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. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, 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, staggered ev ...

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 liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

with a

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

in political science in 1978. She joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

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

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) 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. Tho ...

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 associat ...

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 life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

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), I ...

's resignation from the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from in 2017, Iovino sought to become the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nominee in the

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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 has served as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district since 2019. The district includes most of the northwestern suburbs of Pittsburgh ...

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 Guy Lorin Reschenthaler ( ; born April 17, 1983) is an American politician, attorney, judge, and United States Navy, U.S. Navy veteran. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he is the United States House of Representatives, U.S. represe ...

, 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, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, 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 serving as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 guber ...

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 paper currency, credit cards; identification documents such as driver's license, identification card, club card; photographs, transit pass, business cards and oth ...

, 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 21st-century American politicians 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