Stephen K. Benjamin

Stephen Keith Benjamin (born December 1, 1969) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 70th mayor of Columbia, South Carolina from July 2010 to January 2022. He was the first African American mayor in the city's history. Before serving as mayor, he worked in the Columbia metropolitan area as an attorney and served on various charitable organizations. On November 8, 2017, Benjamin won re-election for a third term as mayor with no votes as no other candidate filed. Benjamin was declared re-elected. Benjamin served as the 76th president of the United States Conference of Mayors from 2018 to 2019.

Early life, education, and career

Benjamin's parents are from Orangeburg, South Carolina, but relocated in the 1960s during the Great Migration to Queens, New York, where Benjamin was born. Benjamin moved to Columbia to attend college. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of South Carolina in 1991 and earned a juris doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1994.

As a student at the University of South Carolina, Benjamin was actively involved in the student chapter of NAACP, eventually becoming president. He was elected as student body president during his undergraduate career and served as president of the student bar association during his third year of law school. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities.

In 1999, Benjamin was appointed by Democratic Governor Jim Hodges to lead the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services a position which he held until 2003. In 2002, Benjamin led an unsuccessful campaign to become the Attorney General of South Carolina as a Democratic candidate, defeated by the Republican Henry McMaster by a margin of 11%.

In 2010, Benjamin won a special election to become the mayor of Columbia, besting Kirkman Finlay III in a runoff to succeed Bob Coble. In November 2017, Benjamin was the only candidate to file for mayoral election. Benjamin, therefore, did not appear on the ballot and was automatically declared to be re-elected without any votes. On February 4, 2021, Benjamin announced that he would not seek re-election in 2021.

Electoral history

*Benjamin was the only candidate to file; he was automatically declared re-elected with no votes.

Career before mayoralty

Benjamin was the principal of the Benjamin Law Firm, LLC, in Columbia, South Carolina where his practice emphasized governmental strategic planning, administrative and regulatory work, municipal finance and general business matters.

On March 2, 1999, Benjamin was appointed to the Governor's Cabinet by Governor Jim Hodges serving as the Director of the South Carolina Probation, Pardon, and Parole Services. Benjamin has also served as the Regional Manager of Public Affairs for International Paper Company, Manager of Corporate Affairs at Carolina Power & Light Company. He additionally worked as an associate in the Administrative and Regulatory practice of the McNair Law Firm in Columbia.

Career after mayoralty

Benjamin currently serves as the Board Chair of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority), an appointment by the Biden Administration. He taught a leadership class at the Harvard University T. H. Chan School of Public Health, as a Senior Leadership Fellow. He is Co-Chair of the Center for US Global Leadership with the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. He serves on the Advisory Board of the BGR Group. He serves as Chairman of the Board of the Flex Association, a group representing application software - based gig worker companies like Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart.

Personal life

Benjamin is married to The Honorable DeAndrea Benjamin, a Judge in South Carolina's Fifth Judicial Circuit. Together they have two daughters.

Recognition and awards

* The Root's 100 Influential Black Americans (2011 & 2013)
*The Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery by a Public Official (2017)

References

External links

* Official website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Stephen K.
1969 births
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American politicians
21st-century American politicians
African-American mayors in South Carolina
African-American people in South Carolina politics
Living people
Mayors of Columbia, South Carolina
Politicians from New York City
Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors
South Carolina Democrats
South Carolina lawyers
State cabinet secretaries of South Carolina
African-American state cabinet secretaries
University of South Carolina School of Law alumni