# Ingrid Sheldon
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{{Short description|American politician (born 1945)}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ingrid Sheldon
| birth_name = Ingrid Blom Sheldon
| office = 59th [Mayor of Ann Arbor](/source/Mayor_of_Ann_Arbor)
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1945}}
| term_start = 1993
| term_end = 2000
| predecessor = [Liz Brater](/source/Liz_Brater)
| successor = [John Hieftje](/source/John_Hieftje)
| party = [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States))
| education = [Eastern Michigan University](/source/Eastern_Michigan_University) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))
[University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan) ([MEd](/source/MEd))
}}
'''Ingrid Blom Sheldon''' (born 1945)[{{Cite web|title=AADL Talks To: Ingrid Sheldon, 59th Mayor of Ann Arbor, 1993-2000|url=https://aadl.org/aadl_talks_to-ingrid_sheldon|website=Ann Arbor District Library|access-date=2025-11-29|date=February 23, 2023|last=Cantu|first=Amy|last2=Murphy|first2=Emily}}] is an American politician who served as the 59th [mayor](/source/mayor) of [Ann Arbor, Michigan](/source/Ann_Arbor%2C_Michigan) from 1993 to 2000. A moderate [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)), 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](/source/Eastern_Michigan_University) and a master's in education from the [University of Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan). Sheldon then worked as a sixth grade teacher for three years.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.emich.edu/alumni/engage/events/alumni_awards_sheldon.php|title=Eastern Michigan University: Alumni|website=www.emich.edu|access-date=2020-01-01}}]
== 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](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)).
Four years later, Sheldon ran for mayor against incumbent [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) [Liz Brater](/source/Elizabeth_Brater). 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](/source/Chris_Kolb). Sheldon left office in 2000 when she decided not to run for re-election, and was succeeded by Democrat [John Hieftje](/source/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](/source/fiscal_conservative) and a [social liberal](/source/social_liberal).[{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/2015/07/no_gop_moderates_polarization.html|title=Susan J. Demas: Why Republicans have lost their moderates, but Democrats haven't|last=MLive.com|first=Susan J. Demas {{!}} Political columnist for|date=2015-07-07|website=mlive|language=en|access-date=2020-01-01}}]
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](/source/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](/source/Ann_Arbor_Summer_Festival) 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](/source/Ann_Arbor%2C_Michigan) community, including working as a [bookkeeper](/source/bookkeeper) at a tennis club.[{{Cite web|url=http://huronvalleytennisclub.net/staff/management/|title=Management|date=2013-05-05|website=Huron Valley Tennis Club|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-01}}]
== Personal life ==
Sheldon's husband, Cliff Sheldon, served as a member of the [Ann Arbor](/source/Ann_Arbor) city council from 1978 to 1982. She has two children and six grandchildren.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/MI/ofc/annarbor.html Mayors of Ann Arbor page] at ''PoliticalGraveyard.com''
*{{LocalWiki|ann-arbor|Ingrid_B._Sheldon}}
*[http://www.homelessdave.com/tt20060403ingridsheldon.htm Ingrid Sheldon interview] on Teeter Talk, 2006
{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before= [Elizabeth Brater](/source/Elizabeth_Brater)
| title= [Mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan](/source/Mayor_of_Ann_Arbor%2C_Michigan)
| years= 1993–2000
| after= [John Hieftje](/source/John_Hieftje)}}
{{s-end}}
{{Ann Arbor Mayors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, Ingrid}}
Category:1945 births
Category:Living people
Category:Mayors of Ann Arbor, Michigan
Category:University of Michigan alumni
Category:Eastern Michigan University alumni
Category:Michigan Republicans
Category:Women mayors of places in Michigan
Category:21st-century mayors of places in Michigan
Category:20th-century American women politicians
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:20th-century Michigan politicians
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ingrid Sheldon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingrid_Sheldon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingrid_Sheldon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.