Brent Sanford (born December 23, 1971) is an American politician who was the 38th lieutenant governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was Mayor of Watford City from 2010 to 2016.

Career

Sanford graduated from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in accounting in 1994. He is a

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Stat ...

. He worked for Eide Bailly LLP from 1994 through 2002, and then became the

chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

of Transwest Trucks in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. He moved back to Watford City in 2004, taking over his family-run car dealership. He was elected to the Watford

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in 2006, and was elected mayor in 2010, defeating Kent Pelton, the incumbent mayor.

Doug Burgum Douglas James Burgum ( ; born August 1, 1956) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 55th United States Secretary of the Interior, United States secretary of the interior since February 1, 2025, under President Donald Tru ...

chose Sanford as his running mate in the 2016 gubernatorial election. The ticket won the general election. They won a second term in the 2020 election. On December 20, 2022, Sanford announced his resignation as lieutenant governor, effective January 2, 2023, in order to return to the private sector and spend more time with his family. In April 2023, the North Dakota Petroleum Council hired Sanford to recruit immigrants to work on oil fields in the Bakken formation.

Personal life

Sanford and his wife, Sandra, have three children. Sanford's father served on the Watford City Council and his grandfather was mayor.

References

External links

, - 1971 births 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century North Dakota politicians 21st-century mayors of places in North Dakota American accountants Businesspeople from North Dakota Lieutenant governors of North Dakota Living people North Dakota city council members North Dakota Republicans People from McKenzie County, North Dakota University of North Dakota alumni {{NorthDakota-politician-stub