Background
Benton, Nicholas Frederick was born on February 9, 1944 in Ross, California, United States. Son of Frederick C. H. and Jeanne Emma (Brun) Benton.
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Benton, Nicholas Frederick was born on February 9, 1944 in Ross, California, United States. Son of Frederick C. H. and Jeanne Emma (Brun) Benton.
Associate of Arts, Santa Barbara City College, California, 1963. Bachelor, Westmont College, 1965. Master of Divinity cum laude, Pacific School Religion, Berkeley, California, 1969.
Born in Ross, California, Benton earned a degree in English from Westmont College (a Christian college) in 1965. After college he was a reporter and sports writer for the Santa Barbara News-Press. He obtained a master of divinity degree in 1969 from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California.
He became a contributor to the underground newspaper Berkeley Barb, helped found the Berkeley Gay Liberation Front and wrote the first editorial for the newspaper Gay Sunshine.
Others active in Berkeley Gay Liberation Front included Mike Silverstein, Konstantin Berlandt, Winston Leyland, Michael Itkin, Smedley Ambler, Gary Alinder, Tom Brougham, Leland Traiman, Jim Fishman, and Pat Brown. In 1970, Benton was involved in militant actions to get the White Horse Inn (a gay bar a mile south of University of California Berkeley) to loosen its restrictive policies toward expression of gay identity.
Also in 1970, Benton became the first Gay Liberation spokesman to address a major anti-war demonstration. In 2007, Benton wrote that he had left the LaRouche movement in the 1980s.
Benton founded the Falls Church News-Press in March 1991, and in July 2010 celebrated the periodical"s 1,000th edition
He has served twice as the president of the local Chamber of Commerce, been named Falls Church"s “Pillar of the Community” twice and “Business Person of the Year” once, and had his enterprise named “Business of the Year” twice. He has authored a weekly national affairs column in his periodical since 1997. In 2005, Benton founded the “ Benton Diversity Affirmation Education Fund” for the Falls Church City Public Schools.
In November 2009, Benton was unsuccessful in a bid to acquire the Washington Blade in the wake of the bankruptcy of the Blade"s parent company.
In December 2010, he was elected to the newly created Stonewall LGBT Caucus of the Virginia Democratic Party.
Benton worked for the Lyndon LaRouche organization from 1974 until the late 1980s, first as a political organizer, and later as the Washington District of Columbia bureau chief and White House Correspondent for LaRouche"s Executive Intelligence Review.
Clerk Emmaus Church, 1989-1992. Board directors Arlington Symphony, Virginia, 1992-1993, board directors, member Falls Church Education Foundation, since 2003. Member Greater Falls Church C. of Chamber (board director since 1991, president 1993-1994, Pillar of Community award 1993, 2003), League of Women Voters of Falls Church, member Falls Church City Democratic Committee, Optimists Club, White House Corresponding Association, National Press Club (Washington), Kennedy Center Circus (Washington).
Married Donna Carley, April 15, 1979 (divorced October 1984). Married Janine Schollnick, October 20, 1985 (divorced April 2000).