Michael Alan Steinberg (born February 6, 1959) is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and politician. He has been an unsuccessful candidate in several Florida state legislature elections, and a candidate for the Democratic

presidential nomination In United States politics and government, the term presidential nominee has two different meanings: # A candidate for president of the United States who has been selected by the delegates of a political party at the party's national convention ...

in the 2016 election. He was also the Reform Party's nominee for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

in the 2016 election. Steinberg has been practicing law for over 30 years, and his firm, Michael Steinberg & Associates, provides legal services to clients in

social security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

, veteran's compensation, long-term

disability insurance Disability Insurance, often called DI or disability income insurance, or income protection, is a form of insurance that insures the beneficiary's earned income against the risk that a disability creates a barrier for completion of core work func ...

, and state disability matters. The ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...

'' cited him saying that the aging population of Tampa Bay and the area's declining economy were the cause of an increase in local legal claims. Between 2008 and 2009, the 21 percent increase in social security disability legal claims in Tampa Bay broke the nationwide record. In 2014, his wife Miriam ran for a Florida state legislature seat in District 64, where he had run unsuccessfully in 2002.

Background

Steinberg married his wife Miriam in 1984. Miriam is originally from Israel. The two have three adult daughters. He is a member of a Conservative synagogue in Tampa, Florida. Steinberg received his bachelor's degree in economics and a J.D. degree from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. In addition to his career as an attorney practicing social security law, he has served on the Florida Bar Association's military law subcommittee.

Political involvement

2002 Florida state legislature election

In 2002, Steinberg ran for election for the Florida state legislature in District 64; his candidacy was endorsed by the '' St. Petersburg Times.'' Two months after losing the election, Steinberg filed a lawsuit against the state Republican party for push polling against him in the election. The Florida Republican Party hired Tarrance Group, a Virginia-based polling company, to survey voters across the state. Towson Fraser, spokesman for the Republican Party of Florida at the time, denied that his party used push polls. Steinberg ran again for this seat in 2010 and lost.

2006 congressional election

In 2006, Steinberg received 1,334 votes (3.4% of the popular vote) in the Democratic primary race for Florida's 11th congressional district.

2014 wife's candidacy

When his wife, Miriam Steinberg, was running for office in 2014, he filed a lawsuit to disqualify a competing

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

. Although the lawsuit was successful, the election was ruled invalid, and the seat was vacant until a special election could be held. As a result, J. W. Grant, who was out of office for a period, was automatically the winner of the election despite having reached his

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...

. Miriam lost the election to Grant by a 59:40 margin. It was later ruled that write-in candidate should not have been disqualified, and subsequently, the election was ruled unconstitutional and the Florida legislature voted not to accept the result. Miriam then failed to file new fees to run again against Grant in a special election; although Michael filed a claim against the Florida Election Commission disputing the fee requirement. This resulted in Grant's only opponent being a write-in candidate. No write-in candidate has ever won an election in Florida. Grant was about to be running up against a Florida term limit law, but because the regular election was ruled invalid the seat was vacant for most of 2015 legislative session.

2016 presidential election campaign

Steinberg filed papers with the U.S. Federal Election Commission in November 2013 to run for president in the 2016 election as a Democrat.

2016 vice-presidential candidacy

After failing to gain traction for his presidential bid, he was then nominated by the American Delta Party, and by the

Reform Party of the United States The Reform Party of the United States of America (RPUSA), generally known as the Reform Party USA or the Reform Party, is a Centrism, centrist list of political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. The party was f ...

as the vice-presidential running mate of 2016 presidential candidate Rocky De La Fuente. Winger, Richard (August 9, 2016
"Reform Party Nominates Rocky De La Fuente for President"
''

Ballot Access News ''Ballot Access News'' is a United States–based website and monthly online and print newsletter edited and published by Bill Redpath and Richard Winger. History Richard Winger, an expert on ballot access law in the United States, started t ...

''. Retrieved August 19, 2016.

Personal life

Steinberg and his wife Miriam live in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The couple has three children.

References

External links

Michael Steinberg for President
official 2016 campaign site
Michael Steinberg for President 2016 election candidate interview (audio, August 30, 2014)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinberg, Michael 1959 births Living people Florida Democrats Florida lawyers Reform Party of the United States of America vice presidential nominees Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election 2016 United States vice-presidential candidates University of Florida alumni American Delta Party politicians Jewish candidates for Vice President of the United States Politicians from Tampa, Florida 21st-century American Jews