Leslie Acosta: Difference between revisions
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< | <BPW widget='profile/infobox' person='34544'/>{{tnr}}'''Leslie Acosta''' is a former [[Democratic]] member of the [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives]], representing [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 197|District 197]] from 2015 to 2017. She resigned from the state House on January 3, 2017.<ref>[http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/12/convicted_philadelphia_lawmake.html ''Penn Live'', "Convicted Philadelphia lawmaker to resign after collecting a partial January paycheck," accessed January 4, 2017]</ref> | ||
In late September 2016, it was revealed that Acosta had secretly pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a federal felony, in March 2016. The charges were the result of an embezzling conspiracy allegedly committed at a mental health facility where Acosta previously worked. It was announced that Acosta was cooperating with prosecutors in the case against her supervisor at that position, Renee Tartaglione, who also faced charges.<ref>[http://articles.philly.com/2016-09-21/news/75457651_1_acosta-brady-guilty-plea ''Philly.com'', "Brady on State Rep. Acosta: 'She should resign now' after guilty plea," accessed September 28, 2016]</ref> | In late September 2016, it was revealed that Acosta had secretly pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a federal felony, in March 2016. The charges were the result of an embezzling conspiracy allegedly committed at a mental health facility where Acosta previously worked. It was announced that Acosta was cooperating with prosecutors in the case against her supervisor at that position, Renee Tartaglione, who also faced charges.<ref>[http://articles.philly.com/2016-09-21/news/75457651_1_acosta-brady-guilty-plea ''Philly.com'', "Brady on State Rep. Acosta: 'She should resign now' after guilty plea," accessed September 28, 2016]</ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 09:32, 8 November 2025
Leslie Acosta is a former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing District 197 from 2015 to 2017. She resigned from the state House on January 3, 2017.[1]
In late September 2016, it was revealed that Acosta had secretly pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, a federal felony, in March 2016. The charges were the result of an embezzling conspiracy allegedly committed at a mental health facility where Acosta previously worked. It was announced that Acosta was cooperating with prosecutors in the case against her supervisor at that position, Renee Tartaglione, who also faced charges.[2]
Biography
Acosta earned her bachelor’s degree in Theology and Social Work from Cairn University and her MBA with a concentration in Health Care Management. Her professional experience includes working as a social worker, as a Child Advocate social worker for the Public Defender’s office and as an adjunct professor at Esperanza College of Eastern University.[3]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Acosta served on the following committees:
| Pennsylvania committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Children & Youth |
| • Finance |
| • Human Services |
| • State Government |
| • Tourism & Recreational Development |
Campaign themes
2014
Acosta's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[4]
Education
- Excerpt: "My commitment is to strengthen our educational system by advocating and sponsoring common sense legislation to fund high-quality education, to ensure fair educational opportunity regardless of social class of origin. Most importantly, create partnerships and resources to support individuals, schools, community, faith-based organizations and businesses to improve educational outcomes for children, youth and adults."
Employment
- Excerpt: "One of my top priorities is to work with small business in the community to build internal and external alliances to facilitate networking opportunities and encourage job creation."
Housing
- Excerpt: "My commitment and pledge is very simple - listen to concerns of constituents, reduce challenges through legislative action, and find practical solutions that will support the 197th district by advocating in expanding the EITC program and raising the minimum wage."
Strengthening our Communities
- Excerpt: "My commitment is to find practical solutions that will support the 197th district by coordinating and collaborating with programs such as Community Life Improvement Programs (CLIP) including the Graffiti Abatement Team and Vacant Lot Program, to eradicate the problem of Graffiti and vacant lots in our community."
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on April 26, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 16, 2016.
Incumbent Leslie Acosta ran unopposed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 197 general election.[5][6]
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 197, General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Leslie Acosta Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Pennsylvania Department of State | ||
Incumbent Leslie Acosta ran unopposed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 197 Democratic primary.[7][8]
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 197 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Leslie Acosta Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 20, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 11, 2014. Leslie Acosta defeated incumbent Jose Miranda, Danilo Burgos and Ben Ramos in the Democratic primary. Edward Lloyd, Jr. (D) was removed from the ballot on April 3, 2014, and Juan Rodriguez (D) was removed from the ballot on April 4, 2014. Acosta was unchallenged in the general election.[9]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Leslie Acosta |
49.2% | 2,871 |
| Danilo Burgos | 23% | 1,345 |
| Ben Ramos | 21.5% | 1,253 |
| Jose Miranda Incumbent | 6.3% | 367 |
| Total Votes | 5,836 | |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Pennsylvania scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2016
In 2016, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 5 through November 30.
- American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania: 2016-2016 legislative scorecard
- Legislators are scored based on their voting record for bills relating to civil liberties.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to medical marijuana.
- Pennsylvania Environmental scorecard: 2015-2016 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Pennsylvania National Federation of Independent Business: 2016 voting record
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Pennsylvania General Assembly was in session from January 6 through December 31.
|
Noteworthy events
Embezzlement charge
On September 16, 2016, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on how state Rep. Acosta's pleaded guilty to federal felony charges back in March 2016. The conviction remained secret until the news report. The charges were related to an embezzlement scheme involving her former boss at a mental health clinic.[10]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Leslie + Acosta + Pennsylvania + House"
See also
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Pennsylvania General Assembly
- Joint Committees
- Pennsylvania state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Official campaign website
- Leslie Acosta on Facebook
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
Footnotes
- ↑ Penn Live, "Convicted Philadelphia lawmaker to resign after collecting a partial January paycheck," accessed January 4, 2017
- ↑ Philly.com, "Brady on State Rep. Acosta: 'She should resign now' after guilty plea," accessed September 28, 2016
- ↑ acostaforstaterep.com/, "Meet Leslie," accessed May 12, 2014(Archived)
- ↑ acostaforstaterep.com/, "Issues," accessed May 12, 2014(Archived)
- ↑ Pennsylvania Voter Services, "Candidate listing," accessed August 31, 2016
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "November 8, 2016, official election results," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Secretary of State, "Election Information," accessed February 18, 2016
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2016 Presidential Primary," accessed August 2, 2016
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Official primary results for May 20, 2014," accessed July 9, 2014
- ↑ Pressconnects, "Pa. lawmaker a no-show after charge surfaces," accessed September 23, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jose Miranda (D) |
Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 197 2015-2017 |
Succeeded by Emilio Vazquez (D) |
