Michael B. Weinstein (born February 6, 1949) is an American politician who was a two-term member of the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

House of Representatives, representing District 19, which encompasses parts of Jacksonville and surrounding areas.

Life

Weinstein was born in Livingston, New Jersey. He relocated to

in 1975. He earned his bachelor's degree from Hartwick College, a

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

from

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He later served as a

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

in the

State Attorney's Office In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

. He currently resides in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

with his family. Prior to being elected, Weinstein served as the CEO of the team responsible for Jacksonville's successful bid for

Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League ( ...

Political career

Weinstein, who had served as the City of Jacksonville's chief financial officer under two mayors, was an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of Jacksonville in 2003. In 2008, Weinstein was elected Representative for Florida's District 19, covering Clay, Duval, and St. John's counties, in the 2008 elections. He served as House Deputy Majority Whip from August 24, 2009 to 2010, and was reelected in the 2010 elections. He received national attention from a music video (produced by his son Scott, under the stage name Scott Leigh) - "The Weinstein Slide" - released by his campaign promoting his 2010 re-election. In 2012 Weinstein sought election in the Florida Senate for District 4, again accompanied by another Scott Leigh video, "The Weinstein Slide II" (which discusses the general mudslinging that accompanies many campaigns, and samples the original video music). Weinstein was defeated in the 2012 Republican primary by Aaron Bean by a 64%=36% vote. Weinstein returned to serving as the City of Jacksonville's Chief Financial Officer for 2015–18, before retiring in September 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinstein, Mike University of Florida alumni Florida State University alumni Hartwick College alumni 1949 births Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Livingston, New Jersey 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2012 United States elections