Sophie Masloff (née Friedman; December 23, 1917 – August 17, 2014) was an American politician. A long-time member of the Democratic Party and civil servant, she was elected to the

Pittsburgh City Council The Pittsburgh City Council serves as the legislative body in the City of Pittsburgh. It consists of nine members. City council members are chosen by plurality elections in each of nine districts. The city operates under a mayor-council sys ...

and later served as the mayor of

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 ...

from 1988 to 1994. She was the first and to date only woman and the first

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

to hold that office.

Early life

Masloff was born Sophie Friedman on December 23, 1917 to Romanian Jewish parents Jennie and Louis Friedman in the

Hill District The Hill District is a grouping of historically African American neighborhoods in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning in the years leading up to World War I, "the Hill" was the cultural center of black life in the city and a major ce ...

, Pennsylvania. Her father, an insurance salesman, died when she was two years old. She had two sisters and a brother from her mother's previous marriage. She spoke only

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

until she began attending elementary school. She graduated from

Fifth Avenue High School Fifth Avenue High School is a defunct school located at 1800 Fifth Avenue in the Bluff (Pittsburgh), Bluff neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Built in 1894 as a large Romanesque architecture, Romanesque/Gothic Revival buildi ...

in 1935, and began a job as clerk in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in 1938, where she stayed for 38 years.

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." In January 1988, Masloff was elected president of the city council. Just four months later, mayor

Richard Caliguiri Richard S. Caliguiri (October 20, 1931 – May 6, 1988) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1977 until his death in 1988. Early career Caliguiri was of Italian Arbëresh ancestry, and grew up i ...

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. She once referred to the rock band

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

as "The How," among many other rehearsed malapropisms. * Masloff's administration was forced to deal with problems such as

urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

, a shrinking industrial sector, and crumbling

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

. * 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

Jacobs Field Progressive Field is a baseball stadium in the downtown Cleveland, downtown area of Cleveland, Ohio. It is the ballpark of the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball and, together with Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Rocket Arena, is part of ...

and Baltimore's

Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the Baseball park#Retro-classic ballparks, "retro" major le ...

eventually led to the building of

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore (Pittsburgh), North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth location to serve as the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. Opened during the 2001 Major League Baseb ...

and of

Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...

, a separate football stadium. * Masloff made fiscal responsibility the centerpiece of her term in office. During her administration, she

privatized Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

numerous costly city assets including the Pittsburgh Zoo, the

National Aviary The National Aviary, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the only independent indoor nonprofit aviary in the United States. It is also the country's largest indoor aviary, and the only one accorded honorary "Nationa ...

, Phipps Conservatory, and the Schenley Park Golf Course. She and the city council were sued by city controller Tom Flaherty for cutting $506,000 from his 1992 budget.

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

Squirrel Hill Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated ...

neighborhood in 1994. After stepping down as mayor, she served as a

Presidential Elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

for Pennsylvania in 1996 and was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

from Pennsylvania in 2000 and 2004. She also appeared in advertisements for

Bruegger's Bruegger's Enterprises, Inc. is a restaurant operator and subsidiary of the Luxembourg-based company JAB Holding Company. Bruegger's and its wholly-owned subsidiary Threecaf Brands Canada, Inc., are franchisers and operators of Bruegger's baker ...

and Schneider's Dairy. In 2007 a street near

was named Sophie Masloff Way in honor of Masloff at her 90th birthday. On September 13, 2011 Pennsylvania Governor

Tom Corbett Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. (born June 17, 1949) is an American politician, lobbyist, and former prosecutor who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was also attorney general of Pen ...

was on hand at the Pittsburgh Zoo as a seal was named for Masloff. Masloff died of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinc ...

on the morning of August 17, 2014, at the Center for Compassionate Care in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. A new fireboat, acquired for Pittsburgh's fire department in 2017, was named in honor of Masloff.