Background
Although he was born in Chicago, Illinois, Kestenbaum was raised in East Lansing, Michigan, where his father Justin L. Kestenbaum was a professor of history at Michigan State University.
Although he was born in Chicago, Illinois, Kestenbaum was raised in East Lansing, Michigan, where his father Justin L. Kestenbaum was a professor of history at Michigan State University.
Bachelor in Economics, Michigan State University, 1979; Juris Doctor, Wayne State University, 1982; postgraduate, Cornell Univercity, 1988-1990.
He received a bachelor's degree in economics from Michigan State University, followed by a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University in 1982. Kestenbaum was an analyst and computer lab director for Michigan State University, later becoming an academic specialist there. It was during this time that he created The Political Graveyard in 1996.
He was later on staff at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, and has taught historic preservation law at Eastern Michigan University. Kestenbaum is a Democrat. He served as a county commissioner in Ingham County, Michigan (1983–88) and Washtenaw County, Michigan (2000–02).
In 2004, he was elected as the Washtenaw County Clerk/Register of Deeds, the first Democrat in that position in 72 years. On Saturday, March 22, 2014, following a U.S. District Court ruling that Michigan's ban on same sex marriage was unconstitutional, Kestenbaum was one of four Michigan county clerks to open for special hours while the ruling was in effect. His office issued marriage licenses to 74 gay and lesbian couples.
Member planning commission City of E. Lansing, 1977-1979. Replacement delegate Democratic National Mid-term Convention, 1978. County commissioner Ingham County, Mason, Michigan, 1983-1988.
Member history district commission, City of Ann Arbor, since 1992, chairhist. district commission, since 1997. Board directors Michigan State University Student Housing Corporation, East Lansing, 1978-1979, Ann Arbor History Foundation, since 1992, Arbornet, Inc., Ann Arbor, 1993-1995. Member university planning committee, Wayne State University, Detroit, 1980-1982.
Vice-chairman Ann Arbor Democratic Party, since 1994. Member Temple Beth Emeth. Member State Bar of Michigan, National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Married M. Janice Gutfreund, November 17, 1990.