Ken Bennett

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For other people named Ken Bennett, see Ken Bennett (disambiguation).
Ken Bennett
Secretary of State of Arizona
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 26, 2009
Governor Jan Brewer
Preceded by Jan Brewer
President of the Arizona Senate
In office
2003–2007
Succeeded by Tim Bee
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 1st district
In office
1999–2007
Succeeded by Tom O'Halleran
Arizona State Board of Education
In office
1992-1998
Prescott City Council
In office
1985-1989
Personal details
Born Tucson, Arizona
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Jeanne
Profession Businessman
Religion The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Website Arizona Secretary of State

Ken Bennett (born 1959) is a Republican politician and businessman who served as president of the Arizona Senate, and is currently serving as the Secretary of State of Arizona.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Bennett was born in Tucson into a family that were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). He later moved to Prescott, Arizona, where he attended Prescott High School and Yavapai College. Between terms there he served a two-year mission in southern Japan. In 1981 he transferred to Arizona State University and graduated with a degree in accounting.

[edit] Business career

In 2008, Bennett was named Chief Executive Officer [CEO] of GeoBio Energy, a company attempting to develop and market alternative fuel from plant sources such as algae. Bennett served as CEO of his family fuel distribution business, Bennett's Oil Co., from 1985 to 2006.

In 1989, several underground petroleum storage tanks owned by Bennett's Oil Co. released petroleum into the environment. In the years following, Bennett's undertook various remedies to decontaminate the area, paid for by its insurance company. Bennett's insurer, Federated Mutual Insurance, submitted five separate applications to the state for periodic reimbursement of the cleanup costs. The first four were approved, but the last was denied under a recently enacted act limiting reimbursement to costs not covered by insurance. Bennett's appealed the denial in court, arguing that the law was intended only to prevent double recovery, not to limit the state to providing only secondary insurance. The court affirmed the state's interpretation of the law and denied reimbursement.[1]

This later came to prominence when as a state senator (see below), Bennett co-sponsored a bill in 2004 which would provide reimbursement for oil company cleanup costs already covered under private insurance.[2] Some accused Bennett of a conflict of interest, given that his own company would benefit from this change.[3] The bill never made it out of committee and did not become law.

[edit] Prescott City Council

Bennett was elected to the Prescott City Council in 1985 and served one term and during that term he was Mayor Pro Tem in 1988.

[edit] State Board of Education

He was appointed to the Arizona State Board of Education in 1992, serving as president in 1996 and 1998.

[edit] Arizona Senate

In 1998 he was elected to the Arizona State Senate, where he served as Chairman of the Education Committee for two years and President of the Senate for four years (2003–2007). After eight years in the State Senate, he was prevented from seeking re-election in 2006 because of term limits, which he opposes.http://www.allbusiness.com/public-administration/executive-legislative-other-general/360729-1.html He abandoned a run for governor in 2006, but has said that he will run for statewide or federal office in the future.[4]

[edit] Secretary of State

When Jan Brewer ascended from Arizona Secretary of State to Governor upon Janet Napolitano's resignation to become United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Brewer chose Bennett to be the new Secretary of State.[5] Normally, the Secretary of State is first in line to succeed the Governor should she have resigned, become removed from office, or become permanently disabled from being able to discharge her duties. However, as Bennett was not elected as Secretary of State, then-Attorney General Terry Goddard would have become first in line to succeed Brewer.[6] Bennett was sworn in as Secretary of State on January 26.

[edit] 2010 election

Bennett won election to a full term as Secretary of State in the November 2010, defeating his Democratic opponent Chris Deschene with 59% of the vote.[7] Bennett was sworn in for a full term on January 3, 2011, at this point becoming the first in line to succeed Brewer (who had also been elected to a full term) to the governorship.

[edit] Awards

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In 2007 Ken Bennett received the Polly Rosenbaum Award from the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.[8] Building on his interest in and understanding of the state's history, Mr. Bennett has been a leader in bringing attention and support to Arizona's historical and cultural institutions. The award recognizes Bennett for his unfailing support of the State Library's mission to preserve Arizona's history and to provide access to information.

