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CHARLES M. BENJAMIN, Ph.D.,
J.D. Attorney
at Law P.O. Box 1642 Lawrence, KS 66044-8642 785-841-5902 office 785-550-4876 cell phone 785-841-5922 fax Specialties: State government, local government and the public
policy process in Kansas; zoning and land use regulations in Kansas;
environmental issues and law in Kansas; elections and politics in Kansas. Current Clients:
Kansas Chapter of
Sierra Club. Attorney and
Legislative Coordinator. The Sierra Club is the largest grass-roots
environmental organization in the United States. My responsibilities, performed as an independent contractor,
include reporting to the Kansas Chapter of the Sierra Club’s Executive
Committee on issues before the Kansas legislature; monitoring regulatory issues
before state administrative agencies; litigation in state and federal courts to
get existing laws enforced; liaison with other environmental groups; media
contacts; educational activities; major donor fundraising and grant writing.
Stop
Trashing Our Property, Inc. Represent this homeowners
group, opposed to the expansion of the Johnson County landfill, before the City
of Shawnee Planning Commission and the City of Shawnee Council considering a
rezoning and special use permit.
Tri-County Concerned
Citizens, Inc. Represent this coalition of citizens from
Harper, Sumner and Kingman counties, opposed to a Subtitle D landfill to
accommodate solid waste from Wichita, before the Harper Joint Cities-County
Planning Commission and the Harper County Commission with regard to a proposed
special use permit. Past Clients:
Citizens for
Responsible Planning and Growth. Represent this citizen group, opposed to a
bypass road in northwest Sedgwick County, Kansas, before the Kansas Department
of Transportation. Concerned Citizens of
Pratt County. Represent this citizen group, opposed to a
bypass around Pratt, Kansas, before the Kansas Department of Transportation. Johnson County South
Coalition. Represent this property owner’s association
before the United States Army Corps of Engineers considering a Clean Water Act,
Section 404 permit application by Wal-Mart for a “superstore” proposed to be
located at 159th Street and Metcalf Avenues that, if built, will
cause flooding and traffic problems for my clients. Farmers and Property
Owners for Responsible Agricultural Land Uses, Inc. Write and present
resolutions for home rule and zoning regulations on confined animal feeding
operations before the Board of Franklin County Commissioners and the Franklin
County Planning Commission. Kansas
Board of Tax Appeals. Serve as Small
Claims Hearing Officer hearing taxpayer appeals on property valuations set by
county appraisers. Kansas Horseman
Foundation, Inc., Attorney and
Executive Director for a foundation created to acquire and develop the Flint
Hills and the Landon Trails in northeast Kansas. My duties include board development, fundraising, legal counsel,
legislative lobbying and promotion of the trails. Rainbow Creek Association, Inc., Wilson County, Kansas. Serve as legal counsel and spokesperson for property owners
seeking to prevent a proposed watershed dam from destroying their
property. I represent the association
before the Neosho-Verdigris Watershed District, state agencies and local
governments. Short
Grass Prairie Trail, Inc. Retained to provide legal
counsel and representation before local and state governing bodies and
administrative agencies for a not-for-profit organization created to establish
and maintain a recreational trail in Comanche and Clark counties, Kansas. Sunflower
Recreational Trails, Inc. Pro-bono legal counsel to
not-for-profit organization created to promote recreational trails in Kansas. Shawnee Heights
Homeowners Association, Shawnee County,
Kansas. Represent this association of
rural residential property owners, concerned about the negative impacts of a
proposed construction/demolition landfill at a former quarry site, before the
Topeka-Shawnee County Planning Commission and the Shawnee County Commission.
Successful in convincing both to deny a special use permit for the proposed
construction/demolition landfill. Citizens Opposed to
Factory Farms, Norton County,
Kansas. Retained to write county
environmental regulations on factory hog farms to be adopted by the Norton
County Commission in order to prevent air and water pollution.
Concerned Citizens of
Doniphan County, Inc.,
Doniphan County, Kansas. Retained to
help organize citizens of Doniphan County concerned about the location of a hog
slaughterhouse in Elwood, Kansas. Citizens for a
Healthy Environment, Seward
County, Kansas. Retained to serve as a
political and legal consultant to an association of citizens seeking to win a
September 1997 advisory election asking the Seward County Commission to rescind
an enabling resolution allowing corporations to own land for the purpose of
swine production in the county.
Successful in winning the election with over 75% of the vote.
Adjunct Professor of
Environmental Studies University of Kansas
Environmental Studies Program (Since 1998).
Teach undergraduate courses in Environmental Decision Making, Principles
of Environmental Studies, and Environmental Law. Previous Positions: Assistant Professor
of Political Science, Bethel
College, North Newton, Kansas, 1979-1994.
Taught courses in environmental studies, American political parties,
U.S. government, state and local government, and international relations.
Adjunct Professor of
Political Science, Newman
University, Wichita, Kansas, 1990-1994.
Taught courses in U.S. Government, American Parties and Politics,
International Political Economy and U.S. Foreign Policy.
Adjunct Professor of
Political Science, Friends
University, Wichita, Kansas, 1990-1993.
Taught courses in U.S. Government, and American Parties and Politics. Government Service
County Commissioner, Harvey County, Kansas, 1981-1997. Responsible, with two other
commissioners, for all county governmental operations including law
enforcement, property tax collection and appraisal, infrastructure improvement,
parks and recreation, various social programs, and personnel management for
over 120 employees. Education Juris Doctor (J.D.) University of Kansas School of Law, 1996. Specialization in public policy law
including administrative, legislative and regulatory law. Participated in legislative clinic, judicial
clerkship and public policy clinic. Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) University of Southern California, School of
International Relations, 1981. Haynes
Dissertation Fellowship. Dissertation
title: Developing a Game/Decision Theoretic Approach to Comparative Foreign
Policy Analysis: Some Contemporary Examples of American Foreign Policy. Master of Arts (M.A.) University of Southern California, School of
International Relations, 1975. Harris
Fellowship. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) University of Southern California, 1972. University Scholarship. Publications: Contributions to
the Planet Kansas, the official publication of the Kansas Chapter of the
Sierra Club, (published six times per year) on Kansas environmental issues,
1997-present.
Write and distribute “Kansas Legislative News”
(KLN) to select members of the Kansas Chapter of the Sierra Club during the
annual Kansas legislative session. “Should There Be Home
Rule for Kansas School Districts?” in The
Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 5, No. 3, Spring 1996. “Confrontation
Analyses of United States-Soviet Grain Negotiations” in K. Hipel and K.J.
Radford (eds.) Group Decision and Negotiation, Vol. 3, 1994. “The Use of Metagame
Analysis as a Diagnostic Technique in Decision Situations” in K. Hipel (ed.) Information
and Decision Technologies, Vol. 16, No. 4, 1990. “Observations of
Complex Decision-Making Situations Utilizing Metagame Analysis” in C. Eden and
K.J. Radford (eds.) Tackling
Strategic Problems: The Role of Group Decision Support. London: Sage Publications, 1990. “New Methods of
Applying Game Theory to International Conflict” in International Studies
Notes, Vol. 3, No. 3, Fall 1987. “The Kurdish
Non-state Nation” in J. Bertelsen (ed.) The Nonstate Nation in International
Politics. New York: Praeger, 1977. |