Steven A. Geller
Member of the Broward County Commission from the 5th district
Incumbent
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] (1958-11-04) November 4, 1958 (age 65) The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Laurel Leffler
Children	2
Education	Florida State University ( BA, JD)

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]

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

External links

• Greenspoon Marder, P.A.: Steven Geller - Law Firm Profile (Practice Areas: Zoning, Land Use, Gambling)