Bill Sheffield
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William Jennings Sheffield Jr. (June 26, 1928 – November 4, 2022) was an American Democratic politician who was the fifth
governor of Alaska A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
from 1982 to 1986. Sheffield's term in the governor's mansion was marked by controversy including attempts to have him
impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...
.


Background

Sheffield was born in
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
. He served in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
from 1946 to 1949 and went to DeVry University, then DeForest Training School. Sheffield moved to Alaska in 1953 to sell and service home appliances for
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
. He became active in the local chamber of commerce group, where his participation enabled him to overcome a severe stutter. Sheffield later founded a hospitality business, Sheffield Enterprises, that grew to own and operate 19 Sheffield House hotels across Alaska and in
Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...
,
Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
. He sold the business to
Holland America Line Holland America Line N.V. (HAL) is an American cruise line operating as a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Founded in 1873 in Rotterdam, Netherlands as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company (NASM), the company operated regular trans ...
in 1987. In addition to his business career, Sheffield was involved in politics and government as a Democrat, and was a delegate to numerous local, state, and national party conventions. He served on the
Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...
Planning Commission from 1960 to 1963, and the Anchorage Charter Commission in 1976. In addition, Sheffield served as chair of the state parole board and the University of Alaska Foundation Board. He died at his Anchorage home on November 4, 2022. He was 94.


Governorship

While governor, Sheffield pushed an unpopular bill through the Alaska state legislature to consolidate the state's
time zones Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to compa ...
. 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 Dutch Harbor is a harbor on Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June, 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked it just seven months after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. To this day, ...
) into the Yukon Time Zone (which was then renamed the Alaska Time Zone). 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 saving time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time, daylight time (Daylight saving time in the United States, United States and Daylight saving time in Canada, Canada), or summer time (British Summer Time, United Kingdom, ...
. 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 Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
time, and with others claiming that Sheffield broke his promise to revisit the change after a one-year trial period.


Impeachment inquiry

As governor, Sheffield was brought before a
grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...
investigating a contract that had been awarded by the state amid allegations of favoritism and lack of due process in the awarding process. Sheffield was not indicted. The grand jury report urged the impeachment of Sheffield. The report was leaked to the public after an anonymous source alerted the members of the news media that a waste receptacle in the court building in which grand jury deliberations had been held contained a copy of the report. After the report was leaked, deliberations about an impeachment began. An impeachment inquiry was conducted to determine whether the
Alaska Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or reje ...
would impeach. An impeachment would have led to an
impeachment trial An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment. Differences exist between governments as to what stage trials take place ...
in the
Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people pe ...
. By a 3–2 vote, the committee running the inquiry into Sheffield voted to send the Senate a report concluding that there was insufficient evidence against Sheffield to warrant an impeachment. Instead of impeachment, Senate opted to instead pass a resolution condemning Sheffield's gubernatorial administration for favoritism.


Later career

After leaving the position of Governor, Sheffield served as chairman of the board of directors for
Alaska Railroad The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad that operates freight and passenger trains in the state of Alaska. The railroad's mainline runs between Seward, Alaska, Seward on the southern coast and Fairbanks, Alaska, Fairbanks, near the center of ...
from 1985 to 1997. In 1997 he was promoted to president and CEO of the railroad, where he served until 2001. As of 2008, he was on the railroad's Board of Directors as vice chairman.


References


Authored book

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External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheffield, Bill 1928 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American railroad executives 21st-century American memoirists 21st-century American railroad executives American Presbyterians Democratic Party governors of Alaska DeVry University alumni Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska Politicians from Spokane, Washington Military personnel from Spokane, Washington Writers from Anchorage, Alaska Writers from Spokane, Washington 20th-century Alaska politicians