Stephanie Stuckey Benfield
85th. Georgia Legislative District Representative
Stephanie Stuckey Benfield has effectively represented DeKalb County citizens in the Georgia General Assembly since 1998 after winning election by nearly a sixty-six percent margin. She is currently serving her fifth term House District 85 in Dekalb County, a new district, that includes portions of her former district, that was created through reapportionment. The district includes neighborhoods in Avondale Estates, Candler Road, Columbia Drive, Fernbank, Forrest Hills, Knollwood, Midway Woods, Oakhurst, South Decatur, Wadsworth and Winona Park.
 During her over eight years of public service as a state representative, Stephanie has worked hard to produce social and economic changes that measurably improve the quality of life for DeKalb County’s citizens.
Among her many achievements:
- she authored legislation to lower property taxes for DeKalb’s senior citizens,
- mandate equal treatment for girls’ athletic programs in our public schools,
- increase patients’ access to their medical records,
- crack down on domestic violence,
- and reform Georgia’s child custody laws.
When she was vice-chair of the House Judiciary Committee and chair of the Juvenile Law Subcommittee, Stephanie was recognized for her leadership in reducing the crime rate among our teenage population. She was
- instrumental in funding full-time juvenile judges for every judicial circuit in Georgia,
- increasing the cases tried in juvenile court and access to rehabilitation programs,
- and passage of child endangerment legislation.
She also serves on the Banks and Banking and Natural Resources committees.
Stephanie has a reputation for being very accessible and responsive to the citizens in her district and is actively involved in community life.
- She hosts regular town hall meetings,
- volunteers at community events,
- aggressively advocates for and assists constituents and
- is devoted to the needs of the neighborhoods in her district.
During the legislative session,
- Stephanie conducts a constituent survey at the beginning of each session,
- sends weekly legislative updates to her constituents by email,
- and publishes a newsletter at the end of every session to keep her district actively engaged and informed.
Stephanie was a partner and family law practitioner in the Decatur law firm of Stuckey and Manheimer, LLC. Prior to starting her own practice, she was a public defender. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia in 1989 and graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1992.
Stephanie has been repeatedly recognized for her leadership in the community. She was
Stephanie’s commitment to improving our communities has included service in the following organizations:
A native Georgian originally from Dodge County, public service is a Stuckey family tradition dating back three generations. Stephanie’s father, Billy Stuckey, represented the 8th 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’s candy store chain which is still a family owned and operated business.
Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta) represents the 85 th District (DeKalb County) in the Georgia House of Representatives. Contact her at 512 Coverdell Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone at 404-656-7859 or by e-mail at stuckey@mindspring.com.
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