HD 85 (D- Decatur)

Stephanie Stuckey Benfield was first elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1998. She presently is serving as a voice for the needs of the constituents of House District 85, which includes the communities in parts of DeKalb County. A native Georgian originally from Dodge County, public service is a Stuckey family tradition, dating back 3 generations. Representative Benfield’s father, Billy Stuckey, represented the 8 th District of Georgia for 10 years in the U.S. Congress, and her grandfather, Williamson Sylvester Stuckey, served in the Georgia Legislature and founded the Stuckey candy store chain which is still a family owned and operated business.

As a member of the House of Representatives, she has authored legislation to lower property taxes for DeKalb seniors, mandate equal treatment for girls’ public school athletic programs, increase patients’ access to medical records, crack down on domestic violence, and reform child custody laws. She was also instrumental in funding full-time juvenile judges for every judicial circuit, increasing the cases tried in juvenile court and access to rehabilitation programs, and passage of child endangerment legislation. Presently, Representative Benfield is lending her legislative services to the membership of the Banks & Banking, Judiciary Non-Civil and Natural Resources & Environment Committees of the House.

After graduating from the National Cathedral High School in Washington, D.C., Benfield later attended the University of Georgia from which she earned both her Bachelor’s and Law Degrees. Stephanie is married to Robert H. Benfield, Jr., a local trial attorney. They are active members of the United Methodist Church on the Emory campus where they were married. The Benfields are the proud parents of a two year old son, Robert. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys the arts, running, aerobics and cooking. The Representative is also fluent in French.