Selwyn George Carrol (October 31, 1928 – December 21, 2010) was an American politician who served as a member of the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska 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 per ...

from 1972 to 1974.

Early life

Carrol was a native of

Altamonte Springs, Florida Altamonte Springs is a suburban city in central Florida in Seminole County, Florida, United States, which had a population of 46,231 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is in the northern suburbs of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metro ...

. He was raised in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

and attended

Stanton College Preparatory School Stanton College Preparatory School is a preparatory high school in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Stanton College Preparatory School is a highly selective school that offers both the Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate ...

. He moved to Alaska around 1958, while serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Career

He settled in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

, in 1966, and was a social worker affiliated with the Alaska Department of Public Welfare by August 1967, before joining the Alaska Department of Corrections as a supervisor of the youth detention center in the Alaska State Jail. Carrol was hired by the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District in May 1970 as an attendance officer, and later served the district as a middle school teacher.

Politics

Carrol won the Republican Party nomination for a seat on the

during the 1970 election cycle, but lost in the general election. He was elected a state representative in the 1972 election. Upon taking office, Carrol became the first African American member of the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There are 40 Hou ...

to be affiliated with the Republican Party. In his single term on the Alaska House of Representatives, Carrol chaired the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee and was a member of the Labor and Management Committee. Carrol sought an

Alaska Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska 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 rejecting gub ...

seat in 1974, finishing first in a Republican Party primary, though he lost a close three-way race to incumbent

John Butrovich John Butrovich Jr. (March 22, 1910 – June 3, 1997) was an American businessman and politician from Alaska. He was a member of the Republican Party, and was that party's nominee in the 1958 gubernatorial election. Life & career Born in a minin ...

. Carrol's 1976 campaign for reelection to the state house reported no deficit in September 1976. He received $8,050 in total donations during the election cycle, and spent the same amount on his campaign. Expenditures included a fine of $10, assessed by the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Carrol finished tenth of twelve total candidates for the seat. Carrol moved to

Hampton County, South Carolina Hampton County is a rural county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,561. Its county seat is Hampton. It was named for Confederate Civil War general Wade Hampton, who in the late 1870s, with ...

, in 1977, where he remained for the rest of his life and served as county auditor. Carrol died on December 21, 2010, and was buried at the

Beaufort National Cemetery Beaufort National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Beaufort County, in the city of Beaufort, South Carolina. Managed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of 2014, had over 19,000 in ...

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrol, Selwyn 1928 births 2010 deaths Burials at Beaufort National Cemetery Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Alaska County officials in South Carolina County auditors in the United States South Carolina Republicans Schoolteachers from Alaska United States Army soldiers 20th-century American educators African-American schoolteachers Politicians from Fairbanks, Alaska 20th-century American politicians People from Hampton County, South Carolina Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida People from Altamonte Springs, Florida African-American people in South Carolina politics American social workers Military personnel from Florida Military personnel from Alaska 20th-century African-American politicians African-American men in politics 21st-century African-American people