Arthur L. Selland (December 31, 1905 – December 5, 1963) was an American politician, and

mayor of Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It cover ...

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 North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

, the eldest son and second of eleven children. Both parents immigrated with their families from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and settled in the area of the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Arthur and his family moved to California around 1910 originally settling in

Shasta County Shasta County (), officially the County of Shasta, is a county in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from the 2010 census. The county seat is Redding. Shasta ...

. 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

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...

in the

Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy (Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', informally referred to as ''Bankitalia''), (), is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's curre ...

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

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Selland was also involved with

E Clampus Vitus The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV) is a fraternal organization dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of Western United States, the American West, especially the history of the Mother Lode#California Mother Lode, Mother ...

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 Charles Calvin Evans was a real estate agent and Fresno mayor for 364 days from April 22, 1957, to April 21, 1958. As of 2020, Evans term as mayor of Fresno, California is the shortest term not resulting from succession appointment in the city's ...

and former mayor

Gordon Dunn Gordon Glover "Slinger" Dunn (April 16, 1912 – July 26, 1964) was an American discus thrower who won a silver medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics, a U.S. Navy lieutenant, and former mayor of Fresno, California from 1949-1957. Godron Dunn was bo ...

with 40% of the vote out of nine candidates. In 1962, Selland ran a unsuccessful Congressional 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) The Fulton Mall was a six-block corridor in downtown Fresno, California which was closed to traffic in 1964 and made into a pedestrians only mall. Despite opening to much fanfare, the downtown mall suffered from the city's suburban expansion, e ...

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 The Fresno Convention & Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Fresno, California. The four-building complex was originally made up of three main venues when completed in 1966, and underwent several expansions with the latest addit ...

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 * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States * John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana * Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...

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 The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded i ...

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 on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

Tributes

Several items in and around the city of Fresno are named in his honor: *

Selland Arena Selland Arena is a multi-purpose arena built in 1966 that makes up part of a four-venue complex of the Fresno Convention and Entertainment Center in Fresno, California. It is named after former Fresno mayor Arthur L. Selland and has had over ...

, 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. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

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 Mayors of Fresno, California Road incident deaths in California 20th-century American politicians Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors