He was defeated in the 2018 Democratic primary by progressive challenger Summer Lee.
He graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in 1978 in the same class as Gary Graff and Maxine Lapiduss.
He served on the Wilkins Township board of commissioners for three years, including one year as board president, and worked in the Allegheny County prothonotary's office for over two decades.
Vice-chairman of the Wilkins Township Democratic Committee since 1992, Costa served as an alternate delegate to that year's Democratic National Convention, which nominated Bill Clinton.
He is also a member of the parish council of St. Colman Catholic Church in Turtle Creek.