|
| Affiliation | Democratic |
|
| |
2007-01-01 |
|
|
| Name | Sophie Masloff |
| Address | Squirrel Hill
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15217, United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
December 23, 1917
|
| Died | August 17, 2014
(96 years)
|
| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Modifed | RBH
Feb 13, 2019 10:04pm |
| Tags |
Jewish -
|
| Info | Sophie Friedman Masloff
From wikipedia...
Sophie Masloff is an American politician. She was Pittsburgh's first and to date only female mayor.
Born Sophie Friedman to Romanian Jewish parents in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she spoke only Yiddish until she began attending school in Pittsburgh's Hill District neighborhood.
Political career
Masloff began working as a civil servant in Pittsburgh government at the age of 18 and continued working for the city until she was elected to Pittsburgh city council in 1976. During her time on council. she was elected City Council President.
When Pittsburgh mayor Richard Caliguiri died in office on May 6, 1988, the city charter dictated that the city council president was next in line to assume the office of mayor. Masloff assumed the office, and served out the remainder of Caliguiri's term. She was reelected in November 1989. She was the first woman and the first Jewish person to hold the post.
Masloff, who was 70 years old when she took office, was characterized by her short stature and raspy, nasal voice, along with her ability to speak Pittsburghese (the local dialect). These attributes were quickly caricatured by political cartoonists. Her image as a "little Jewish grandmother" made her a well liked figure, even by those who disagreed with her administration. Masloff is best remembered for pop-culture malaprops. She once referred to Bruce Springsteen as "Bruce Bedspring". When the Grateful Dead came to Pittsburgh, she called them the "Dreadful Dead" and their fans "Deadenders".
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.
Masloff had a street near PNC Park named after her in December 2007, in honor of her 90th birthday.
[Link] |
 | BOOKS |
 |
|
| Title |
Purchase |
Contributor |
|
| Start Date |
End Date |
Type |
Title |
Contributor |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
| INFORMATION LINKS |
|
|
|
