Biography

Early Life

Born on February 20, 1976, Doug Bennett’s ties to Massachusetts are deep. His grandfather Larry Gardner was orphaned in Boston at the Massachusetts State House in Room 43 at the age of 5 in 1922 by Doug's great grandfather. Additionally, his mother, Kathy Lee was born just outside of Boston in Winchester. His mother and her parents then lived in the Boston area until she met Doug's father and moved to Pennsylvania where Doug was born.

Doug Bennett at Basic Training in Ft. Jackson, SC in Summer 94'

A self described “hellion” as a youth, Bennett enlisted in the United States Military in 1994 by serving as an Army Reservist. After Basic Combat training in Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, he attended Valley Forge Military College in Wayne, Pennsylvania. He became the second highest ranked Cadet within the 850 cadet military circle. Academically, Bennett became Class Valedictorian, an honor that was also shared 55 years ago by General Norman Schwarzkopf, a former Valley Forge Cadet who was Commander of the American led Allied Forces during the first Gulf War in the Middle East. Additionally, Bennett attended Air-Assault School at Ft. Belvoir in August 1996. There at the United States Military Air Assault School, Bennett finished first in his class out of 150 soldiers graduating as the Honor Graduate.

Doug Bennett continued his education at Penn State University where he graduated cum laude from the Schreyer Honor’s College receiving two Bachelors of Arts degrees: one in History and a second in Labor Studies and Industrial Relations. Bennett also authored a 50 page thesis titled: FDR, JFK, and Ronald Reagan: Mass Media, Image, and Presidential Greatness.


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The Civil Rights Protest

****CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTO OF BENNETT AT THE 2001 PENN STATE CIVIL RIGHTS PROTEST****
In Doug Bennett's final year at Penn State, an African American student leader, Lakeisha Wolf, and several other black students began receiving numerous racist death threats. One letter specifically said that Ms. Wolf would be killed. The authors of the letter had claimed that they had already beaten and killed a black man; however, no body was ever found. The African American students were upset because the University would not provide any security for Ms. Wolf or the other students who were threatened. On April 21, 2001, at the Penn State University Alumni Football game, 25 students- 23 of them African American, ran out onto the field during the National Anthem. They sat in the middle of the field, locking their arms together, refusing to leave in an act of civil disobedience. Everyone in the stadium began to hiss and boo.  Bennett states, "All of a sudden the next thing I knew, I had jumped the fence and ran on to the field becoming the 26th student protester. All, including myself, were arrested. In defiance against Penn State's Administration, university students demanded the release of all of us protesters.  The press had a field day and our protest made the national news and even ESPN. A couple of days later, the African American students organized a student protest called the "Village" where I had the opportunity to speak in front of 10,000 students about love and tolerance."


Previous and Current Experience in Government

After graduating from Penn State, Doug Bennett earned his living in the blue-collar work force as a carpenter on Nantucket and it was there where he was fortunate to be elected by the year round voting residents to represent them as their Selectman.

 

3 accomplishments Doug Bennett is proud of are:

 

1. Doug Bennett identified the need for a major improvement of the water treatment system, helped successfully raise the funds, and build the largest public works project in that municipality's history: the $45 million upgrade to the Surfside wastewater plant which created hundreds of jobs.

 

2. The town was faced with a budgetary crisis which included the elimination of many employees primarily teaching positions, and Doug Bennett was able to review the operating budget, identify efficiency and savings within the operating budget, and ultimately save all 23 employees while balancing a municipal budget of $80 million dollars. 

 

3. Doug Bennett was able to collaborate with a number of different groups on a controversial, but important energy issue related to implementing alternative energy sources.  Bennett helped create a compromise solution between United States Senator Kennedy, other Massachusetts Congressmen, and the residents of Cape Cod that would have built the first ocean based wind farm in the country south of Nantucket and the Martha's Vineyard. Although another site was chosen, Bennett's compromise plan furthered discussion on the important issue of clean energy resources.

 

These are examples of some of the results of what Doug Bennett would do for you as your City Councilor for District 3.

 

Additionally, Doug Bennett worked as a Case Specialist in the Suffolk County Criminal Court System making sure everyone was treated fairly and judiciously from January 2008 until May 2009.  While Bennett worked for the court, he began his quest to win one of the four At-Large Boston City Council seats.  Throughout Bennett's first quest, he pounded the pavement knocking on 100,000 homes across Boston introducing himself to the voters beginning in the Spring of 2008.  Of the 22 candidates who took out papers to try to get on the ballot, Doug Bennett won the City-Wide Primary in September 2009 finishing 7th in a major upset.  In the final election, Bennett just finished short, however nearly 17,000 voters cast ballots for him.  This was an impressive feat for a newcomer to Boston politics. 

 

Since then, Doug Bennett has not stopped campaigning as he continues his run to win a seat as a Boston City Councilor in the 2011 Boston Elections, this time for the local District 3 Seat.  Bennett currently lives on Adams Street in Adams Village in Dorchester.

 

Doug Bennett would like to serve the people of Boston and he has always had a commitment for public service whether through military service, elected office, or for the people of Boston by working in the judicial system.

Personal life

In April 6, 2010, Doug became the proud father of Jackson Douglas Thomas Bennett.