Wayne D. Fontana was first elected to the Senate on May 17, 2005 in a special election and was re-elected to represent the 42nd Senatorial District in November 2006.

Wayne currently serves as the Democratic Chair of the Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee. He is also a member of the Judiciary, Law & Justice, Policy, Transportation, and Urban Affairs & Housing Committees. The Senator also is a member of the Life Sciences & Biotechnology Caucus and the Lupus Caucus.

Since his election to the Senate, he has also been appointed as a Board Member of the PA Higher Education Assistance Agency, a member of the Budget & Finance Committee, a member of the PA Travel & Tourism Council, a member of the Small Business Development Center’s Small Business Policy Advisory Board, and a Commissioner on the PA Public Television Network Commission. Regionally, Wayne is Chairman of the Sports & Exhibition Authority Board and a member of the Three Rivers Regatta Board and a Point Park University Trustee.

Prior to his election to the Senate, Wayne served as an inaugural member of Allegheny County Council, representing the 12th District. From January of 2004 through March 2005 when he resigned to run for the State Senate, he was Council Vice President. During his tenure at Council, he served as Chairman of the Property Assessment Committee, the Economic Development Committee, the Executive Committee, and the Budget & Finance Committee. As a member of Council, he was appointed to serve on the Property Assessment Oversight Board and the Allegheny County Vacant Property Committee and as Chair of the Redistricting Committee, responsible for the drawing of Council districts. Legislatively, Wayne was responsible for authoring the County’s Homestead Exemption Program and secured passage of legislation that reduced the County’s millage tax rate. He also fought for Pennsylvania residents by signing a pledge sponsoring a Living Wage Ordinance to support city and county working people by providing a fair, hourly wage.

Wayne has deep roots in the community. He previously served as a 19th Ward Committee Person for the Allegheny County Democratic Committee. He also takes an active role in the community as a member of the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, the Italian Sons & Daughters of America and the Lion’s Club. In the past, he has performed volunteer work for the Children’s Hospital Free Care Fund and is a former member of Boilermakers Local 154 and Teamsters Locals 249 and 211.

Wayne is, by profession, a real estate sales associate and broker. He most recently worked for Howard Hanna Real Estate Services as a Sales Manager and Associate Broker. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh (RAMP). He holds an Associate’s Degree in Business from the Community College of Allegheny County and also participates in continuing education for real estate licensing and bi-yearly education requirements to retain his broker’s license.

Wayne was born and raised in Beechview by his parents along with his two older brothers. He and his wife reside in the Brookline section of the City of Pittsburgh where they are members of Resurrection Catholic Church. They have three grown children and four grandchildren.

Wayne credits his parents with instilling several lessons in him from an early age - work hard, be sincere, have pride in the work you do and who you are, and respect others. Those lessons have carried into his current work in the Senate. He is committed to making western Pennsylvania and the state as a whole a better place to live and work. He is honored to have this opportunity to serve Pennsylvania citizens as a state Senator. He believes hard work pays off and will do all in his power to make a difference and have the citizens’ voices be heard.