Lois Holden Benson is an American politician who represented the 2nd District in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

from 1992 to 1994 as well as various city government roles and state appointments.

Pensacola City Council

Benson previously served on

Pensacola City Council The Pensacola City Council is the governing body of the City of Pensacola, Florida. The seven-member council is elected by single-member districts. Council members serve four year terms. Each November, the council elects a council president, who c ...

as the representative for District 1, from 1988 to 1990; she

resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

to seek state office. She also previously served in the 2nd district of Escambia County.

Florida House of Representatives

She also served in

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

from November 3, 1992 – November 8, 1994.

Emerald Coast Utilities Authority

Benson was initially appointed to the ECUA seat by Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

on November 23, 2004, following the October 31 resignation of George Watson. She currently serves on the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority board member for Escambia County District 2.

Bid for US House/Florida State Senate/Mayor Of Pensacola

She has also run for the Florida State Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the

Mayor of Pensacola The mayor of the City of Pensacola is the chief executive officer and holder of the city of Pensacola, Florida. The mayor's office is located at the city hall at 222 West Main Street in Downtown, and owns an estate near the Texar Bayou in East Pens ...

, the latter of which she lost in 2001 to

John Fogg John Fogg is an American politician who served as the mayor of Pensacola, Florida, from 1994 to 2009. Fogg was appointed to the post by the Pensacola City Council in 1994, and reappointed in 1995, 1997, and 1999. In 2001, he became the first elec ...

. A priority of her campaign platform at the time was to relocate the Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant. In her 1994 bid to replace retiring Congressman

Earl Hutto Earl Dewitt Hutto (May 12, 1926 – December 14, 2020) was an American politician who served as U.S. Representative from Florida's 1st congressional district. Early life Born in Midland City, Alabama, Hutto attended Dale County public schools, ...

, she faced four other Republicans in the primary and received a plurality (31.4%) of votes. In the resulting runoff, however, her pro-choice views contributed to her defeat (46%-54%) by pro-life newcomer

Joe Scarborough Charles Joseph Scarborough (; born April 9, 1963) is an American television host, attorney, political commentator, and former politician who is the co-host of '' Morning Joe'' on MSNBC with his wife Mika Brzezinski. He previously hosted ''Scarbo ...

, who went on to defeat Democrat Vince Whibbs Jr. in the general election.

Personal life

Lois Holden Benson is the mother of

Holly Benson Anna Holliday "Holly" Benson (born June 4, 1971) was a member of the Florida House of Representatives. In November 2000, Benson became the first Republican elected to the District 3 seat, succeeding Democrat DeeDee Ritchie. On December 28, 200 ...

and Megan Benson Pratt. Both her daughters have worked in government, with one of them, Holly Benson, serving in Florida's 3rd house district and the other Megan Benson Pratt has served as

from at large district.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Lois Members of the Florida House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people) Living people