Sophie Masloff
Sophie Masloff | |
---|---|
Mayor of Pittsburgh | |
In office May 6, 1988 – January 3, 1994 | |
Preceded by | Richard Caliguiri |
Succeeded by | Tom Murphy |
President of the Pittsburgh City Council | |
In office January 4, 1988[1] – May 6, 1988 | |
Preceded by | Ben Woods |
Succeeded by | Ben Woods (Acting)[a] |
Member of the Pittsburgh City Council | |
In office April 27, 1976 – May 6, 1988 | |
Preceded by | Amy Ballinger |
Succeeded by | Duane Darkins |
Personal details | |
Born | Sophie Friedman December 23, 1917 Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Jack Masloff m. 1939–1991 (his death)[2] |
Children | 1 |
a.^ As the Council's President Pro Tempore, Woods declared himself Acting Council President following Masloff's ascension to the office of Mayor.[3] | |
Sophie Masloff (née Friedman; December 23, 1917 – August 17, 2014) was an American politician. A long-time member of the
Early life
Masloff was born Sophie Friedman on December 23, 1917
Political career
City council
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."[8]
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
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.[9] She once referred to the rock band The Who as "The How,"[10] among many other rehearsed malapropisms.[11]
- 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 Heinz Field, a separate football stadium.
- Masloff made fiscal responsibility the centerpiece of her term in office. During her administration, she
Electoral history
- 1989 Pittsburgh mayoral election
- Sophie Masloff (D), 100% (ran 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
In 2007 a street near
A new fireboat, acquired for Pittsburgh's fire department in 2017, was named in honor of Masloff.[19]
References
- ^ "The choice is Sophie". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 7, 1988. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
- Pittsburgh Press. June 2, 1991. p. A1. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Council Embroiled in Power Play". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 14, 1988. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
- Christian Science Monitor. p. 7. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
- ^ Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Archived from the originalon December 26, 2007. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
- ^ McFadden, Robert D. (August 17, 2014). "Sophie Masloff, Ex-Mayor of Pittsburgh, Dies at 96". New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ a b Naccarelli, Sean (March 25, 2010). "Let's Talk About: Mayor Sophie Masloff". post-gazette.com. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
- ^ Hritz, Tom (April 8, 1980). "Madoff's Crusade Opens Council's 'John' to Mary". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 17, 2014 – via Google News.
- ^ Smith, Craig (February 13, 2011). "Masloff in hospital, reported as 'alert'". TribLive. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ O'Neill, Brian (February 7, 2010). "How's The Who? Not right for us". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ "Colorful Sophie maintained her popularity through tough times". Beaver County Times. January 2, 1994. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Walsh, Lawrence (February 19, 1992). "Flaherty budget not singled out, mayor says". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ O'Neill, Brian (February 19, 1992). "Masloff-speak:Art of saying little about not much". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ "Sophie Masloff at the Political Graveyard". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ "Ex-mayor lauding vales of bagels, milk". Herald-Journal. January 20, 1999. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
- ^ Majors, Dan (August 9, 2011). "A sea lion named Sophie? It's a natural". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ "Death claims former Pittsburgh Mayor Sophie Masloff". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 17, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- ^ "Former Mayor Sophie Masloff Dies At 96". CBS Pittsburgh. August 17, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- ^
Bob Bauder (August 3, 2017). "Pittsburgh's new fire boat is powerful enough to spray a bridge fire". Tribune Live. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
Mayor Bill Peduto named the boat to honor the late Sophie Masloff, the city's only female mayor and a former city councilwoman from Squirrel Hill. 'A boat should always be named after a woman, and there's no greater woman who was a leader for city government than Mayor Masloff,' Peduto said. 'There really wasn't any question, if we were naming it for a woman, which woman we should name it for.'
Further reading
- "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search".
- "Where is the next generation of Pittsburgh characters?". Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
- "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search".
- "The Prescott Courier - Google News Archive Search".
- "Why They Mattered: Sophie Masloff - POLITICO Magazine". Politico Magazine.