George Henry Sheldon (June 3, 1947 – August 23, 2018) was an American attorney and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as a member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

, as the secretary of the

Florida Department of Children and Families The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is a state agency of Florida. Its headquarters are at 2415 North Monroe St., Ste. 400 in Tallahassee, Florida. The department provides social services in Florida to children, adults, refugees ...

, and as the acting assistant secretary at the federal

Administration for Children and Families The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is headed by the assistant secretary of health and human services for children and families. It has a $49 bill ...

within the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, he ran unsuccessfully for

Attorney General of Florida The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is one of Florida's ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Biography

George Sheldon was born in

Wildwood, New Jersey Wildwood is a city in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia- Wilmington- Camden, PA-NJ- DE- MD combined ...

, on June 3, 1947. He was raised in

Plant City, Florida Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census. Despite ma ...

. He received both his B.A. and J.D. from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. Sheldon's political career began in 1969, when he was a legislative aide for state senator and future governor

Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. trade representative from 1979 ...

. Sheldon was a state representative in the

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

area from 1974 to 1982, before running against Congressman Michael Bilirakis. Sheldon would serve in private practice until 1999, when he became Deputy Attorney General for Central Florida under Attorney General

Bob Butterworth Robert A. Butterworth Jr. (born August 20, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Florida. Early life and career Butterworth was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and moved to Florida with his family as a child. He received a ...

. In 2003, he assumed the post of Associate Dean at St Thomas University School of Law; and in 2008, Sheldon became the secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families under governor

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. ( ; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. represen ...

. While at Florida DCF, Sheldon played a key role in relief efforts for refugees from Haiti's 2010 earthquake. He was also recognized by a national child welfare coalition as leading the "largest transformation of an American child welfare system in recent decades, turning Florida from the national example of failure into, relatively speaking, a leader in doing child welfare right." Sheldon would later become the acting assistant secretary for the federal

in the

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

from 2011 to 2013. Sheldon was the Democratic nominee for

in the 2014 election, but lost to incumbent Republican

Pam Bondi Pamela Jo Bondi ( ; born November 17, 1965) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who has served as the 87th United States attorney general since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 37th attorney general of Fl ...

. Sheldon died from complications of a fall in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, on August 23, 2018, at the age of 71.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, George 1947 births 2018 deaths People from Plant City, Florida People from Wildwood, New Jersey Florida State University alumni St. Thomas University (Florida) faculty Florida lawyers Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives State cabinet secretaries of Florida United States Department of Health and Human Services officials Obama administration personnel Accidental deaths in Florida Deaths from falls 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature Politicians from Cape May County, New Jersey