commercial printer.
Shortly after his father's death, Straus ran for a seat on the newly-formed New York City Council in 1937. Running as a member of the City Fusion Party,[4] his campaign committee was headed by Adolf A. Berle[5] and he was supported by mayorFiorello La Guardia, the American Labor Party, and judge Samuel Seabury's Citizens Non-Partisan Committee.[6] During the campaign, Straus was an enthusiastic advocate for the new proportional representation system, educating voters on how it worked.[7] He was ultimately elected with 65,177 votes, after shifts.[8] He was re-elected in 1939, but was defeated in 1941.
Inspired by the teachings of Alfred Korzybski, Straus became a proponent of general semantics and advocated for its inclusion into the curriculum of Pace University. In 1985, he founded the Barbara and Robert K. Straus Thinking and Learning Center on Pace's Manhattan campus. He was an officer of the Institute of General Semantics.[9]
