Rob Steele to Talk to GOP

A new president, the future of ObamaCare, new state and national GOP leadership—all topics to be addressed by Dr. Rob Steele speaking at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 21, to the Eastside Republican Club at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial.

The Ann Arbor cardiologist was selected last year as Michigan’s National Committeeman to serve on the Republican National Committee.

Commenting in advance of the meeting, club chairman Dr. Annette DeSantis Feldpausch reflected on Steele’s credentials.

“As a practicing cardiologist and member of the RNC, Dr. Steele is the right person to brief us on alternatives to ObamaCare and the direction of the national Republican Party now led by Michigan’s Ronna Romney McDaniel,” she said.

“Next week we look forward to his insider’s view of the Republican National Committee, as well the Michigan GOP now, also, under new leadership.”

Feldpausch added, “The Forum is open to the public at no charge, so we invite anyone interested in current events to attend and take part in the discussion following Dr. Steele’s presentation.”

Dr. Steele grew up in Greenville, Mich., and was educated at the University of Michigan where he earned his bachelor’s degree with High Honors followed by his MD degree at age 23. After further training at the University of Cincinnati and Washington University in St Louis, Steele returned to Ann Arbor, joining one of his medical school mentors in private practice at St Joseph Mercy Hospital.

He previously served on the clinical faculty at the University of Michigan Medical School for over 20 years. A Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, he has received advanced certification in echocardiography and interventional cardiology, and has performed more than 20,000 cardiac catheterization procedures.

A founding member of Michigan Heart, PC, he served many years on the board of directors, and chaired the finance committee. The practice grew to include 300 employees, 36 physicians, and operated seven permanent and two satellite offices in five counties prior to purchase by Trinity Health System.

Steele has also served on the board of directors of a large nonprofit managed care organization in addition to various medical staff, and physician organization committees.

A long-time auto enthusiast, Steele enjoys all things automotive, including autocross, racing, mechanical work and restoration, and helped pay for medical school by working in a UAW-organized parts plant.

He is a lifetime member of both the National Motorist Association and NRA, and a current member of the Washtenaw Sportsman Club. He has been a member of the non-partisan Heritage Foundation for more than 25 years, was a founding member of the SE Michigan committee for Heritage, and previously served on a Mackinac Center for Public Policy advisory board.

In 2010, Steele’s challenge to the longest-serving congressman in history, John Dingell, was Dingell’s closest race ever. Steele raised over $1 million in individual donations, the most by any U.S. House challenger in the country. In 2012 and 2014, he was a statewide Republican nominee for the University of Michigan Regents.

Steele and his wife, Phyllis Boniface, MD, a psychiatrist with a busy practice specializing in psychopharmacology, have four children, including a son and two daughters who are college graduates, and a third daughter who is currently a college student.

The Eastside Republican Club meets on the third Tuesday of the month from September through May. Admission is free and the public is always welcome. Stay up-to-date and "like" the ERC on Facebook.