Jim Ferlo
James Ferlo (May 19, 1951 – May 15, 2022) was an American politician who was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate representing the 38th Senatorial District from 2003–2015. His district consisted of parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland, and Armstrong counties. He did not run for reelection in 2014. Background and career
Ferlo was born to Italian immigrant parents in the small upstate town of Rome, New York, and credited part of his legislative effectiveness as being one of ten siblings. Ferlo was a liberal community activist in Pittsburgh before being elected to Pittsburgh City Council in 1987. He served on council for 15 years until his election to the State Senate in 2002. Ferlo served as president of City Council from 1994 to 1997. A Democrat, Ferlo was elected to the state senate in 2002, receiving 65 percent of the vote to 35 percent for Republican candidate Ted Tomson. In 2003, the political website PoliticsPA named him to "The Best of the Freshman Class" list. Ferlo was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2006 in his heavily Democratic district. In that race, Ferlo received 84 percent of the vote, while his opponent Joe Murphy of the Constitution Party received 16 percent. Following his 2014 retirement from the State Senate, Ferlo served two three-year terms on the board of directors of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. He also involved himself in a variety of community activities. Personal life
Ferlo came out as gay on September 23, 2014, thus becoming the Pennsylvania Senate's first openly gay legislator. Ferlo died on May 15, 2022, aged 70. References

External links
 Pennsylvania State Senate - Jim Ferlo official PA Senate website
 Project Vote Smart - Senator Jim Ferlo (PA) profile
 Follow the Money – Jim Ferlo
 2006 2004 2002 campaign contributions
James Ferlo Papers, 1963-2002, AIS 1998.02, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

1951 births
2022 deaths
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American LGBT people
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American LGBT people
American people of Italian descent
Gay politicians
LGBT state legislators in Pennsylvania
Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators
Pittsburgh City Council members
Place of death missing
Politicians from Pittsburgh
Politicians from Rome, New York