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Bill Nation
Bill Nation.png
45th and 50th Mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming
In office
January 2, 1962 – 1966
Preceded by Worth Story
Succeeded by Bill Herbert Kingham
In office
January 2, 1973 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by James D. Vanvelzor
Succeeded by Donald Erickson
Member of the Wyoming House of Representatives from Laramie County
In office
1965–1967
Personal details
Born (1925-05-28)May 28, 1925
Lingle, Wyoming
Died April 13, 2022(2022-04-13) (aged 96)
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Political party Democratic Party
Spouse Jo Ann Petersen
Children 4

Charles William Nation (May 28, 1925 – April 13, 2022), better known as Bill Nation, was an American politician who served as the 45th and 50th Mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and in the Wyoming House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1966 and election as Laramie County Clerk in 1970.

Early life

Charles William Nation was born in Lingle, Wyoming on May 28, 1925. During World War II he served as a gunner aboard a destroyer, the USS Schroeder (DD-501), a Fletcher-class destroyer, this was a ship of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral Seaton Schroeder. Entering service in 1943 under Admiral William Halsey Jr.'s command. Bill Nation married Jo Ann Petersen, with whom he had four children.

Career

Mayor

Elections

Prior to entering politics Nation was a professional photographer. In September 1959, Nation announced that he would run for the mayoralty of Cheyenne, Wyoming and was the first person to do so. However, incumbent Mayor Worth Story and state senator R. J. Keelan were the finalists in the primary and Story would later defeat Keelan in the general election.

In 1961, Nation ran for mayor of Cheyenne, placed first in the primary ahead of incumbent Mayor Story, and defeated Story in the general election. On September 30, 1963, Nation filed to run for reelection, placed first in the primary, and won in the general election. Nation announced that he would not seek reelection in 1965, and was succeeded by Bill Herbert Kingham.

Nation announced that he would seek election to the mayoral office on September 12, 1967, but placed third in the primary behind former Mayor R. E. Cheever and state legislator George R. Cox. On October 6, 1969, Nation filed to run in the mayoral election, but was defeated in the general election by incumbent Mayor Floyd Holland.

In 1972, Nation defeated incumbent Mayor James Van Velzor by five votes in the mayoral election, which was the smallest margin of victory for any Cheyenne mayor.

Nation announced at a press conference on July 21, 1976, that he would seek reelection. During the general election campaign he spent $936 against Don Erickson's, who was endorsed by the Cheyenne Central Labor council despite being a Republican, $988.42. In the general election Nation was defeated by Erickson.

In 1980, Nation ran for the mayoral office, placed second in the primary, but lost to incumbent Mayor Erickson in the general election.

Tenure

In 1962, Nation was elected to the board of directors of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities alongside other mayors and local officials in Wyoming. In 1963, he was selected to serve as vice-president of the organization.

After the assassination of John F. Kennedy Nation proposed naming Cheyenne's airport after Kennedy in December 1963, but later chose to not introduce the proposal. In 1974, Nation rejected an attempt by the American Nazi Party to establish a national headquarters in Cheyenne and called for other residents of Cheyenne to write to the American Nazi Party to express their views on the proposal.

In 1973, the Model Cities Program in Cheyenne had charges of discrimination filed against it by the Cheyenne Local Development Corporation due to its budget being decreased and had been investigated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Nation and Gerald Iverson, the director of the Model Cities Program, denied that there was discrimination, but the city was found guilty of discrimination on June 11.

Other political offices

In 1964, Nation was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives as one of eleven members from Laramie County as a member of the Democratic Party. In 1965, he was appointed to serve on the Revenue, City and County Affairs, and Welfare, Buildings, Institutions, Sanitary and Medical Affairs committees. On March 9, 1967, Governor Stanley K. Hathaway appointed Bill Nation as one of nine members of the Wyoming Recreation Committee.

On March 8, 1966, Nation announced that he would seek the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. On May 10, he selected Kermit D. Glover, who had served as Nation's campaign manager for his mayoral and state legislature campaigns, as his gubernatorial campaign manager. In the Democratic primary he was defeated by Ernest Wilkerson.

On July 7, 1970, Nation filed to run for Laramie County Clerk and won the Democratic nomination, but lost in the general election against incumbent Republican clerk John B. Huisman.

Death

Nation died in Cheyenne on April 13, 2022, at the age of 96.

Electoral history

Bill Nation electoral history
1961 Cheyenne, Wyoming mayoral primary
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nonpartisan Bill Nation 3,491 46.40%
Nonpartisan Worth Story (incumbent) 3,160 42.00%
Nonpartisan Homer J. McAuliffe 873 11.60%
Total votes 7,524 100.00%
1961 Cheyenne, Wyoming mayoral election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nonpartisan Bill Nation 6,507 58.62%
Nonpartisan Worth Story (incumbent) 4,594 41.38%
Total votes 11,101 100.00%
1963 Cheyenne, Wyoming mayoral election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nonpartisan Bill Nation (incumbent) 6,544 60.17%
Nonpartisan O. N. Buckles 4,331 39.83%
Total votes 10,875 100.00%
1966 Wyoming Gubernatorial Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ernest Wilkerson 13,145 31.07%
Democratic Bill Nation 9,834 23.25%
Democratic Jack R. Gage 8,661 20.47%
Democratic Raymond B. Whitaker 6,238 14.75%
Democratic Howard L. Burke 4,426 10.46%
Total votes 42,304 100.00%
1967 Cheyenne, Wyoming mayoral primary
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nonpartisan R. E. Cheever 2,996 31.69%
Nonpartisan George R. Cox 2,341 24.76%
Nonpartisan Bill Nation 2,089 22.10%
Nonpartisan Jim Van Velzor 1,264 13.37%
Nonpartisan Henry Jensen 676 7.15%
Nonpartisan Ray Gawryluk 88 0.93%
Total votes 9,454 100.00%
1969 Cheyenne, Wyoming mayoral election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nonpartisan Floyd Holland (incumbent) 5,028 61.13%
Nonpartisan Bill Nation 3,197 38.87%
Total votes 8,225 100.00%
1970 Laramie County Clerk Democratic primary
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Bill Nation 5,530 100.00%
Total votes 5,530 100.00%
1970 Laramie County Clerk election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John B. Huisman (incumbent) 9,755 51.50%
Democratic Bill Nation 9,187 48.50%
Total votes 18,942 100.00%
1980 Cheyenne, Wyoming mayoral primary
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Don Erickson (incumbent) 4,338 30.92%
Independent Bill Nation 3,439 24.51%
Independent John Rogers 3,375 24.05%
Independent Mike Sullivan 2,629 18.74%
Independent Carl Johnson 251 1.79%
Total votes 14,032 100.00%
1976 Cheyenne, Wyoming mayoral election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Don Erickson 11,389 56.93%
Independent Bill Nation (incumbent) 8,616 43.07%
Total votes 20,005 100.00%
1980 Cheyenne, Wyoming mayoral election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Don Erickson (incumbent) 11,751 57.54%
Independent Bill Nation 8,671 42.46%
Total votes 20,422 100.00%
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