View source for Mike Signer

{{Infobox Officeholder
| name = Mike Signer
| photo = 2018-Mike Signer.JPG
| caption = Signer in 2018 <br/> City's official photo
| office1= Member of the<br/>[[Charlottesville City Council]]
| district1 = At-large (City-wide)
| party1 = 
| election1 = November 3, 2015
| term_start1 = January 1, 2016
| term_end1 = December 31, 2019
| preceded1 =[[Dede Smith]] (D)
| succeeded1 = [[Michael Payne]] (D)
| office2 = Mayor, elected by <br/>[[Charlottesville City Council]]
| district2 = 
| party2 = 
| term_start2 = January 1, 2016
| term_end2 = December 31, 2017
| preceded2 = [[Satyendra Huja]] (D)
| succeeded2 = [[Nikuyah Walker]] (I)
| birth_date = Jan. 1, 1973<br/>Age {{age|1973|01|01}}
| date_of_death =
| birth_place =  Arlington, Virginia
| place_of_death =
| spouse = Emily Blout (m. 2012)
| children = 2
| residence = Third Ward: [[Charlottesville Voting Precincts|Tonsler Precinct]] (301) <br/> Fourth Ward: [[Charlottesville Voting Precincts|Alumni Hall Precinct]] (402)
| alma_mater = B.A., Princeton University<br/>Ph.D., University of California <br/> J.D., University of Virginia School of Law (2004)<ref name="profile">{{cite-progress|title=For Mayor Signer, public service is 'the cause of my life'|url=http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/politics/for-charlottesville-mayor-signer-public-service-is-the-cause-of/article_124295c1-b969-517b-a8b5-4c9c64d58f49.html|author=Chris Suarez|pageno=|printdate=January 9, 2016|publishdate=January 9, 2016|accessdate=December 27, 2016}}</ref>
| profession = Attorney 
| religion = Judaism
| website = http://www.mikesigner.com/
| vpapid = 74551
| vpap_donations = https://www.vpap.org/donors/256996-signer-for-charlottesville-city-council-mike/
}}

'''Mike Signer''' ('''Atri Michael Signer'''; born 1973) is an author, advocate, political theorist, and attorney. He served one four-year term on the Charlottesville City Council during the [[Charlottesville City Council (2016-2017)|(2016-2017)]] and [[Charlottesville City Council (2018-2019)|(2018-2019)]] sessions. Signer served as mayor for a two-year term during the [[Charlottesville City Council (2016-2017)|(2016-2017)]] session.<ref name="mayor">{{cite-progress|title=Signer as Charlottesville mayor amid public dissension|url=http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/signer-chosen-as-charlottesville-mayor-amid-public-dissension/article_58d8a14c-b341-11e5-b037-436a2a772985.html|author=Chris Suarez|pageno=|printdate=January 4, 2016|publishdate=January 4, 2016|accessdate=December 27, 2016}}</ref> <ref>{{minutes-citycouncil|when=January 4, 2016|id=732436}}</ref> He is known for his books ''Becoming Madison: The Extraordinary Origins of the Least Likely Founding Father'' and ''Demagogue: The Extraordinary Origins of the Least Likely Founding Father'' and as a longstanding Virginia Democratic activist and former candidate for lieutenant governor. He is a lecturer at the [[University of Virginia]].

== Brief Bio==
Signer is a member of the [[Charlottesville Democratic Committee|Democratic Party]]. He is managing principal of Madison Law & Strategy Group, PLLC headquartered in Arlington, VA; a boutique strategic counseling firm which he founded in 2010. Signer practices corporate and regulatory law and is Vice President and General Counsel of [[WillowTree, Inc|WillowTree, Inc.]], a technology firm in Charlottesville. 

Signer worked for the [[Center for American Progress]], and with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Podesta John Podesta] on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama Barack Obama]'s State Department Transition Team. Signer moved to Charlottesville in 2013 with his wife, [[Emily Blout]]. A lecturer at the University of Virginia, he teaches in both the Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics and the Batten School for Leadership and Public Policy. Signer previously chaired the [[Emergency Food Network]], served as president of the [[Fifeville Neighborhood Association]], and was a member of the steering committee of the [[West Main Street Redevelopment Project]]. In 2017, Signer and his wife, Dr. Emily Blout, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia, moved from the [[Fifeville|Fifeville Neighborhood]] to the [[Venable neighborhood|Venable Neighborhood]]. They have two children who attend a local Montessori School.

{{Wikipedia link|Michael_Signer|whylink=wellcovered|linktext=Michael Signer}}

==2009 Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor==
Mike Signer of Arlington, a former deputy counselor to Mark Warner on Homeland Security and National Guard policy and senior strategist for Tom Perriello, lost the June 9, 2009 Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia to former state Secretary of Finance Jody Wagner. <ref>https://wn.com/michael_signer/news Michael Signer</ref>

