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Sophie Masloff

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Preceded by
  
Richard Caliguiri

Preceded by
  
Amy Ballinger

Spouse
  
Jack Masloff (m. 1939)

Succeeded by
  
Tom Murphy

Succeeded by
  
Duane Darkins

Preceded by
  
Ben Woods

Name
  
Sophie Masloff

Party
  
Democratic Party

Succeeded by
  
Ben Woods (Acting)

Role
  
American Politician


Sophie Masloff imagesibsyscom2008081917235922jpg

Died
  
August 17, 2014, Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, United States

Education
  
Fifth Avenue High School

Sophie masloff a one of a kind pittsburgher


Sophie Masloff (née Friedman; December 23, 1917 – August 17, 2014) was an American politician. A long-time member of the Democratic Party and civil servant, she was elected to the Pittsburgh City Council and later served as the mayor of Pittsburgh from 1988 to 1994. She was the first woman and the first Jew to hold that office.

Contents

Sophie Masloff Sophie Masloff ExMayor of Pittsburgh Dies at 96 The

Sophie masloff 1917 2014


Early life

Sophie Masloff Business Pulse Quiz Test your knowledge about Sophie

Masloff was born Sophie Friedman on December 23, 1917 to Romanian Jewish parents Jennie and Louis Friedman in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father died when she was two years old. She spoke only Yiddish until she began attending elementary school. She graduated from Fifth Avenue High School in 1935, and began a job as clerk in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 1938, where she stayed for 38 years.

City council

Sophie Masloff Colorful former Pittsburgh Mayor Sophie Masloff dies

Masloff was elected to the Pittsburgh City Council in 1976. As one of two females on council in the 1970s she was often witness to Councilwoman Michelle Madoff's colorful arguments. After a years long fight by Madoff to have the one restroom that was available to City Council at the Pittsburgh City Hall redesigned to be used in a uni-sex fashion Masloff was invited to a "toilet party" by Madoff to celebrate her success. Masloff did not attend, later commenting to the press: "What the hell do I care about her toilet? I got more important things to do."

Sophie Masloff Statement by Mayor William Peduto on Passing of Sophie

In January 1988, Masloff was elected president of the city council. Just four months later, mayor Richard Caliguiri died in office on May 6, 1988. According to the city charter, the city council president stood first in the line of succession, so Masloff automatically became mayor.

Pittsburgh mayor

Sophie Masloff Sophie Masloff Dead First Female Mayor Of Pittsburgh Dies

Masloff served out the remainder of Caliguiri's term, and was unopposed in a bid for a full term in November 1989. She was the first woman and the first Jew to hold the post. She once referred to the rock band The Who as "The How," among many other rehearsed malapropisms.

  • Masloff's administration was forced to deal with problems such as urban decay, a shrinking industrial sector, and crumbling infrastructure.
  • She was the first public figure to suggest that the city's baseball and football teams each have their own stadiums. Her vision was eventually implemented years after she left office. The success of retro-style ballparks such as Cleveland's Jacobs Field and Baltimore's Camden Yards eventually led to the building of PNC Park and of Heinz Field, a separate football stadium.
  • Masloff made fiscal responsibility the centerpiece of her term in office. During her administration, she privatized numerous costly city assets including the Pittsburgh Zoo, the National Aviary, Phipps Conservatory, and the Schenley Park Golf Course. She and the city council were sued by city controller Tom Flaherty for cutting $506,000 from his 1992 budget.

    • Electoral history

  • 1989 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
  • Sophie Masloff (D), 100%
  • Uncontested

    • Retirement and other achievements

    Masloff declined to run for a second full term in the 1993 election and retired to her home in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood in 1994. After stepping down as mayor, she has served as a Presidential Elector for Pennsylvania in 1996 and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania in 2000 and 2004. She also appeared in advertisements for Bruegger's and Schneider's Dairy.

    In 2007 a street near PNC Park was named Sophie Masloff Way in honor of Masloff at her 90th birthday. On September 13, 2011 Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett was on hand at the Pittsburgh Zoo as a seal was named for Masloff. Masloff died of natural causes on the morning of August 17, 2014, at the Center for Compassionate Care in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

    A new fireboat, acquired for Pittsburgh's fire department in 2017, was named in honor of Masloff.

    References

    Sophie Masloff Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA