George Henry Sheldon (June 3, 1947 – August 23, 2018) was an American attorney and politician 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 of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, 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 to children, adults, refugees, domestic ...

, and as the Acting Assistant Secretary at the federal Administration for Children and Families within the Department of Health and Human Services. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he ran unsuccessfully for Attorney General of Florida in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

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. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area and is a popular summer resort destination along the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's year-rou ...

on June 3, 1947. He was raised in

Plant City, Florida Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon, Florida, Brandon and Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland along Interstate 4. The population was 39,764 at ...

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

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

. 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 U.S. state of Florida. The city'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 the seat of Hillsborough County ...

area from 1974 to 1982, before running against Congressman

Michael Bilirakis Michael Bilirakis (born July 16, 1930) is an American politician and lawyer from Florida. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1983 until 2007, representing the 9th District of Florida. Early life The ...

. 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 attorney and politician from the U.S. 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 rec ...

. 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 governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...

. 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 Administration for Children and Families 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 U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

from 2011 to 2013. Sheldon was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Florida 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. A Republican, she served as the 37th Florida attorney general from 2011 to 2019, the first woman elected to the office. In 2020, Bondi was one of Presid ...

. Sheldon died from complications of a fall in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, 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