==[[2015 election]]==
Signer was one of three Democratic nominees<ref>{{cite web|title=Signer launches race for Charlottesville City Council|url=http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/news/article/20153-signer-launches-race-for-charlottesville-city-coun/|author=Sean Tubbs|work=|publisher=Charlottesville Tomorrow|location=|publishdate=February 11, 2015|accessdate=February 12, 2015}}</ref> for three open seats on the City Council. He was elected to the [[Charlottesville City Council]] on November 3, 2015. <ref name="unofficial">{{cite web|title=2015 November General - Unofficial Results|url=http://results.elections.virginia.gov/vaelections/2015%20November%20General/Site/Locality/ALBEMARLE%20COUNTY/Index.html|author=|work=|publisher=Virginia State Board of Elections|location=|publishdate=November 3, 2015|accessdate=November 3, 2015}}</ref>
{{2015 election/City Council}}
{{Candidate profile
|candidate=[[Mike Signer|Mike Signer (D)]]
|electionyear=2015
|office=Charlottesville City Council
|transcript=http://www.cvillepedia.org/mediawiki/images/20150828-Signer-interview.pdf
|url=http://www.cvillepedia.org/mediawiki/images/20150828-Signer-interview.mp3
|source=http://www.cvilletomorrow.org/news/article/22306-mike-signer/
}}
===Audio of Campaign Announcement===
{{MP3|url=http://s3.amazonaws.com/cville/cm%2Fmutlimedia%2F20150211-signer-announcement.MP3}} 
===[[Charlottesville City Council (2016-2017)]]===
On January 4, 2016, at the organizational meeting, Signer was unanimously selected by his peers to serve as mayor for a two-year term, succeeding outgoing mayor [[Satyendra Huja]]. Signer took office the same evening. 
====Mayor====
Shortly after being selected as mayor, Signer became the target of activist [[Jeff Fogel]] who questioned how and why he had been chosen. Former City Council candidate [[Paul Long]] questioned the amount of money raised by Signer for the election. Signer spent $51,305 in the general election compared to $28,632 spent by [[Wes Bellamy]] (D) and $23,081 spent by [[Kathy Galvin]] (D). <ref>{{cite web|title=Elections for Mike Signer|url=http://www.vpap.org/candidates/87148/elections/|author=|work=|publisher=Virginia Public Access Project|location=|publishdate=|accessdate=December 27, 2016}}</ref> Bellamy defended Signer. Fogel tried to respond but was ruled out of order. <ref>{{cite web|title=Signer elected mayor, Bellamy vice mayor|url=http://www.c-ville.com/signer-elected-mayor-bellamy-vice-mayor/#.WGPcuFMrKpp|author=Lisa Provence|work=News Article|publisher=C-Ville Weekly|location=|publishdate=January 5, 2016|accessdate=December 27, 2016}}</ref> <ref>{{minutes-citycouncil|when=January 4, 2016|id=732436}}</ref>
*[[January 31]], [[2017]] &ndash; Mayor Mike Signer holds “Capital of the Resistance” press conference on Downtown Mall.<ref name="Heaphy Report">{{cite web|title=FINAL REPORT INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE 2017 PROTEST EVENTS IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA|url=https://www.charlottesville.org/home/showdocument?id=59691|author= Hunton & Williams LLP |work=|publisher=|location=|publishdate= December 1, 2017|accessdate=December 1, 2019}}</ref>
====Committee assignments====
Signer was appointed to the following committees in January 2016. <ref>{{cite email|subject=RE: list of appointments|from=Paige Rice|sourceorg=City of Charlottesville|to=Sean Tubbs|repositoryorg=Charlottesville Tomorrow|senddate=January 7, 2016}}</ref>
*Audit Committee
*Cable Franchise Committee
*[[Planning and Coordinating Council]]
*School Capital Projects
*Social Services Advisory Board
===[[Charlottesville City Council (2018-2019)]]===
==[[2019 election]]==
Signer announced on March 28, 2019 that he would not seek a second term on Council. <ref>{{cite-progress|title=Councilors Bellamy, Signer will not seek re-election|url=https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/city/councilors-bellamy-signer-will-not-seek-re-election/article_5f726620-51a7-11e9-815c-17b2febac82b.html|author=Nolan Stout|pageno=|printdate=March 29, 2019|publishdate=March 29, 2019|accessdate=March 29, 2019}}</ref>

<!--
==Biography==
Signer lives in Charlottesville with his wife, [[Emily Blout]], and their twin sons. Signer attended Washington and Lee High School in Arlington County. He credits attending Earth Day in 1990 as one reason he sought out public service. <ref name="profile" /> At Princeton University, he helped work on the 1992 presidential campaign  of Bill Clinton. After graduation he worked on a series of internships and campaigns including Mark Warner's unsuccessful bid for Senate in 1996. Signer earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from the [[University of Virginia School of Law]], where he was a Clerk at the [[Legal Aid Justice Center]] and Research Assistant to Professors A. E. Dick Howard and Michael Klarman. He has also served as president of the [[Fifeville Neighborhood Association]]. Signer bought a house in Fifeville in 2005. Though he later moved out of Charlottesville, he kept the home. <ref name="profile" /> Signer moved back to Charlottesville in 2013 with his family. He got involved with several groups including the [[Fifeville Neighborhood Association]]. <ref name="profile" />

Signer then worked as a policy fellow for organizations such as Third Way and Center for American Progress. He also taught at Virginia Tech during this period. Signer decided to seek office after being inspired by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Perriello Tom Perriello]'s successful run for Virginia's 5th Congressional District. In 2009, he ran for lieutenant governor and received 21 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. He also founded his law firm, the [[Madison Law & Strategy Group]] and wrote his first book. <ref name="profile" />
-->
==Photo gallery==
{{clear}}
<gallery caption="Photo gallery" widths="210px" heights="180px" perrow="3">
VOTER-GUIDE-Mike-Signer.jpg
20161024-signer-bos.jpg|Signer asks Albemarle Board of Supervisors to keep county's court systems in Court Square
</gallery>
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External Links==

{{DEFAULTSORT:Signer, Atri Michael "Mike"}} 
[[Category: 21st-century Charlottesville politicians]]
[[Category: 2015 candidates]]
[[Category: Princeton University alumni]]
[[Category: University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category: University of Virginia School of Law alumni]]
[[Category: Attorneys]]
[[Category: Charlottesville Democrats]]
[[Category: Charlottesville City Council members]]
[[Category: Mayors of Charlottesville]]
[[Category: Charlottesville historic monument controversy]]
[[Category: Virginia Democrats]]