Arthur L. Selland (December 31, 1905 – December 5, 1963) was an American politician, and mayor of Fresno, California from 1958 to 1963.

Early life and family

Selland was born on December 31, 1905, to Henrik "Henry" Augustin Alfsen Selland and Helga Marie Christine Anderson in Flaxton, North Dakota, the eldest son and second of eleven children. Both parents immigrated with their families from

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and settled in the area of the

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North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

and

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. Arthur and his family moved to California around 1910 originally settling in Shasta County. On October 1, 1927, Selland married Ceclia Victoria in

Jackson County, Oregon Jackson County is one of the Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 223,259. The county seat is Medford, Oregon, Medford. The county Oregon Geographic Names ...

. By 1935, the Sellands moved to Fresno where Arthur worked for

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in the

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Regional Office. He would go into stock trading and become a wealthy stockbroker during the later years of the

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. Selland was also involved with

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as a charter member of the Jim Savage Chapter.

Civic career

Selland became involved with community affairs when he joined the Fresno City Schools as a board of trustee and eventually board president. On April 8, 1958, Selland beat out incumbent Mayor C. Cal Evans and former mayor Gordon Dunn with 40% of the vote out of nine candidates. In 1962, Selland ran an unsuccessful

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run losing to B. F. Sisk.

Mayoralty

Selland was the genesis of Downtown Fresno redevelopment by backing and pushing through the

Victor Gruen Victor David Gruen, born Viktor David Grünbaum
retrieved 25 February 2012 (July 18, 1903 – February 1 ...

designed Fulton Mall (Fresno) which would turn a six-block portion of the city's main business center into a walkable pedestrian mall. Selland also pushed for the construction of the Fresno Convention Center in an effort to grow business and advance Fresno as a mid-size city. Advocating for business growth and city redevelopment attracted the attention of President

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

which resulted in Selland being asked to be one of 16 mayors nationwide to join Kennedy in his West Berlin Tour in June 1963. Selland was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 1963 and was in the process of gaining support for the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

amongst mayors when he was killed in an automobile accident on December 5, 1963.

Death

The accident was a result of driver negligence of missing a stop sign in dense fog. The crash killed Selland and Fresno Chamber of Commerce President Herbert Ferguson while severely injuring Richard Worrel and driver Lloyd Weber just thirteen days after the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

Tributes

Several items in and around the city of Fresno are named in his honor: * Selland Arena, completed in 1966, is named for him. * Selland Avenue, which runs in a north–south direction however not continuous between Herndon Avenue and Weldon Avenue. * The Arthur L. Selland Memorial Scholarship is an annual award to full-time undergraduate or graduate students of

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

References

* * * Fresno Bee, The. George Hostetter. "'He Gave all He Had'- Selland's Death, Now Largely Forgotten, Shocked Fresno.” Fresno Bee, The (CA), 2013, p. A1. America's News, infoweb-newsbank-com.fr.ezproxy.sjvls.org/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/14A7ACB6886D45B8. Accessed 15 July 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Selland, Arthur L. 1905 births 1963 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in California Mayors of Fresno, California Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors Road incident deaths in California