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

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 ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, representing District 19, which encompasses parts of

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

and surrounding areas.

Life

Weinstein was born in

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 31,330, its highest United States census, decennial co ...

. He relocated to

in 1975. He earned his bachelor's degree from

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the seminary became a four-year coll ...

, a

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

from

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

, and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

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 ...

. He later served as a

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

in the State Attorney's Office. He currently resides in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

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 (NF ...

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 This is a list of elections that were held in 2010. * 2010 United Nations Security Council election * 2010 national electoral calendar * 2010 local electoral calendar Africa * 2010 Burkinabé presidential election * 2010 Burundian Senate election * ...

. 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 The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

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 Candidates in the 2012 United States elections 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature Jewish state legislators in Florida