- Chris Benge
-
Chris Benge
Oklahoma Speaker of the House In office
2008 – 2011Preceded by Lance Cargill Succeeded by Kris Steele Constituency 56th House District Oklahoma State Representative In office
1999 – 2011Preceded by Shelby Satterfield Personal details Born 9 September 1962
Tulsa, OklahomaNationality American Political party Republican Spouse(s) Allison Benge Children Garrett Benge
Hayden BengeResidence Tulsa, Oklahoma Alma mater Oklahoma State University Occupation Businessman Religion Baptist Oklahoma 
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Chris Benge (born September 9, 1962) is a United States Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Benge served as the Oklahoma House of Representatives as the Speaker of the House, a position he took over after Lance Cargill resigned in January 2008.[1][2]
Benge was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1998. His term ended due to term limits in 2010.
A native Tulsan, he currently resides in the community of Berryhill with his wife Allison and their two children, Garrett and Hayden.[3]
Contents
Early life and career
Benge was born and raised in southwest Tulsa.[4] He graduated from Webster High School in 1980 and graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in business. Benge has managed a business, Benge Painting Company from 1981 to 1997.[5]
Political career
Benge was first elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1998, narrowly defeating Shelby Satterfield, an incumbent Democratic candidate.[6]
The first piece of legislation authored by the Tulsa lawmaker and signed into law was the "Prisoners Public Work Act".[7] The legislation allows public agencies to enter into a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to utilize offender labor.[8]
Prior to becoming Speaker of the House, Benge served as a House appropriations chairman and one one occasion criticized Gov. Brad Henry for proposing $18.8 million in bonds for common education ad valorem reimburesment.[9]
As Speaker of the House, Benge has pushed for energy reform in Oklahoma, stressing the need for the U.S. to wean itself from foreign oil rather than any concern about climate change.[10]
Benge announced in January 2010 that his agenda for the upcoming session included reforming the workers' compensation system, promoting the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel, modernizing state government through the use of more technology and creating a plan to deal with an expected shortfall.[11]
Benge authored six bills signed into law by Governor Brad Henry from the 2009 legislative session. He has filed 17 measures for the 2010 session.[12]
Organizations
- Southwest Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, 1999–present
- Southwest Sertoma Club, 1999–present
- American Legislative Exchange Council
- Berryhill Drug Education Council
- Going to Bat for Kids, Mentoring Program
- View Across Baptist Church
- Westside Coalition for Youth.
District
House District 68 encompasses southwest Tulsa and a portion of Tulsa County outside of the city. It also includes a small portion of Creek County. The district is a mix of urban Tulsa neighborhoods and Tulsa suburbs.[13]
Election history
July 29, 2008, Primary election results for Oklahoma State Representative for District 68 Candidates Party Votes % Chris Benge Republican Party 1,591 80% Brian Jackson Republican Party 397 20% Source:[14] November 7, 2000, Election results for Oklahoma State Representative for District 68 Candidates Party Votes % Chris Benge Republican Party 7,489 61.45% Shelby Satterfield Democratic Party 4,699 38.55% Source:[15] November 3, 1998, Election results for Oklahoma State Representative for District 68 Candidates Party Votes % Chris Benge Republican Party 4,422 55.36% Shelby Satterfield Democratic Party 3,566 44.64% Source:[16] References
- ^ Hinton, Mick. "House Republicans choose Benge to become speaker designate", Tulsa World, February 4, 2008.
- ^ Hinton, Mick "House Speaker Lance Cargill steps down after not paying taxes", Tulsa World, January 28, 2008.
- ^ Oklahoma House Members 2008, Oklahoma House of Representatives. 10-14-09
- ^ Rep. Chris Benge elected as Speaker, Tulsa Beacon, February 7, 2008. 1-22-2010
- ^ Chris Benge Complete Bio, VoteSmart.org. 10-14-2009
- ^ 2008 Election Results, Oklahoma State Election Board. (accessed February 3, 2010).
- ^ Bill Tracking Oklahoma House of Representatives (accessed February 3, 2010).
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions, Oklahoma Department of Corrections (accessed February 3, 2010).
