Randy Vulakovich (born 1950) is an American politician who served as a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

for the 38th district from January 6, 2015, to January 1, 2019. He previously served in the 40th legislative district. He was elected in a special election on August 7, 2012. Vulakovich was reelected to a full term in 2014 in the newly established 38th district. In May 2018, he lost re-nomination to that seat in the Republican primary to Ross commissioner Jeremy Shaffer.

Education

Prior to holding elected office, Vulakovich attended the

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

Police Academy and

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

Career

He served as a police sergeant with the Shaler Township Police Department, where he was known as "Officer V." On April 11, 2006, Democrat Shawn Flaherty defeated Republican Mike Dolan in a special election to fill the remainder of Jeff Habay's term as state representative. On May 16, 2006, Vulakovich defeated two other Republicans (including Mike Dolan) for the right to challenge Flaherty in that November's election. Vulakovich defeated Flaherty that November by a 53–47 margin. Vulakovich resigned from the State House on August 29, 2012, just prior to taking the oath of office to begin his Senate service. In 2012 he defeated former Congresswoman Melissa Hart in the primary, leading to Vulakovich being nominated by the Republican party to face Sharon Brown to fill the vacancy in Pennsylvania's 40th State Senate district created by the resignation of

Jane Orie Jane Clare Orie (born September 18, 1961) is an American politician, attorney, and convicted felon who served in both Houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. While in the State Senate, she represented the 40th district, including portions o ...

. He was elected to the seat in the August 7, 2012, special election with over 73% of the vote to Brown's 27%. In the wake of his election, Vulakovich announced he would resign his State House seat to assume his seat in the State Senate. Vulakovich was sworn in as a state senator on August 29, 2012. For most of his tenure, Vulakovich represented

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

's 11th and 12th wards; he was the only elected Republican representing any portion of Pittsburgh above the county level.

References

External links

Pennsylvania State Senate - Randy Vulakovich
- Official PA Senate website
Pennsylvania Senator Randy Vulakovich
- Official Party website {{DEFAULTSORT:Vulakovich, Randy 1950 births Living people American municipal police officers Duquesne University alumni Law enforcement officials from Pennsylvania Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly