Stephen K. Benjamin DEMDemocrat

Stephen Keith Benjamin (born December 1, 1969) is an American politician and businessman currently serving as the Director of the Office of Public Engagement for the Biden administration, and also as one of the senior advisors to President Biden since April 1, 2023. He previously 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.