- ^ Governor pushes more than $1 billion in new spending and debt, Oklahoma Political News Service, February 14, 2007. 1-22-2010
- ^ Vock, Daniel C. Okla. speaker stresses gas, wind energy, Stateline.org, September 24, 2008. 1-22-2010.
- ^ McNutt, Michael. "Oklahoma House Republicans announce agenda," NewsOK.com, January 20, 2010.
- ^ Bills, Oklahoma House of Representatives (accessed February 3, 2010).
- ^ "House Districts, Congressional and Other Maps", Oklahoma House of Representatives. 10-14-09
- ^ 2008 Election Results, Oklahoma State Election Board. 10-14-09
- ^ 2000 Election Results, Oklahoma State Election Board. 10-14-09
- ^ 1998 Election Results, Oklahoma State Election Board. 10-14-09
Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives 53rd Legislature (2011-2013)
Speaker of the House: Kris Steele (R) • Speaker pro Tempore: Jeffrey W. Hickman (R) • Majority Leader: Dale DeWitt (R) • Minority Leader: Scott Inman (D)- Rusty Farley (R)
- John R. Bennett (R)
- James Lockhart (D)
- Mike Brown (D)
- Doug Cox (R)
- Chuck Hoskin (D)
- Larry Glenn (D)
- Ben Sherrer (D)
- Marty Quinn (R)
- Steve Martin (R)
- Earl Sears (R)
- Wade Rousselot (D)
- Jerry McPeak (D)
- George Faught (R)
- Ed Cannaday (D)
- Jerry Shoemaker (D)
- Brian Renegar (D)
- Donnie Conditt (D)
- R. C. Pruett (D)
- Paul D. Roan (D)
- Dustin Roberts (R)
- Wes Hilliard (D)
- Sue Tibbs (R)
- Steve Kouplen (D)
- Todd Thomsen (R)
- Kris Steele (R)
- Josh Cockroft (R)
- Tom Newell (R)
- Skye McNiel (R)
- Mark McCullough (R)
- Jason Murphey (R)
- Danny Morgan (D)
- Lee Denney (R)
- Cory Williams (D)
- Dennis Casey (R)
- Sean Roberts (R)
- Steve Vaughn (R)
- Dale DeWitt (R)
- Marian Cooksey (R)
- Mike Jackson (R)
- John Enns (R)
- Lisa Johnson Billy (R)
- Colby Schwartz (R)
- Emily Virgin (D)
- Aaron Stiles (R)
- Scott Martin (R)
- Leslie Osborn (R)
- Pat Ownbey (R)
- Tommy Hardin (R)
- Dennis Johnson (R)
- Corey Holland (R)
- Charles Ortega (R)
- Randy Terrill (R)
- Paul Wesselhoft (R)
- Todd Russ (R)
- Phil Richardson (R)
- Harold Wright (R)
- Jeffrey W. Hickman (R)
- Mike Sanders (R)
- Purcy Walker (D)
- Gus Blackwell (R)
- T. W. Shannon (R)
- Don Armes (R)
- Ann Coody (R)
- Joe Dorman (D)
- Jadine Nollan (R)
- Pam Peterson (R)
- Glen Mulready (R)
- Fred Jordan (R)
- Ron Peters (R)
- Daniel Sullivan (R)
- Seneca Scott (D)
- Jabar Shumate (D)
- David Derby (R)
- Dan Kirby (R)
- David Brumbaugh (R)
- Eric Proctor (D)
- Jeannie McDaniel (D)
- Weldon Watson (R)
- Mike Ritze (R)
- Randy Grau (R)
- Guy Liebmann (R)
- Randy McDaniel (R)
- Sally Kern (R)
- David Dank (R)
- William Fourkiller (D)
- Jason Nelson (R)
- Al McAffrey (D)
- Rebecca Hamilton (D)
- Charles Key (R)
- Mike Reynolds (R)
- Richard Morrissette (D)
- Mike Christian (R)
- Scott Inman (D)
- Charlie Joyner (R)
- Lewis Moore (R)
- Mike Shelton (D)
- John Trebilcock (R)
- Anastasia Pittman (D)
- Elise Hall (R)
- Gary Banz (R)
Republican (70) • Democratic (31) • Oklahoma Legislature • Oklahoma House of Representatives • Oklahoma State SenateCategories:- Living people
- People from Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State University alumni
- Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
- 1962 births
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