Ralph D. Acosta (born September 28, 1934) is an American politician. He is a former Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

. He was the first Latino to be elected to the state House.

Background

Born in

Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico Sabana Grande () is a Sabana Grande barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located north of Lajas, Puerto Rico, Lajas and Guánica, Puerto Rico, Guánica; south of Maricao, Puerto Rico, Maricao; east of ...

on September 28, 1934, Acosta was professionally involved in long-haul trucking.

Political career

A Democrat, he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 1985 term. The first Latino to be elected to the state House, he served a total of five consecutive terms. In 1995, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for reelection. During his tenure, Acosta was appointed as one of two vice chairs of the Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, serving under Governor

Robert P. Casey Robert Patrick Casey (January 9, 1932 – May 30, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania who served as the 42nd governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the Pen ...

. One of the concerns on which he focused was safe, affordable housing for senior citizens. Acosta was succeeded by Benjamin Ramos.Whalen, Carmen Teresa.
From Puerto Rico to Philadelphia: Puerto Rican Workers and Post-War Economy
', p. 237. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press, 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta, Ralph American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American people in Pennsylvania politics Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives People from Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico Living people 1934 births 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly