Former state Rep. Richard Steinberg and his wife Micky are hoping Floridians show the same tendency as voters across the nation of forgiving politicians embroiled in extramarital affairs.
Despite his infidelities, Bill Clinton is considerably more popular than his fellow living former presidents and Hillary Clinton is an early front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. Former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who left politics in disgrace after lewd messages he sent out on Twitter went public, will be one of the leading contenders if he enters the New York City mayoral race later this year. Former Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina is in surprisingly good shape in a special election held last Tuesday for an open congressional seat -- and recent polls show him with a slight lead despite his various personal baggage.
News broke on Monday that Realtor and community leader Micky Steinberg is running for the Miami Beach City Commission.
While Steinberg is impressive in her own right, including serving on the board of the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority, she is somewhat in the shadow of her husband.
First elected to the Florida House in 2008, Richard Steinberg appeared poised to be one of the leading liberals in the Florida Legislature following in the footsteps of his father Paul who served in both chambers during the 1970s and early 1980s. But, in February 2012, Steinberg admitted to sending inappropriate texts to Assistant U.S. Attorney Marlene Fernandez-Karavetsos -- an unwilling recipient who complained to law enforcement about the matter, insisting the messages were threatening. Steinberg resigned his seat immediately.
It looked like the end of the road for Steinberg -- but a law enforcement investigation found that he did nothing wrong and that the messages he sent Fernandez-Karavetsos were not threatening. The former legislator was cleared of wrongdoing.
Steinberg might be out of the Florida House, but he is not out of politics by any means. In fact, Steinberg has filed paperwork to run for the Florida House seat currently held by Rep. David Richardson, D-Miami Beach, in 2016. While Steinberg has not raised any money since the end of the first quarter of 2012, he has kept his campaign accounts open and has more than $29,000 on hand if he looks to make a comeback in 2016.
With Steinberg still having a campaign committee in place, his future political prospects could be determined on how his wife does for her bid for the Miami Beach City Commission.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis piece exclusively for Sunshine State News.
