Michael Benson (born November 9, 1955) is an American politician and former member of the
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...
. A member of the
Republican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civi ...
, he represented District 26B, which includes portions of
Olmsted County in the southeastern part of the state. He is also an
assistant college professor for
business administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
and the
Director of Human Resources at
Crossroads College
Crossroads College (originally International Christian Bible College and later Minnesota Bible College) was a four-year, coeducational Christian college in Rochester, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1913 and ceased offering classes in ...
in Rochester.
Early life, education, and career
Benson was born in Springfield, Illinois but at an early age his family moved to Bloomington Illinois. He graduated from Bloomington High School in 1973. He started with the United States Postal Service that same year. Benson graduated from
Eastern University in
St. Davids, Pennsylvania
St. Davids is a primarily residential neighborhood located in the eastern part of Wayne, Pennsylvania. It is served by its own train station. St. Davids is home to the main campus of Eastern University, a four-year, liberal arts university affili ...
, earning his
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in organizational management and, later, his
M.B.A.
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...
He began his career with the
U.S. Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
in 1973, holding various management positions until his retirement in 2004. He served as
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
of Rochester from 1988 until 1995 and, subsequently, served as Postmaster of
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, and
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
.
In 1998, Benson was appointed the postal service's district manager for an area of southeastern Pennsylvania consisting of 362 post offices and 3 processing plants with 6000 employees. From 1996-1998, he was a member of the National Joint Steering Committee for Quality of Work Life and Employee Involvement, a joint project between the
National Rural Letter Carriers' Association
The National Rural Letter Carriers' Association (NRLCA) is an American labor union that represents the rural letter carriers of the United States Postal Service. According to its statutes, the purpose of the Association is to "improve the methods ...
and the U.S. Postal Service, and was also a member of the 1994 National Contract Negotiations Team.
Benson came to Crossroads College in 2004. In addition to his work as an assistant professor and Director of Human Resources, he served as the Director of Adult Studies and started the college's Compass Adult Degree Completion Program. He also served as the college’s interim president from 2006 until 2008 during the process to fill the vacancy.
Minnesota House of Representatives
Benson was first elected to the House in 2010 and was re-elected in 2012. He did not run for re-election in 2014.
2014 United States congressional campaign
Benson announced on June 17, 2013 that he would run to represent
Minnesota's 1st congressional district
Minnesota's 1st congressional district extends across southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. It is a primarily rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, though this is changing rapidly d ...
in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
.
References
External links
Rep. Mike Benson''official Minnesota House of Representatives website''
Mike Benson for Congress''official congressional campaign website''
Mike Benson''official Minnesota House of Representatives campaign website''
Project Votesmart - Rep. Mike Benson ProfileMike Benson Campaign Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Mike
1955 births
Living people
Politicians from Bloomington, Illinois
Politicians from Rochester, Minnesota
Politicians from Springfield, Illinois
Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Minnesota postmasters
Eastern University (United States) alumni
21st-century American politicians
Ohio postmasters
Pennsylvania postmasters