Jay Costa

Jay Costa (born November 17, 1957) is an American politician, currently serving as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate who has represented the 43rd District since 1996.[2] On November 17, 2010, Senate Democrats elected Costa as their new floor leader, succeeding the retiring Bob Mellow.[3]

Jay Costa
Costa giving remarks in October 2022.
Minority Leader of the Pennsylvania Senate
Assumed office
January 4, 2011
Preceded byBob Mellow
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 43rd district
Assumed office
May 13, 1996
Preceded byMichael Dawida
Register of Wills of Allegheny County
In office
January 6, 1992 – May 13, 1996
Preceded byRita Wilson Kane
Succeeded byMarty Madigan (Acting)[a]
Personal details
Born (1957-11-17) November 17, 1957
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRoxanne Ross
EducationCommunity College of Allegheny County (AS)
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (BA)
Duquesne University (JD)
a.^ Madigan served as Acting Register of Wills until David Wecht was elected as Costa's permanent successor in 1997.[1]

Education

Costa attended the Community College of Allegheny County, earning an A.S.degree in Criminology in 1977. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he studied Criminal Justice with the ultimate goal of becoming a police officer, and then earned a Juris Doctor from the Duquesne University School of Law.[4][5]

Career

Jay Costa began his career after graduating with a bachelor's degree as a Deputy Sheriff of Allegheny County.[6]

In 2013, Costa’s chief of staff, Tony Lepore, testified under oath that Lepore functioned as a “middle man” in a corruption scheme involving awarding lucrative state contracts.[7] As of February 2021, Lepore is still working for Costa.[8]

He is supportive of abortion rights and received a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood in 2013 and 2014.[9][10]

In May 2019, it was reported that Costa and State Attorney General Josh Shapiro had directed paid communications staffers to edit their Wikipedia pages with positive material.[11][12]

December 18, 2020, it was let known Jay Costa's law firm received $7,309,100 in PPP (Covid Related Paycheck Protection Program) loans ranking it 7th in all of Pittsburgh.[13]

Early in his career, Costa sponsored a plan to leverage rebates to lower drug costs for seniors.[14][15]

In February 21, 2021, it was revealed Jay Costa's son, Anthony, works for lobbying firm Cameron Companies which "lobbies on behalf of some of the state’s largest corporations" including 3M.[16]

In a March 12, 2021, ruling, RE: "Gittins v. Gateway Clipper," the defendant represented by Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote of which Jay Costa is a Principal was fined $67,614 for failing to turn over discovery information. [17]

Costa has served on the board of trustees of the University of Pittsburgh and is treasurer of the Community College of Allegheny County board.[18][19]

References
  1. Fischione Donovan, Sandra (May 21, 1997). "County races decided". The Allegheny Times. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  2. Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate - 1995-1996" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  3. Bumsted, Brad (November 18, 2010). "Pennsylvania political power shifts west". The Pittsburgh Tribune. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  4. Center, Legislativate Data Processing. "Senator Jay Costa". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  5. "Jay Costa".
  6. "Jay Costa".
  7. Micek, John (March 27, 2013). "Senate staffer still on state payroll despite role in Turnpike scandal". PennLive. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  8. "Legislative Directory". Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  9. "Legislative Scorecard". Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  10. "Jay Costa, Jr.'s Political Summary". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  11. BOARD, THE LNP EDITORIAL. "Public employees shouldn't be tasked with writing glowing entries for elected officials' Wikipedia pages [opinion]". LancasterOnline. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  12. Writers, CARTER WALKER and JUNIOR GONZALEZ | Staff. "Wikipedia flags Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro over glowing, staff-written bio". LancasterOnline. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  13. "PPP brought $1.5 billion to Pittsburgh. Did it go where it was most needed?". December 18, 2020.
  14. "Ban on procedures for transgender children endangers health insurance program". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  15. Reporter, South Pittsburgh. "Jay Costa, State Senate Democratic Leader, announces 2020 re-election campaign". South Pittsburgh Reporter. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  16. "Sons of top two Pa. Senate leaders are registered lobbyists for same firm | PA Power and Policy | lancasteronline.com".
  17. "US Judge Orders Nearly $70K in Fees and Costs Over Failure to Turn Over Discovery Materials | The Legal Intelligencer".
  18. "Board of Trustees | Office of the Chancellor | University of Pittsburgh". chancellor.pitt.edu. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  19. "Senator Jay Costa, Jr". Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Retrieved April 24, 2020.

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