Steve Feren, former Sunrise mayor, dies at 72

Steven “Steve” Feren, the former mayor who helped Sunrise grow as a city, died Saturday at Cleveland Clinic, according to his family. He was 72.

Feren, of Sunrise, also previously served as a state legislator and a judge, in addition to the Sunrise City Commission for about two decades.

Feren’s start of his political career was in the aftermath of the Mayor John Lomelo Jr. era, which came to a crash in 1985 when the elected mayor was convicted of federal extortion and mail fraud crimes. Within years, in 1988, Sunrise became a city manager form of government.

The City Commission hired Pat Salerno as assistant city manager in 1990 and then ultimately city manager. Although Salerno would eventually be forced out by the majority of the commission in 2008 amid his leadership style, it was during that time where Sunrise experienced so much of its growth, including the BankAtlantic Center — now known as the FLA Live Arena — Ikea and the 26-story Tao condos.

Feren was a constant Salerno supporter and the improvements on his watch: “Sunrise is the envy of every other city,” Feren told the Sun Sentinel in 2003. “The city manager is responsible for a lot of that.”

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Mitch Ceasar, the former chairman of the Broward Democratic Party, said Feren was “a little on the quiet side,” but as a lawyer, “no shrinking violet.”

“He felt very devoted to public service,” Ceasar said. “I thought he was the bridge to the modern Sunrise, meaning out of the Lomelo era and into more modern, urban Sunrise.”

Born in Manhattan, Feren graduated from Queens College and St. John’s University School of Law. He moved to Broward with his late wife for the weather, according to his only child. “He got himself involved any way he could,” said his son, Adam Feren.

Feren was first elected to the Commission in 1987 and served until 1992, when he was elected as a state representative. He served in the Legislature for four years. But then it was immediately back to Sunrise politics. In 1996, he was appointed commissioner, then weeks later appointed deputy mayor, which automatically made him the mayor until the next election.

He was elected mayor in that next election in 1997, and was then reelected without opposition to the City Commission in 2001 and 2005.

Feren stepped down as Sunrise mayor in January 2009 after winning election to the circuit bench. He lost a reelection bid in 2014 after his challenger attacked his absenteeism.

Mayor Steven Effman, who defeated his political enemy Lomelo in a 1993 comeback attempt, served with Feren for about a six years and remembers him as an “outstanding leader.”

“He was in touch with the people all the time, regularly attended homeowner’s meetings, condo meetings, civic association meetings, he had long roots in the city of Sunrise,” Effman said. “He was a good guy. You could talk to him any time you wanted about anything, always accessible.”

His son, Adam Feren, of New York, said his father “definitely always loved Sunrise and wanted to give everything to it.”

“He loved being on the City Council and mayor and being part of the city and watching it grow.”

The memorial service will be 2:45 p.m. Thursday at Star of David Memorial Gardens Cemetery and Funeral Chapel, 7701 Bailey Road in North Lauderdale.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash