June Tompkins Benson
June Tompkins Benson | |
|---|---|
| Mayor ofNorman, Oklahoma | |
| In office May 14, 1957 – 1961 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mildred June Tompkins November 16, 1915 Granite, Oklahoma |
| Died | September 15, 1981(aged 65) |
| Spouse | Oliver Earl Benson |
| Children | Megan Benson, John Michael Benson |
| Alma mater | University of Oklahoma |
Mildred June Benson(née Tomkins), commonly known asJune Benson(1915–1981), was the first woman to serve as mayor in the AmericanState of Oklahomawhen elected mayor ofNormanin 1957 by city commissioners.[1][2]Benson was inducted into theOklahoma Women's Hall of Famein 1985, thanks also to the significant contributions she made on voting rights andenvironmental protection.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Mildred June Tompkins was born on November 6, 1915, inGranite, Oklahoma,the daughter of the Oklahoma legislator Elmer O. Tompkins and his wife, Bessie Stovall. She was brought up inMcAlesterwhere she attended public schools before studying history and government at theUniversity of Oklahoma,graduating in 1947.[1]She married the political research professor Oliver Earl Benson on June 1, 1940 inGuthrie, Oklahoma.In 1954, she gained an M.A. in political science with a thesis on voting law reform.[4]
Career
[edit]In 1952, Benson was the first woman to be elected to Norman's City Commission. On May 14, 1957, she was elected mayor of Norman as "Mrs. Oliver Benson". Shortly afterwards, on May 26 she witnessed Gov.Raymond Gary's signing a bill to set up a central county voter registration system. Known as the Oklahoma Election Reform Act, it included measures for recording voters' signatures and the periodic removal of the names of those who had died or moved away. The act represented acceptance of the proposals she had made in her university thesis onElection Practices in Oklahoma.[2]
Among her successes while mayor was progress on noise control, waste oil collections and water quality. She also initiated the appointment of trained city managers. After her term as mayor, she contributed actively toCommon Cause,theOklahoma Municipal League(as director), theLeague of Women Voters(Oklahoma president) and theCommunity Development Block Grantprogram (chair). She also served eight times as chair of Norman's Environmental Control Advisory Board. In 1979, she was appointed chair of Oklahoma's State Pollution Control Coordinating Board and in 1980 was named Oklahoma Conservationist of the Year.[2]
Family and heritage
[edit]Benson and her husband had two children, Megan Benson and John Michael Benson. She died on September 15, 1981, and is buried in theIOOF Cemetery,Norman, Oklahoma, together with her husband who died in 1999.[5]Norman's June Benson Park is named after her.[6]The June Benson Collection held byUniversity of OklahomaLibraries contains correspondence, municipal reports, minutes of city government boards and related papers.[1]
Role in women's history
[edit]As the first woman mayor in Oklahoma, Benson can be listed withAlice Mary Robertson,the first woman from the state to serve in theU.S. Congress,Jessie Thatcher Bost,the first woman to graduate fromOklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College,andAlma Wilson,the first woman to serve at theOklahoma Supreme Court.[7]
References
[edit]- ^abc"June Benson Collection"(PDF).University of Oklahoma Libraries.RetrievedJuly 31,2016.
- ^abcCole, Carol L. (24 July 2007)."First female mayor remembered as statesman".The Norman Transcript.RetrievedJuly 31,2016.
- ^"Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame Inductees by Year".Oklahoma State Library.RetrievedJuly 31,2016.
- ^Benson, Ned Harold (September 1, 2011).The Ancestors and Descendants of John Lewis Benson and His Sisters and Brother: A Genealogy and Social History.AuthorHouse. pp. 164–.ISBN978-1-4670-2442-6.
- ^Bennett, Robert (April 30, 2009)."June Tompkins Benson".Find a Grave.RetrievedAugust 1,2016.
- ^Cannon, Jane Glenn (December 5, 2015)."Norman Notes: Mayor announces she won't seek fourth term".NewsOK.RetrievedAugust 1,2016.
- ^Malone, Tara (March 2, 2011)."A Female Pioneer".Oklahoma Magazine.RetrievedAugust 1,2016.
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