Secretary of State Jan Brewer today announced she will appoint Prescott resident and former Arizona Senate President Ken Bennett as her replacement for Secretary of State.
“In selecting my replacement, I look to Mr. Bennett’s extensive and well-rounded career in both the public and private sectors. He has served the state of Arizona on numerous levels with dedication and conviction, and Ken brings a great deal of wisdom and experience to this office,” stated Brewer.
In making this selection, Secretary Brewer held to her long conviction that the state’s second highest constitutional officer should play an active role in the Governor’s administration.
“Ken Bennett is exactly the person that I would be proud and honored to serve with,” stated Sec. Brewer. “He is personable, has excellent leadership qualities and he uses those skills extremely well to reach across the aisle and bring people together around a specific cause.”
Mr. Bennett began his political career in the 1980’s serving as a member of the Prescott City Council. He was appointed to the Arizona State Board of Education in 1992, serving as president in 1996 and 1998. In 1998 he was elected to the Arizona Senate, where he served as Chairman of the Education Committee for two years and President of the Senate for four years, 2003 – 2006.
“As a native Arizonan and long-time resident of Prescott, Mr. Bennett has a thorough knowledge of rural Arizona. This is just one more tremendous asset he will bring to the Secretary of State’s Office,” stated Brewer.
Bennett served as CEO of Bennett Oil Company, a family fuel distribution business from 1985 to 2006. Since leaving the Senate in 2007 because of term limits, Bennett has been working with companies to develop alternative energy sources and energy efficient building technologies. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Global Building Systems Inc. in Prescott.
In 2007, Bennett received the Polly Rosenbaum Award from the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records in recognition of his unfailing support of the State Library’s mission to preserve Arizona’s history and to provide access to information on the state. He graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in accounting.