Peter F. Flaherty | |
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| Member of theAllegheny County Board of Commissioners | |
| In office January 2, 1984[1] – January 1, 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Cyril Wecht |
| Succeeded by | Michael Dawida |
| 16thUnited States Deputy Attorney General | |
| In office April 12, 1977 – December 9, 1977[2] | |
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Harold R. Tyler, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Civiletti |
| 54thMayor of Pittsburgh | |
| In office January 5, 1970[3] – April 11, 1977[4] | |
| Preceded by | Joe Barr |
| Succeeded by | Richard Caligiuri |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Peter Francis Flaherty (1924-06-25)June 25, 1924 |
| Died | April 18, 2005(2005-04-18) (aged 80) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Carlow University (BA) University of Notre Dame (JD) University of Pittsburgh (MPA) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Peter Francis Flaherty (June 25, 1924 – April 18, 2005) was an American politician and attorney. He served as assistantdistrict attorney ofAllegheny County from 1957 to 1964, a member of thePittsburgh City Council from 1966 to 1970, the 54thmayor of Pittsburgh from 1970 to 1977,United States deputy attorney general during theCarter administration from 1977 to 1978, and county commissioner of Allegheny County from 1984 to 1996.
Flaherty was born and raised on theNorth Side ofPittsburgh. He served in theUnited States Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1946 duringWorld War II, reaching the rank ofCaptain.[5] Flaherty was honorably discharged and used theG.I. Bill to become the first in his family to attend college. He graduated fromCarlow University in three years, then graduated cum laude fromNotre Dame Law School and was admitted to thePennsylvania Bar Association. He then established his own legal practice which included thePittsburgh Steelers among his clients. In 1971, he earned a Masters in Public Administration from theUniversity of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
In 1965, Flaherty led theDemocratic Party ticket when he was elected to thePittsburgh City Council. He was elected mayor in the1969 Pittsburgh mayoral election, defeating Judge Harry A. Kramer in the primary election. In the general election Flaherty beat the Republican,John K. Tabor. Four years later, in the1973 election, Flaherty was re-elected by winning the Democratic primary, the Republican primary, and the Constitutional party primaries.
During his seven years as mayor, Flaherty reduced the payroll by almost one third, balanced the budget each year without a tax increase or any new taxes, reduced the taxes by two million dollars, eliminated the wage tax for three years, and left office with a substantial budget surplus and taxes lower than when he took office. He increased the amount of street repaving from less than ten miles in 1969 to more than 100 miles in his last year in office. This was accomplished in part by using city personnel and a city owned asphalt plant instead of continuing to contract out the work.[6]
Flaherty was featured in a book on city governing calledCity Money: Political Processes, Fiscal Strain, and Retrenchment by Terry N. Clark and Laura Crowley Ferguson, Columbia University Press 1983. Throughout most of his tenure as mayor, Flaherty successfully opposed the Early Action Program, a project which included the development ofSkybus. At the end of his tenure, the dispute over this program was resolved by a study performed through the agreement of Flaherty, the county commissioners, representatives of labor and the City Council. The study recommended the abandonment of Skybus and the use, instead, of steel wheel on steel rail technology. This recommendation was adopted by the County transit agency.[7]
His administration's track record on racial and minority equality was mixed. He was criticized in theAfrican-American community for opposingbusing desegregation, and he dismantled the existing majority-blackFreedom House Ambulance Service in favor of a new, predominantly white city paramedic system, an action which some attributed to the mayor's racism.[8] One of his early appointments was formerDuquesne University andBoston Celticsbasketball starChuck Cooper, as Director of Parks and Recreation. He eliminated the Police Tactical Police Force unit, which was associated by African-Americans with racism during the late 1960s and especially the disturbances that erupted after the assassination ofMartin Luther King Jr. Pittsburgh was the first major city in Pennsylvania to adopt a successful affirmative action program for minorities and women.[citation needed]
Flaherty was a prominent supporter ofJimmy Carter during the1976 United States presidential election.[9] After Carter was elected, he nominated Flaherty to serve as the 16thUnited States deputy attorney general. Flaherty served underGriffin Bell and was succeeded in office byBenjamin Civiletti.[10] After Flaherty left theCarter administration, he supported theTed Kennedy 1980 presidential campaign.
Flaherty was the Democratic Party nominee in the1974 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, losing to incumbent Republican SenatorRichard Schweiker. Flaherty was also the Democratic nominee for governor of Pennsylvania in1978 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, losing in the general election to RepublicanDick Thornburgh, who would go on to becomeUnited States attorney general under PresidentRonald Reagan and PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush. In1980, he again ran statewide as the Democratic nominee forUnited States Senate. Flaherty was defeated by RepublicanArlen Specter, winning 48% of the vote.[11]
Flaherty was elected to theAllegheny County Board of Commissioners in November 1983.[12] He supported longtime commissioner and fellow DemocratTom Foerster's long-term goal of building a world class airport in Allegheny County. This became a reality in 1992 when thePittsburgh International Airport was opened and later named its terminal in Foerster's honor.
He supported Foerster and served as Foerster's intermediary with the City of Pittsburgh to build a new county jail to replace a facility which was designed by famous architectHenry Hobson Richardson in the 1800s. The team of Foerster as chairman and Pete Flaherty as the second Democrat on the three-member Board of County Commissioners served together for three four year terms. Both Foerster and Flaherty were defeated for re-election in 1995.[13]
Flaherty died on April 21, 2005, inMt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, at the age of 80.[14] He is interred in the Roman Catholic Queen of Heaven Cemetery,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[15]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theAllegheny County Board of Commissioners 1984–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor of Pittsburgh 1970–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Deputy Attorney General Served under:Jimmy Carter 1977–1978 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (Class 3) 1974,1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Pennsylvania 1978 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
