Melvin A. “Mickey” Steinberg, who served for 20 years in the Maryland Senate — including four as Senate president — before becoming lieutenant governor under Gov. William Donald Schaefer, died on March 10. He was 92.
From the late 1960s through the 1990s, Steinberg, of Pikesville, was a central figure in Maryland politics. Known as a pragmatic lawmaker, he valued compromise and personal relationships across party lines.
Jewish life remained a constant thread in his life. Steinberg was raised in an Orthodox Jewish household in West Baltimore and remained active in synagogues and Jewish communal organizations throughout his career.
Born on Oct. 4, 1933, Steinberg grew up on West Lanvale Street, where his father, Irvin Steinberg, a Russian immigrant, and his mother, Julia, ran a small grocery store. The family lived upstairs from the shop, and Steinberg helped there as a boy. His son Edward Steinberg said those early experiences shaped the values that guided him throughout his life.
Steinberg attended Baltimore City College before enrolling at the University of Baltimore, where a combined undergraduate and law program allowed him to graduate and pass the bar at age 21.
Soon after finishing law school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Serving aboard a destroyer during peacetime in the mid-1950s, he traveled widely.
“I think the adventure appealed to him,” Edward Steinberg said. “It was peacetime, and he had a chance to travel and see the world.”
After two years in the Navy, Steinberg returned to Baltimore and began practicing law, focusing largely on labor and employment law and representing a labor union.
Steinberg entered public service while continuing his private law practice between legislative sessions.
His interest in politics grew naturally from his personality, said his son. “He liked being around people and talking with people, and he wanted to make a positive impact on everyday Marylanders.”
In 1967, Steinberg was elected to the Maryland Senate, becoming Baltimore County’s first Jewish state senator.
Over the next two decades in Annapolis, he became known for his ability to work across party lines and build relationships that helped move legislation forward.
Colleagues came to see him as a skilled negotiator who believed in working with political opponents rather than treating them as adversaries.
“He respected people who disagreed with him,” Edward Steinberg said. “They weren’t enemies. They were people you worked with to reach compromise.”
Steinberg also became known for his sense of humor, which often helped ease tensions during political negotiations.
“He loved to joke around,” his son said. “He used humor to diffuse situations.”
Among the accomplishments he was proudest of were helping preserve the Peabody Conservatory when it faced possible closure and successfully advocating for modernization of the Maryland State Police’s medevac helicopter program.
As lieutenant governor beginning in 1987, Steinberg played a key role in one of Baltimore’s most visible public projects.
Serving as Schaefer’s chief liaison to the legislature, he helped secure approval for the legislation that led to construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
“That probably wouldn’t have happened without him,” Edward Steinberg said. “He had the relationships and the ability to work across the aisle and get it done.”
Steinberg and Schaefer generally worked well together, though disagreements occasionally arose.
“There were moments of tension later on,” his son said. “But overall, they were able to work together and accomplish a lot.”
Throughout his life, Steinberg remained active in Jewish communal institutions.
He first belonged to Ner Tamid Congregation and later became affiliated with Beth El Congregation. In 1983, he received Ner Tamid Brotherhood’s Man of the Year award, and in 1993, Beth El’s Men’s Club honored him with its Distinguished Service award.
He also supported numerous Jewish organizations and causes, including Israel Bonds, B’nai B’rith, the Torah Institute, the World Jewish Congress and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“Judaism was a major part of his life,” Edward Steinberg said. “His Jewish traditions and values were important to him.”
At home, Steinberg and his wife, Anita, raised their three children in what their son described as a modern Orthodox household. Their children attended Hebrew school and celebrated bar and bat mitzvahs, and Steinberg made it a point to return home for Shabbat dinners despite the demands of public office.
“No matter how busy he was in Annapolis, he made it home for Friday night dinners,” Edward Steinberg said.
Those family traditions were rooted in a marriage that lasted nearly seven decades. “They were a great pair,” said Edward Steinberg, whose parents met on a blind date arranged by relatives.
After leaving elected office, Steinberg returned to private legal practice and maintained business interests. He remained connected to politics through lobbying and advisory work.
In later years, he devoted more time to family, especially his three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
“That was really his passion,” Edward Steinberg said. “He loved being involved in their lives, going to their events and spending time with them.”
Even as he aged, Steinberg’s personality remained unmistakable. When he joined the LifeBridge Health gym in Pikesville in his 80s, his workouts rarely lasted long.
“He’d work out for a few minutes and then spend the rest of the time working the room,” Edward Steinberg said. “That was my father. He loved talking to people.”
Steinberg spent his final years at Edenwald Senior Living in Towson. Although declining mobility limited his activities in the last year of his life, he continued attending Shabbat services there regularly.
For his family, Steinberg’s presence filled every room he entered. “When he was in the room, you knew he was there,” said Edward Steinberg. He added that the family will miss the humor, the companionship and the joy he took in being with his family.
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.
