Stephen K. Benjamin Biography
Stephen K. Benjamin (Stephen Keith Benjamin) is an American politician and businessman serving as 36th and mayor of Columbia, South Carolina since July 2010. He is 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 because no other candidate filed. Benjamin was declared re-elected. Mayor Benjamin currently serves as President of the United States Conference of Mayors. Stephen K. Benjamin served as mayor of Columbia, S.C., since 2010.
The city’s first African-American mayor, he is president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, chairman of Municipal Bonds for America, a member of the Accelerator for America Advisory Council and co-chair of the Mayors for 100% Clean Energy campaign. He is a former president of the African-American Mayors Association.
Stephen K. Benjamin Age
Stephen K. Benjamin was born on December 1, 1969, in New York, NY United States. He is 49 years old as of 2018.
Stephen K. Benjamin Education
Stephen K. Benjamin moved to Columbia to attend the University of South Carolina to study political science. Stephen K. Benjamin was the only candidate to file; he was automatically declared re-elected with no votes.
Stephen K. Benjamin Wife
Stephen K. Benjamin is married to The Honorable DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, a Judge in South Carolina’s Fifth Judicial Circuit. Together they have two daughters.
Please enable JavaScript
San Jose Mayor Wants To Ban Homeless Living Near Schools
Stephen K. Benjamin Family
Stephen K. Benjamin parents are from Orangeburg, South Carolina, but relocated in the 1960s during the Great Migration and moved to Queens, New York, where Benjamin was born.
Stephen K. Benjamin Career before mayoralty
Stephen K. 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.
Stephen K. Benjamin additionally worked as an associate in the Administrative and Regulatory practice of the McNair Law Firm in Columbia.
Stephen Politician and businessman
Stephen K. Benjamin was actively involved in the student chapter of NAACP, eventually becoming president. Benjamin was also elected as student body president during his undergraduate career and went on to become president of the University of South Carolina School of Law student bar association during his third year. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
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, SC, succeeding Bob Coble. In November 2017, Benjamin was the only candidate to file for the mayoral election. Benjamin, therefore, did not appear on the ballot and was automatically declared to be re-elected without any votes.
When he was 29 years old in 1999, he was appointed to Governor Jim Hodges’ cabinet as director of the state’s second-largest law enforcement agency, the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
Mayor Benjamin has continued his service to the community in serving on numerous boards for nonprofit organizations such as the Columbia Urban League, Benedict College, the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce and as a founding board member of the Eau Claire Promise Zone.
Stephen K. Benjamin has also served as a founding member of Choose Children First and chief legal counsel for Midlands Crimestoppers. In 2009, Benjamin drew national attention by representing prominent radio host Tom Joyner and securing a pardon for Joyner’s great uncles wrongfully convicted in the death of a 73-year-old Confederate veteran and executed in 1913.
In a landmark decision, the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons voted unanimously to grant the posthumous pardon, the first for South Carolina in a capital case. Reelected by a 30 percent margin in November 2013, Mayor Benjamin’s administration has been characterized by his firm belief in Columbia’s potential and intense focus on job creation.
In his first term alone, his leadership helped cut unemployment in the metro by roughly half and secured billions of dollars in new regional capital investment in the midst of a national recession.
Combined with the rebirth of Main Street, these accomplishments have drawn national attention and accolades including his being awarded an Aspen Rodel Fellowship and receiving an Honorary Doctor of Humanities from Francis Marion University.
Stephen K. Benjamin been named twice to The Washington Post’s “The Root 100 List” (2011 and 2013) as well as the 2014 GRIO 100 and was honored to receive a 2014 Triumph Award from the National Action Network as their 2014 Public Servant of the Year.
As part of his commitment to fostering a world-class police department in the City, Mayor Benjamin introduced the “Justice for All” initiative in 2014, which implemented new training, competitive pay, diverse representation, and community engagement to strengthen the foundation of trust and accountability that exists between our communities and law enforcement agencies.
President Obama’s administration has also commended Mayor Benjamin on his work on behalf of My Brother’s Keeper (MBK). The city’s MBK efforts, in addition to Mayor Benjamin’s leadership, have led to Columbia being seen as a nationwide leader in implementing and upholding the missions of the program.
Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin was asked to speak at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, where he talked about the importance of instilling in his daughters that they can do anything they set their minds to, even becoming President of the United States.
In December 2017, Mayor Benjamin initiated city ordinance 2017-109, which banned the attachment of bump stocks and trigger cranks in the City of Columbia, making Columbia the first city in the nation to do so.
He is a firm believer in common sense bipartisan leadership and endeavors to implement policies and programming that provide the best course of action for city residents.
In addition to serving as Mayor of Columbia, Mayor Benjamin also serves as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and as Chairman for Municipal Bonds for America.
Stephen K. Benjamin teaches a class at the University of South Carolina Honors College and Columbia College titled “Columbia, South Carolina: Building a Great City” and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities.
Mayor Benjamin is married to the Honorable DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, Chief Administrative Judge (Common Pleas) for South Carolina’s Fifth Judicial Circuit. The two are the proud parents of daughters Bethany (13) and Jordan Grace (11).
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)
Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina
Stephen K. Benjamin since he was elected mayor in a record turnout election in April 2010, Mayor Steve Benjamin has made it his mission to create in Columbia the most talented, educated and entrepreneurial city in America.
Mayor Stephen Benjamin’s administration has been characterized by his firm belief in Columbia’s potential and intense focus on job creation. In his first term, his leadership helped cut unemployment in the metro by roughly half and secured billions of dollars in new regional capital investment in the midst of a national recession.
Stephen K. Benjamin serves on numerous boards for nonprofit organizations including Columbia Urban League, Benedict College, Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, and Eau Claire Promise Zone. He also served as a founding member of Choose Children First and chief legal counsel for Midlands Crimestoppers.
Benjamin Twitter
Tweets by SteveBenjaminSC