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Bill Nation, whose full name was Charles William Nation and who was born on May 28, 1925, and died on April 13, 2022, was a Democratic Party politician and the 45th and 50th mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Bill Nation Wiki
On May 28, 1925, Charles William Nation was born in Lingle, Wyoming. His full name is Charles William Nation. During World War II, he served as a gunner aboard a destroyer called the USS Schroeder (DD-501), a Fletcher-class destroyer. This ship was part of the United States Navy and was named for Rear Admiral Seaton Schroeder. The year 1943 marked the beginning of the ship’s active service career under the leadership of Admiral William Halsey Jr. After meeting and falling in love with Jo Ann Petersen, Bill Nation wed her and went on to have four children with her.
Career Life
Elections
Before getting involved in politics, Nation had a successful career in photography. In September of 1959, Nation made the announcement that he would be the first individual to seek the position of mayor of Cheyenne, which is located in Wyoming. However, the two candidates that advanced to the final round of voting in the primary were the incumbent mayor, Worth Story, and state senator R. J. Keelan. The story went on to win the general election against Keelan.
In 1961, Nation made a bid for the office of mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming. He finished first in the primary election, besting the incumbent mayor, Story, and went on to win the election for mayor in the general election. On September 30, 1963, Nation submitted his paperwork to compete for reelection. He finished in first place in the primary election, and he went on to win the election overall. In 1965, Nation made the announcement that he would not run for reelection, and Bill Herbert Kingham was subsequently elected in his place.
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On September 12, 1967, Nation made the announcement that he would run for election to the office of mayor. However, he finished third in the primary election, behind the incumbent Mayor R. E. Cheever and the state legislator George R. Cox. Nation submitted his candidacy for mayor on October 6, 1969, but incumbent Mayor Floyd Holland prevailed over him in the general election. The nation’s candidacy was unsuccessful. In the mayoral election held in 1972, Nation narrowly defeated the incumbent mayor, James Van Velzor, by a margin of only five votes. This was the narrowest margin of victory ever achieved by a Cheyenne mayor.
On July 21, 1976, President Gerald R. Nation made the decision to run for reelection public during a press conference. During the main election campaign, he spent $936 as opposed to Don Erickson‘s $988.42, who, although being a Republican, received the endorsement of the Cheyenne Central Labor council. Erickson was able to secure victory over the Nation in the general election. In 1980, Nation made a bid for the post of mayor, finishing in second place in the primary election. However, he was unable to unseat the incumbent Mayor Erickson in the general election.
Tenure
In 1962, John Nation was elected to serve on the board of directors of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, along with a number of other mayors and local politicians from Wyoming. In 1963, he was given the opportunity to run for the position of vice president inside the organization.
Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in December 1963, Nation made a suggestion to rename Cheyenne’s airport after Kennedy. However, Nation ultimately decided against introducing the suggestion. In 1974, the American Nazi Party made an effort to establish a national headquarters in Cheyenne, but Nation opposed the idea and urged other citizens of Cheyenne to send letters to the American Nazi Party expressing their opinions on the proposal. The nation also called for the American Nazi Party to hold a meeting in Cheyenne.
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development conducted an investigation into the Model Cities Program in Cheyenne in 1973 as a result of charges of discrimination that were brought against it by the Cheyenne Local Development Corporation. These charges were brought about as a result of the program’s decreased budget. Nation and Gerald Iverson, the director of the Model Cities Program, both disputed that there was any discrimination; but, on June 11, it was determined that the city was guilty of discrimination.
Political Campaigns
As a member of the Democratic Party, Nation won the election to the Wyoming House of Representatives in 1964, becoming one of eleven representatives from Laramie County to represent that county. In 1965, he was given positions on various committees, including those dealing with Revenue, City and County Affairs, Welfare, Buildings, Institutions, and Sanitary and Medical Affairs. These positions were appointed for him. The Wyoming Recreation Committee included Bill Nation as one of its nine members after Governor Stanley K. Hathaway appointed him to the committee on March 9, 1967.
On March 8, 1966, Nation made the public announcement that he would be running for the Democratic nomination for governor. On May 10, he made the decision to have Kermit D. Glover, who had previously worked as Nation’s campaign manager for his campaigns for mayor and state legislature, serve as his campaign manager for the governor race. Ernest Wilkerson was the one who ultimately prevailed over him in the Democratic primary.
Nation submitted his candidacy for the position of Laramie County Clerk on July 7, 1970. Although he was successful in gaining the Democratic nomination for the position, Nation ultimately came up short in the general election against the incumbent Republican clerk, John B. Huisman.
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