Dominic J. Costa (born 1951) is a Democratic politician. He was a 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 ...

, and was the

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

of the

Pittsburgh Police The Pittsburgh Police (PBP), officially the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is the largest law enforcement agency in Western Pennsylvania and the third largest in Pennsylvania. The modern force of salaried and professional officers was founded in ...

in 2006, and was a 27-year veteran of the force. He is a member of the Costa political family in Pittsburgh.

Career

Law enforcement

He began his police career in suburban East McKeesport in 1977 and in 1979 became an officer with Pittsburgh. In 1981 he became a negotiator with the force eventually being promoted to Commander. He was injured by a shooter in a February 2002 standoff in the Homewood neighborhood, and briefly retired from the force. From January 2, 2006 – September 28, 2006 he was

Pittsburgh Police Chief The Pittsburgh Police Chief is an American law enforcement official who serves as the head of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, appointed by the Mayor of Pittsburgh. The Chief is a civilian administrator, and was historically referred to as the Pol ...

appointed by Pittsburgh mayor

Bob O'Connor Bob O'Connor may refer to: * Bob O'Connor (mayor) Robert E. O'Connor Jr. (December 9, 1944 – September 1, 2006) was an American politician who was the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from January 3, 2006, until his death. Personal life and ...

. He retired again from the PBP after then Mayor

Luke Ravenstahl Luke Robert Ravenstahl (born February 6, 1980) is an American politician who served as the 59th Mayor of Pittsburgh from 2006 until 2014. A Democrat, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history in September 2006 at the age of 26. He was ...

's administration took over

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

and for a time became the Police Chief of suburban

Penn Hills Penn Hills is a township with home rule status in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 41,059 as of the 2020 census. Penn Hills is the second-largest municipality in Allegheny County, after Pittsburgh. History In 178 ...

before going into elected office as a State representative.

Politics

Costa was first elected in 2008, receiving 78% of the vote. He defeated Dan Mahon and Jonah Yon McAllister-Erickson. Costa ran unopposed through 2016. However, in the 2018 Democratic Primary election, Costa faced a challenge from

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...

-endorsed member

Sara Innamorato Sara G. Innamorato is an American politician who was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2018 and is the Representative for the 21st district, which includes parts of Pittsburgh and the surrounding area. Early life and educ ...

. In the election, Costa lost to Innamorato, who ran unopposed in the general election. Costa also failed to secure the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nomination in a last-minute

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

campaign.

Education

He graduated from the

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a public research university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. As of fall 2021, the university enrolled 7,044 undergraduates and 1,865 postgraduates, for a total enrollment of 9,009 students. The univ ...

criminal justice training center.

References

External links