Bennett has demonstrated commitment to the value of cultural institutions and the role they play in helping Arizona's citizens live their lives, work their jobs, and understand their history. Announced annually on Arizona Statehood Day, February 14, the Polly Rosenbaum Award connotes elected or appointed officials who cherish Arizona's rich cultural resources and support the work of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.[9]

[edit] Family incident

A 2006 plea bargain involving Ken's son, Clifton, became controversial after several parents of victims accused Ken of exerting undue influence to affect the case.[10] In what a county attorney described as a summer camp "hazing ritual" gone wrong, Clifton and another man poked 17 clothed campers in the buttocks using a broom stick. Ultimately Clifton, –only 17 years old and a minor, plead guilty to one count of aggravated assault. Clifton was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years probation. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, said he "had questions about the handling of the case," but that his office had no authority to intervene.[11] Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk defended the plea bargain and accused the news media of misrepresenting the issue.[12]

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1][dead link]
  2. ^ "Documents For Bill". Azleg.gov. 2010-02-03. http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=SB1337. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
  3. ^ [2][dead link]
  4. ^ "Colleagues laud Bennett as Senate term draws to close". Azcentral.com. 2006-07-16. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0716bennett0716.html. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
  5. ^ "News : Prescott's Bennett named Ariz. Secretary of State - Inside Tucson Business azbiz.com newspaper | Arizona News | Tucson Jobs | AZ Business | News and Features for Tucson and Southern Arizona's business and legal communities | Territorial news". Azbiz.com. 2009-01-16. http://www.azbiz.com/articles/2009/01/16/news/doc496f76e788a6b319907720.txt. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
  6. ^ Ariz. Const., art. 5, § 6.[3].
  7. ^ Náñez, Dianna M. and Gersema, Emily (2010-11-03). "Republican Ken Bennett defeats Chris Deschene". The Arizona Republic. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/11/03/20101103ken-bennett-leading-chris-deschene-arizona-secretary-of-state.html. Retrieved 2010-11-04. 
  8. ^ "Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State". Lib.az.us. 2009-01-15. http://lib.az.us/. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
  9. ^ "Polly Rosenbaum was the longest-serving member of the Arizona House of Representatives in Arizona ­ 47 years" (PDF). http://www.lib.az.us/about/annualreports/2007/07polly.award.pdf. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
  10. ^ [4]
  11. ^ "Goddard questions handling of Yavapai camp 'hazing' case". Azcentral.com. 2006-04-07. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0407goddard0407.html. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
  12. ^ "Press Release/Letter to Editor". Azcentral.com. 2006-04-04. http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/yavapaicountyattyletter04042005-CR.html. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 

[edit] External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Jan Brewer		 Arizona Secretary of State
2009–present		 Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by
Randall Gnant		 President of the Arizona Senate
2003 – 2007		 Succeeded by
Tim Bee
Arizona Senate
Preceded by
unknown		 Member of the Arizona Senate for the 1st District
1999 – 2007		 Succeeded by
Tom O'Halleran
   

AL: Beth Chapman (R)
AK: No such office
AR: Mark Martin (R)
AZ: Ken Bennett (R)
CA: Debra Bowen (D)
CO: Scott Gessler (R)
CT: Denise Merrill (D)
DE: Harriet Smith Windsor (D)
FL: Kurt S. Browning (R)
GA: Brian Kemp (R)

HI: No such office
ID: Ben Ysursa (R)
IL: Jesse White (D)
IN: Disputed
IA: Matt Schultz (R)
KS: Kris Kobach (R)
KY: Alison Lundergan Grimes (D)
LA: Tom Schedler (R)
MD: John P. McDonough (D)
MA: Bill Galvin (D)

SD: Jason Gant (R)
TN: Tre Hargett (R)
TX: Esperanza Andrade (R)
UT: No such office
VT: Jim Condos (D)
VA: Janet Polarek (R)
WA: Sam Reed (R)
WV: Natalie Tennant (D)
WI: Doug La Follette (D)
WY: Max Maxfield (R)
AS: Lt. Gov. Ipulasi A. Sunia (D)
DC: Cynthia Brock-Smith (D)
GU: Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio (R)
PR: Kenneth McClintock (D-NPP)
VI: No such office
In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the office is called the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
In states without the office, the lieutenant governor may perform some of the typical duties of a Secretary of State.
Indiana's Secretary of State Charlie White currently faces legal challenges, and his status as an officeholder is disputed.
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