Steven Anthony Geller (born November 4, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who serves on the Broward County Commission for District 5. As of November 2020, Geller was the mayor of Broward County from November 2020 till November 2021. He was the former vice mayor from November 2019 till November 2020.[2]
Steven A. Geller | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Broward County Commission from the 5th district | |
| Assumed office November 22, 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Lois Wexler[1] |
| Mayor of Broward County | |
| In office November 17, 2020[2] – November 16, 2021[3] | |
| Vice Mayor | Michael Udine[2] |
| Preceded by | Dale Holness[2] |
| Succeeded by | Michael Udine[3] |
| Vice Mayor of Broward County | |
| In office November 19, 2019 – November 17, 2020 | |
| Mayor | Dale Holness |
| Preceded by | Dale Holness[4] |
| Succeeded by | Michael Udine[2] |
| Member of the Florida Senate from the 31st district | |
| In office January 2003 – January 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Debby P. Sanderson |
| Succeeded by | Eleanor Sobel |
| Member of the Florida Senate from the 29th district | |
| In office March 1998 – January 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Ken Jenne |
| Succeeded by | M. Mandy Dawson |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 101st district | |
| In office January 1993 – March 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Michael I. Abrams |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth A. Gottlieb |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 98th district | |
| In office January 1989 – January 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Irma S. Rochlin |
| Succeeded by | Steven B. Feren |
| Minority leader of the Florida Senate | |
| In office 2006–2008 | |
| Preceded by | Les Miller |
| Succeeded by | Al Lawson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Steven Anthony Geller[5] November 4, 1958 The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Laurel Leffler |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Florida State University (BA, JD) |
Early life and education
Geller was born in The Bronx and moved to Florida with his family in 1969. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1979 and a Juris Doctor in 1982, both from Florida State University.[6]
Career
Law
Geller is an actively practicing attorney. He was a shareholder at the national law firm of Greenspoon Marder,[7] and is the principal of Geller Law Firm, P.A.,[8] where he practices in the areas of zoning and land use, gaming law, lobbying and administrative law, first party property insurance law, and commercial litigation. He has been practicing law since 1982, is A-V rated by Martindale Hubbell,[5] has been listed in Florida Superlawyers, and the Bar Register of Distinguished Attorneys. He is of-counsel to the law firm of Sachs Sax Caplan.[9]
Politics and government
A Democrat, he previously served in the Florida Legislature from 1988 to 2008. He was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1988 through 1999.[10][11][12][13] He was elected to the Florida Senate in a special election in 1999, and re-elected until term limits forced his retirement in 2008.[14][15][16][17][18] He served as Senate Minority (Democratic) Leader from 2006 to 2008.[19] Geller was appointed by different Republican Senate presidents as a committee chair in 2000 and again in 2002.[20] Geller also served as the Democratic ranking member on numerous committees, and co-chaired the Select Committee on Property Insurance Accountability.[21]
He serves as chair of the South Florida Regional Planning Council,[22] on the board of directors of the Florida Association of Counties,[23] as chair of the Broward County Water Advisory Board,[24] and on the Broward County Cultural Council.[25] Geller first ran for County Commissioner in 2010, but lost his challenge to incumbent Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger by a 56% to 44% vote in the Democratic primary.[26] Geller was first elected to the Broward County Commission in 2016,[1] and was re-elected without opposition in 2020.[27]
Geller served as a national leader in several different legislative organizations. He served on many committees and as national president of both the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL)[28] and the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS). Geller also served as Chairman of the National Public Sector Gaming Study Commission. Geller currently serves as the pro bono General Counsel of NCLGS.[29]
Geller served and serves on many Democratic organizations. He was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2008. He served as parliamentarian of the Florida Democratic Party from 1982 to 1996 and as state president of the Florida Young Democrats in 1980–1981. He currently serves on the state executive committee of the Florida Democratic Party. He also serves as chair of the Real Solutions Caucus, a group of approximately 35 current and former Broward County Democratic elected officials.
He is a past chairman of the board of the Holocaust Documentation & Education Center (HDEC).
Personal life
He is married to Laurel Geller (née Leffler) and has two sons.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b "Our Campaigns - Broward County Commissioner 5 Race - Nov 08, 2016". Ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Steve Geller named Broward County mayor". Local10.com. 17 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Michael Udine appointed new mayor of Broward County". Local10.com. 16 November 2021.
- ^ "New mayor elected for Broward County". Wsvn.com. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Steven Anthony Geller, Esq. Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". Martindale.com.
- ^ "Former Florida Senator Steven A. Geller (D) | LobbyTools". Public.lobbytools.com. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
- ^ "Greenspoon Marder Shareholder Steve Geller speaks on Florida's Water Loss Crisis at the Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate's Forum". Greenspoon Marder LLP. June 21, 2016.
- ^ "About Steve". Gellerlawfirm.com. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ "Sachs Sax Caplan, P.L. - Steven Geller". ssclawfirm.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 098 Race - Nov 08, 1988". Ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 098 Race - Nov 06, 1990". Ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 101 Race - Nov 03, 1992". Ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 101 Race - Nov 05, 1996". Ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State Senate 29 - Special Race - Mar 17, 1998". Ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State Senate 29 Race - Nov 07, 2000". Ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State Senate 31 Race - Nov 05, 2002". Ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State Senate 31 Race - Nov 02, 2004". Ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Steven A. Geller". Ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Senator Steven A. Geller". Flsenate.gov. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ "Senator Geller - The Florida Senate". Flsenate.gov.
- ^ "Select Committee on Property Insurance Accountability Committee Page - The Florida Senate". Flsenate.gov.
- ^ "Steve Geller Assumes Council Chairmanship". SFRPC. 19 November 2020.
- ^ "Leadership | Florida Association of Counties". Fl-counties.com.
- ^ "Water Resources WAB Members". Broward.org.
- ^ "Board Members". Broward.org.
- ^ "Broward County, FL Supervisor of Elections".
- ^ Man, Anthony (19 June 2020). "Politicians in Broward and Palm Beach counties are coasting back into office — without facing voters on election day". Sun-sentinel.com.
- ^ "NCOIL Elects Florida State Sen. Steve Geller President at Annual Meeting — National Association of Professional Insurance Agents". Pianet.com.
- ^ "Sports betting to be the focus of the upcoming Legislators from Gaming States' Meeting". Yogonet.com.