Pamela Marie Iovino is an American politician from the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. A Democrat, she was elected to 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 37th district and served from 2019 to 2020.

Education and early career

Iovino was raised in a suburb outside Pittsburgh. She graduated from

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in political science in 1978. She joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in 1980. She eventually earned the rank of captain. Iovino earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in national security and strategic studies from the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

in 1993. In 2004, Iovino became Assistant Secretary in the

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

for Congressional and Legislative Affairs.

Earlier political career

Following

Tim Murphy Timothy Murphy may refer to: Politics * Tim Murphy (American politician) (born 1952), American Republican Party politician from Pennsylvania * Tim Murphy (Canadian politician) (born 1959), Canadian politician * Timothy J. Murphy (1893–1949), Iri ...

's resignation from the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from in 2017, Iovino sought to become the Democratic Party nominee in the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to succeed him. On November 19, 2017, local Democrats chose former U.S. Assistant Attorney

Conor Lamb Conor James Lamb (born June 27, 1984) is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district from 2018 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the ...

during a nominating convention instead. Iovino placed third on both ballots, trailing behind Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli and Lamb, the eventual special election winner.

Pennsylvania Senate

After Guy Reschenthaler, who represented the 37th district in the

, was elected to the

in 2018, a

was called to fill the remainder of his term in the state senate. Democrats selected Iovino as their nominee, and she faced Republican D. Raja. On April 2, 2019, Iovino defeated Raja, receiving 52% of the vote. Iovino was formally sworn in on April 29, 2019. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Iovino sponsored an amendment clarifying that volunteer firefighting companies could use Volunteer Firefighting Relief Association funds to sanitize and disinfect equipment. In July 2020, Iovino signed a letter urging Governor

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and l ...

to ease restrictions on bars and restaurants. In July 2020, Iovino lost her

wallet A wallet is a flat case or pouch, often used to carry small personal items such as physical currency, debit cards, and credit cards; identification documents such as driving licence, identification card, club card; photographs, transit pass, b ...

, which was coincidentally found and returned by her Republican opponent Devlin Robinson. Iovino was defeated by Devlin Robinson on November 3, 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iovino, Pam Living people People from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania Gettysburg College alumni Naval War College alumni United States Navy captains United States Department of Veterans Affairs officials 1956 births Military personnel from Pennsylvania Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly