WASHINGTON — Former Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin has taken a job in the Biden Administration where he'll be in charged of making sure the President has diverse perspectives.
The White House announced Monday that Benjamin had been hired as the Senior Advisor and Director of the Office of Public Engagement. In that role the White House says he will "ensure community leaders, diverse perspectives, and new voices have the opportunity to inform the work of the President in an inclusive, transparent and responsible way."
"Mayor Benjamin is a longtime public servant, who has served the people of South Carolina for over two decades statewide and as a three-term mayor of Columbia," President Joe Biden said in a statement. "As a former President of both the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the African American Mayors Association, Steve’s deep relationships with communities across the country will serve our Administration and the American public well."
Biden takes will take over for Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta. "Under Keisha’s leadership, the Office of Public Engagement has kept equity at the heart of our agenda, and continues to serve as the connective tissue between our Administration and everyday Americans who may not have a voice to reach Washington otherwise," Biden said.
Benjamin had most recently accepted a Harvard University fellowship to teach at the school last spring.
Benjamin served as mayor of Columbia from 2010 to 2021 and chose not to seek another term. He was the city's first Black mayor. During his time in office he had served as president of both the the U.S. Conference of Mayors and African American Mayors Association.
He started his political career in 1999 heading up South Carolina’s Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services under Gov. Jim Hodges.
In 2010, he won the election to replace Bob Coble, who’d led the city for the previous 20 years. He was re-elected in 2013, then faced no opposition when his term came up for renewal again in 2017.