Former Legislator, Commissioner of School and Lands Sheldon Cotton passes away

@SoDakCampaigns

I’m a little late on this, but former School & Lands Commissioner Sheldon Cotton passed away late this last month, having served as both State Representative, and served as an appointee to the office of School & Public Lands for a few years:

Always active in Republican Party Politics, he was elected to the South Dakota State House of Representatives in November 1980. There, he served for two terms on the Committee on State Affairs, as well as the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, where for the last two years of his term he was Vice Chair. In the spring of 1984, he was engaged by the South Dakota Department of Economic Development as the Agricultural Resources Development Coordinator for the State of South Dakota.

In November 1984, Cotton was appointed by Governor Janklow to be commissioner of school and public lands for the State of South Dakota, a position he held until January 1987, when he became territory manager for Gerber Industries.

Read that here.

Sheldon’s tenure in the Office of School and Lands is interesting to reflect on as we approach this years’ convention, as he was an appointee assuming a vacancy who ran for a full term, but found himself narrowly turned away at the 1986 Republican Convention by convention attendees who went for Tim Amdahl, who successfully wooed 4 of 5 Minnehaha delegates, giving him a win of 104,341 to 91,402 in the weighted vote.

Amdahl found himself embattled at the time of his own re-election in 1990, when he was hotly criticized for the School and Lands proceeds falling short 2.3 Million from the prior year after reducing lease rates to fulfill a campaign promise, but not keeping the legislature abreast of the development. He made it through convention, surviving a challenge from his Deputy Jim Schade, but lost in the fall to Democrat Curt Johnson.

4 thoughts on “Former Legislator, Commissioner of School and Lands Sheldon Cotton passes away”

  2. I had not heard that he had passed. Always a pleasant fellow.

    I to would say rest in peace, but also condolences to the family.

  4. Sheldon was our industry development Representative for the DM@E Railroad. He was an incredibly helpful and knowledgeable person. As I look back , we may not have survived without his help. Sheldon also was a tremendous presence on the SD Rail Authority board. He was a great South Dakotan!

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