She previously served on the Sarasota City Commission from 1999 to 2003, and as Mayor from 2001 to 2003.

Mason has been employed by Habitat for Humanity Sarasota and by the Salvation Army, where she was director of family support and intake manager.

She is a member of the Newtown Front Porch Neighborhood Revitalization Council and is a former chairman of council. She has served as chairman of the Sarasota County Neighborhood Grants Advisory Committee and as a member of the Florida Historic Preservation Advisory Committee.

Mason also has served as vice chairman of the Urban Administration and Transportation Committee of the Florida League of Cities, and as a member of the Southwest Florida Health Planning Council, the city of Sarasota’s Civil Service Board, the Community Action Agency Board and the Children and Youth Services Advisory Council.

Her awards include the Human Development Award for Community Service by the Westcoast Center for Human Services, the Woman of Color Award, the NAACP Freedom Award and the “She Knows Where She's Going Award” from Girls Inc.

Mason was born in Sarasota and has three children and 13 grandchildren. She is a graduate of the Sarasota Community School.