By Mike Colombo | Candidate for Lee County Court Judge, Group 5
I decided to seek this office because I believe my legal experience, courtroom background, and life experience have prepared me to serve. During more than two decades as a trial attorney, I have completed more than 100 trials through verdict. My experience includes representing plaintiffs in civil cases, defending clients in criminal and civil matters, and serving as a prosecutor for more than 14 years.
I would like voters to know more about the experiences that shaped me and the qualifications I would bring to the bench.
Family, Work and Public Service
I was born to Italian immigrant parents who taught me the importance of family, loyalty, hard work, integrity, and character. My mother, Lydia Colombo, was a highly accomplished seamstress in New York City during the late 1960s. She created custom dresses for prominent clients, including Jacqueline Kennedy, Lynda Bird Johnson, Luci Baines Johnson, Happy Rockefeller, Ben Gazzara and Natalie Wood. Her custom wedding dress for Lynda Bird Johnson in 1967 has been seen by millions.
My mother eventually left her celebrity clients to raise my sister and me. My father, who passed away on May 9, 2026, worked for more than 40 years as a service technician after serving our country in the United States Air Force.
I grew up watching my parents work long hours, often well into the night, to put food on the table and send me to school. My commitment to public service was shaped by their example, including my father’s military service and their shared belief that honest work matters.
Overcoming Challenges Through Education
I earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a concentration in criminal justice, from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania in 1994. I later attended Quinnipiac University School of Law in Hamden, Connecticut, graduating in the top third of my class in May 2000.
I have dyslexia, and several school professionals advised me that becoming a lawyer was unlikely. I refused to accept that conclusion. Like the persistence portrayed in the movie “Rudy,” I stood outside the admissions dean’s office at a local law school determined to learn what I needed to do to earn a place there.
After graduating from law school, I passed the bar examination on my first attempt and was sworn in as an attorney in November 2000.
Experience on Every Side of the Courtroom
I began my legal career with the State Attorney’s Office in Connecticut, where I prosecuted cases and did not lose a jury trial during my four years there. Wanting to understand other areas of law, I later worked as a criminal defense attorney and represented plaintiffs in civil cases.
In 2008, I served as lead counsel in a civil matter argued before the Connecticut Supreme Court against an insurance company. I also represented a firefighter in an employment-discrimination case against the City of Stamford. That litigation helped establish new precedent involving firefighter promotional testing.
Early in my career, I learned that justice should never depend on the size, wealth, or influence of the parties involved. The legal profession is about justice, and justice must be blind.
Federal Law Enforcement Service
In June 2009, I became a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. After completing the agency’s background-screening process and obtaining top-secret clearance, I was stationed along the northern border.
My investigations included human trafficking, terrorism, child exploitation, immigration violations, and drug trafficking. I was also selected as one of the collateral case agents assigned to the investigation of the 2010 attempted bombing in New York City’s Times Square.
During my federal service, I was admitted to practice law in Florida and Georgia. Injuries eventually required me to return to trial practice and brought me to Southwest Florida, where my wife’s family lives.
Serving the 20th Judicial Circuit
In May 2012, I began working in Lee County as an assistant state attorney. During more than a decade as a prosecutor in the 20th Judicial Circuit, I handled thousands of cases ranging from lower-level misdemeanors to serious felony matters carrying potential life sentences.
I accepted every challenge I was given, including several years in the Special Victims Unit, where I handled some of the circuit’s most difficult and sensitive cases. That work required preparation, sound judgment, attention to detail, and respect for everyone involved in the judicial process.
In January 2023, I joined the trial litigation firm of Suarez, Rios & Weinberg, where I handle criminal and civil matters. Our firm represents people accused of offenses ranging from misdemeanors to crimes carrying potential life sentences. The firm has also represented individuals charged in connection with the events of Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Representing people on different sides of the courtroom has strengthened my belief that every person is entitled to the protections provided by the United States Constitution and the Florida Constitution. Integrity, fairness, and transparency are essential to the practice of law and to public confidence in the courts.
I am also proud to serve on a Florida Bar professional ethics committee. I was appointed in 2023 and reappointed in June 2026.
A Family Rooted in Lee County
My wife, Susan, and I have been married for more than 20 years. We have three sons who have enjoyed playing baseball in the community. Susan serves on the San Carlos Babe Ruth Baseball Board, and I regularly volunteer my time with the organization.
When I am not working, I enjoy fishing and spending time with my family at the baseball field. Those experiences have kept me connected to the families and neighborhoods a county judge is elected to serve.
A judge must understand the law, manage a courtroom fairly, and treat every person with dignity and respect. I believe my experience as a prosecutor, defense attorney, civil litigator, federal special agent, ethics committee member, husband and father has prepared me for that responsibility.
When legal and real-life experience matter, I respectfully ask for your vote for Mike Colombo on or before Aug. 18.
Mike Colombo, Candidate for Lee County Court Judge, Group 5
Paid by Michael Colombo, Non-Partisan, for Lee County Court Judge.
