Ingrid Blom Sheldon (born 1945) is an American politician who served as the 59th mayor of

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

from 1993 to 2000. A moderate Republican, she served four two-year terms in the post. To date, Sheldon remains the city's last Republican mayor.

Education

Sheldon earned a Bachelor of Science in education from Eastern Michigan University and a master's in education from the University of Michigan. Sheldon then worked as a sixth grade teacher for three years.

Career

Sheldon became involved in city government during these years, and first ran for elected office in 1988, when she was elected to the city council as a Republican. Four years later, Sheldon ran for mayor against incumbent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Liz Brater Elizabeth Brater (born April 12, 1951) is a Democratic former member of the Michigan Senate, who represented the 18th district from 2003 to 2010, and served as the Assistant Minority Leader. Her district included the cities of Ann Arbor and Y ...

. The campaign was seen as one of Ann Arbor's more divisive mayoral contests of recent years. Sheldon defeated Brater in the April 5, 1993 election. Sheldon won reelection over Democratic challenger David F. Stead in November 1994. In Sheldon's reelection campaigns of 1996 and 1998, she won narrowly against Ann Arbor city councilman

Chris Kolb Chris Kolb (born 1958) is a politician from Ann Arbor, Michigan and a former member of the Michigan State House of Representatives. A Democrat, Kolb represented the 53rd district, based in Ann Arbor, from January 2001 to January 2007. He was fi ...

. Sheldon left office in 2000 when she decided not to run for re-election, and was succeeded by Democrat John Hieftje. As a Republican mayor in an overwhelmingly Democratic city, and facing large Democratic majorities on the city council throughout her tenure, Sheldon took a moderate approach to governance. Like many Ann Arbor Republicans, she was a

fiscal conservative Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., ''An ...

and a

social liberal Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...

. During her years as mayor, Sheldon served on the board of the Michigan Association of Mayors, and served as president of the Michigan Municipal League. She chaired the league's Let Local Votes Count campaign, an attempt in 2000 to pass a state initiative that would limit the state government's ability to overturn local municipalities' ordinances. Since leaving office, Sheldon has been involved with a number of local nonprofit organizations, including the

Ann Arbor Summer Festival The Ann Arbor Summer Festival (A2SF) champions performing arts, outdoor entertainment, and community spirit. In addition to a nearly four-week festival each June that attracts a diverse audience of over 80,000 people and offers over 200 concerts ...

and the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre. Sheldon discusses her childhood and experiences as mayor in an essay in the book ''Ann Arbor (W)rites: A Community Memoir.'' Sheldon remains an active member of the

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

community, including working as a bookkeeper at a tennis club.

Personal life

Sheldon's husband, Cliff Sheldon, served as a member of the

city council from 1978 to 1982. She has two children and six grandchildren.

References

Mayors of Ann Arbor page
at ''PoliticalGraveyard.com'' *

on Teeter Talk, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Ingrid 1945 births Living people Mayors of Ann Arbor, Michigan University of Michigan alumni Eastern Michigan University alumni Michigan Republicans Women mayors of places in Michigan 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians