George Benson (civic organizer)
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = George Benson
| image = Seattle City Council member George Benson 1991.jpg
| alt =
| imagesize = 175
| caption =
| office = President of the Seattle City Council
| term_start = January 3, 1992
| term_end = January 1, 1994
| predecessor = Paul Kraabel
| successor = Jim Street
| office1 = Member of the Seattle City Council
from Position 4
| term_start1 = December 10, 1973
| term_end1 = January 1, 1994
| predecessor1 = Liem Tuai
| successor1 = Jan Drago
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|1|10}}
| birth_place = Minneapolis, Minnesota
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2004|10|22|1919|1|10}}
| death_place = Edmonds, Washington
| party = Democratic
| relations =
| spouse = Evelyn Benson
| children = 2 children
| residence =
| occupation =
| signature =
| website =
| alma_mater = University of Washington (BA)
| otherparty =
}}
George Benson (January 10, 1919 – October 22, 2004) was an American politician from Seattle. He was a five-time elected member of the Seattle City Council from 1973 to 1994.{{cite web |last1=Crowley |first1=Walt |author1-link=Walt Crowley |title=George Benson: Seattle's Favorite Unpolitician |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/7115 |website=www.historylink.org |date=November 2, 2004}} Benson advocated for expansion of public transit service in the city, with his major achievement being the creation of the Waterfront Streetcar, which was later named in his honor.{{cite news |last1=Frey |first1=Christine |last2=Mulady |first2=Kathy |title=George Benson, 1919-2004: Waterfront streetcar is his legacy |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/George-Benson-1919-2004-Waterfront-streetcar-is-1157729.php |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=October 27, 2004 |accessdate=July 24, 2022}}
Early life and education
Benson was born in Minnesota but moved to Seattle in 1938.{{cite web |last1=Burrows |first1=Alyssa |title=Benson, George (1919-2004), Father of the Seattle Waterfront Streetcar |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/7121 |work=HistoryLink |date=November 4, 2004 |accessdate=July 24, 2022}} He worked at pharmacies in the University District before registering for the University of Washington School of Pharmacy. Benson enlisted in the Navy in 1942, and due to his pharmacy training he was enlisted as a Hospital Apprentice First Class. He served in the Pacific Theater and was listed as inactive duty in February 1946 as an officer.{{cite web |title=George Benson |url=https://obituaries.seattletimes.com/obituary/george-benson-1080108488 |publisher=The Seattle Times |access-date=January 20, 2025 |date=October 29, 2004}}
Benson returned to Seattle, immediately returned to school, and began working at the pharmacy.{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Karen |title=George Benson, 1919-2004 |url=https://magazine.washington.edu/george-benson-1919-2004/ |website=University of Washington Magazine |date=March 1, 2005 |accessdate=July 24, 2022}} At his job, he met his wife, Evelyn, whom he married in June 1946. He graduated from the University of Washington School of Pharmacy in 1947.
After graduating, the Bensons bought Mission Pharmacy in Capitol Hill, owning the business for 46 years. Before running for city council, Benson was active in various pharmacy conventions, including the National Association of Retail Druggists, where he was named Vice President. He also joined the Capitol Hill Community Council due to robberies in the neighborhood and became its president from 1969-1970.
City council
=Elections=
Benson first ran for city council in 1972 against first-term incumbent Tim Hill (politician). Hill was considered the "progressive" in the race due to his support of the group Citizens to Choose an Effective City Council, while Benson was seen as the "moderate" due to business background and tough on crime policies. Both men advanced through the primary, with Hill defeating Benson in the general election, 54% to 46%.
The following year, Benson ran to fill the seat of Liem Tuai, who resigned to run for mayor. His primary opponent was Michael Ross, an African American activist and one-term state representative. He won the seat in the November general election, with over 60% of the vote, and took office on December 10, 1973. He would win his next three reelections in landslides; 1977 with 71%, 1981 with 75%, and in 1985 he ran unopposed.{{cite web |title=General and Special Elections |url=https://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/seattle-facts/historical-election-results#19801989historicelectionresults |publisher=Seattle Municipal Archives |access-date=January 21, 2025}} Benson faced his toughest reelection in 1989 against Margaret Pageler who was backed by the progressive group Vision Seattle, but he defeated Pageler in the general election by 707 votes.
=Tenure=
Although vied as "straight-laced" and conservative, Benson governed on progressive values. He showed support for the LGBTQ community by hiring Cal Anderson, a gay political activist, as an office aid. Benson advocated for abortion rights and gun control, due to his experience as a pharmacist and as a business owner.{{cite news |last1=Lacitis |first1=Eric |title=End Of A Mission -- After 45 Years In Business, George And Evelyn Benson Have Closed Their Capitol Hill Pharmacy |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940719/1921051/end-of-a-mission----after-45-years-in-business-george-and-evelyn-benson-have-closed-their-capitol-hill-pharmacy |access-date=January 22, 2025 |work=The Seattle Times |date=July 19, 1994}}
File:SeaWaterfrontStreetcar OccidentalPark.jpg at the Occidental Park stop]]
Benson's significant achievement on the council was the creation of the Waterfront Streetcar, which passed the city council in 1970.{{cite news |last1=Hall |first1=C.K. |title=All Aboard? The Strange Case of the Seattle Waterfront Trolley |url=https://seattlemag.com/all-aboard-strange-case-seattle-waterfront-trolley/ |access-date=January 22, 2025 |work=Seattle Magazine |date=April 10, 2013}} The 1.6-mile route officially opened in 1982, over budget and behind schedule, and nicknamed "Benson's folly." On its 20th anniversary, the line was renamed the "George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line". Benson also focused on other transportation issues, such as county-wide bus service in King County, construction of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, and preservation of the Seattle Center Monorail.{{cite web |title=Waterfront Streetcar now "The Benson Line" |url=https://metro.kingcounty.gov/am/history/history-benson2002.html |publisher=King County Metro |access-date=January 22, 2025}}
Benson was also pivotal in solving the growing trash and waste management issue plaguing Seattle in the 1980s. Through negotiations, Benson passed a 60-year contract with the city of Condon, Oregon, to use the city's landfill.
In his final two years in office, the council voted Benson the city council president until his retirement in January 1994.
Personal life
Benson returned to working at Mission Pharmacy after he retired from the city council. He and his wife sold the pharmacy in 1994 after owning the business for 46 years. That same year, Benson was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the American Public Transit Association in 1997.
Evelyn died in 2002, with Benson dying two years later at a retirement home in Edmonds, Washington. Benson and his wife had two daughters.