Bill Sheffield

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William Jennings Sheffield
Bill Sheffield
In office
December 6, 1982 – December 1, 1986
Lieutenant Stephen McAlpine
Preceded by Jay Hammond
Succeeded by Steve Cowper
Born June 26, 1928 (1928-06-26) (age 79)
Spokane, Washington
Political party Democratic

William Jennings Sheffield (born June 26, 1928 in Spokane, Washington)[1] is an American Democratic politician who was Governor of Alaska from 1982 to 1986. Sheffield's term in the governor's mansion was marked by controversy including attempts to have him impeached.[2]

While governor, Sheffield pushed an unpopular bill through the state legislature to consolidate Alaska's time zones. Prior to the passage of this bill, Alaska was spread over four time zones (Pacific, Yukon, Alaska-Hawaii, and Bering). Sheffield's bill placed virtually the entire state (with the sole exception of the Aleutians, starting just west of Dutch Harbor) into the Yukon Time Zone (which was then renamed the Alaska Time Zone).[1] Initially, this was poorly received; those in the panhandle lost their sense of unity with the west coast of the United States, and those in the heartland of the state were placed, in effect, in a perpetual daylight savings time. More than twenty years later, the state legislature was still debating the issue, with some members wanting to return the panhandle and capital to Seattle time, and with others claiming that Sheffield broke his promise to revisit the change after a one-year trial period.[2]

After leaving the position of Governor, Sheffield served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Alaska Railroad from 1985 to 1997. In 1997 he was promoted to President and CEO of the railroad, where he served until 2001.[1][3] As of 2008, he remains on the railroad's Board of Directors as Vice Chairman.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Bill Sheffield. NNDB. Soylent Communications (2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  2. ^ "Impeachment", New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-02-28. 
  3. ^ Alaska Railroad - History. Alaska Railroad. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
  4. ^ Press Kit (PDF). Alaska Railroad. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.


Preceded by
Jay Hammond		 Governor of Alaska
1982–1986		 Succeeded by
Steve Cowper
Preceded by
'		 President of Alaska Railroad
1997 – 2001		 Succeeded by
Patrick K. Gamble
v • d • e
Governors of Alaska
District
Territorial
State
Egan • Hickel • Miller • Egan • Hammond • Sheffield • Cowper • Hickel • Knowles • Murkowski • Palin
v • d • e
Democratic Party nominees for Governor of Alaska
Egan • Croft • Sheffield • Cowper • Knowles • Ulmer • Knowles
Flag of Alaska Stub Notice  This article about an Alaska politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Persondata
NAME Sheffield, William Jennings
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sheffield, Bill
SHORT DESCRIPTION Governor of Alaska
DATE OF BIRTH June 26, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Spokane, Washington
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Languages