Peter Francis Flaherty (June 25, 1924 – April 18, 2005) was an American politician and attorney. He served as assistant
district attorney of
Allegheny County from 1957 to 1964, a member of the
Pittsburgh City Council
The Pittsburgh City Council serves as the legislative body in the City of Pittsburgh. It consists of nine members. City council members are chosen by plurality elections in each of nine districts. The city operates under a mayor-council syst ...
from 1966 to 1970, the 54th
mayor of Pittsburgh
The mayor of Pittsburgh is the chief executive of the government of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Pittsburgh. This article is a listing of past (and present) mayors of Pittsburgh. ...
from 1970 to 1977,
United States deputy attorney general
The United States deputy attorney general is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department. The deputy attorney general acts as attorney general during the ...
during the
Carter administration from 1977 to 1978, and county commissioner of Allegheny County from 1984 to 1996.
Early life and education
Flaherty was born and raised on the
North Side of
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
. He served in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
from 1943 to 1946 during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, reaching the rank of
Captain. Flaherty was honorably discharged and used the
G.I. Bill
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
to become the first in his family to attend college. He graduated from
Carlow University
Carlow University is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1929 by the Sisters of Mercy. Carlow's thirteen athletic teams are the Celtics, a reflection of the university's Irish heritage and roots. In 201 ...
in three years, then graduated cum laude from
Notre Dame Law School
Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among the nation's "Top 1 ...
and was admitted to the
Pennsylvania Bar Association. He then established his own legal practice which included the
Pittsburgh Steelers among his clients. In 1971, he earned a Masters in Public Administration from the
.
Career
In 1965, Flaherty led the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
ticket when he was elected to the
Pittsburgh City Council
The Pittsburgh City Council serves as the legislative body in the City of Pittsburgh. It consists of nine members. City council members are chosen by plurality elections in each of nine districts. The city operates under a mayor-council syst ...
. He was elected mayor in the
1969 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 the
1973 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 mils, 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.
Flaherty was featured in a book on city governing called ''City 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 of
Skybus. 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.
His administration's track record on racial and minority equality was mixed. He was criticized in the
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
community for opposing
busing desegregation, and he dismantled the existing majority-black
Freedom House Ambulance Service
Freedom House Ambulance Service was the first emergency medical services, emergency medical service in the United States to be staffed by paramedics with medical training beyond basic first aid. Founded in 1967 to serve the predominantly black Hi ...
in favor of a new, predominantly white city paramedic system, an action which some attributed to the mayor's racism. One of his early appointments was former
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit
, image = Holy Gh ...
and
Boston Celtics basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
star
Chuck 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 of
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
Pittsburgh was the first major city in Pennsylvania to adopt a successful affirmative action program for minorities and women.
Deputy attorney general
Flaherty was a prominent supporter of
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
during the
1976 United States presidential election. After Carter was elected, he nominated Flaherty to serve as the 16th
United States deputy attorney general
The United States deputy attorney general is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department. The deputy attorney general acts as attorney general during the ...
. Flaherty served under
Griffin Bell
Griffin Boyette Bell (October 31, 1918 – January 5, 2009) was the 72nd Attorney General of the United States, having served under President Jimmy Carter. Previously, he was a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fift ...
and was succeeded in office by
Benjamin Civiletti
Benjamin Richard Civiletti (July 17, 1935October 16, 2022) was an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney General during the Carter administration, from 1979 to 1981. The first Italian American to lead the U.S. Department of Ju ...
. After Flaherty left the
Carter administration, he supported the
Ted Kennedy 1980 presidential campaign
The 1980 presidential campaign of Ted Kennedy, United States Senator from Massachusetts, was formally launched on November 7, 1979, as Senator Kennedy, the youngest Kennedy brother, announced his intention to seek the Democratic Party nomination ...
.
Senate and gubernatorial elections
Flaherty was the Democratic Party nominee in the
1974 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania, losing to incumbent Republican Senator
Richard Schweiker
Richard Schultz Schweiker (June 1, 1926 – July 31, 2015) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 14th U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Ronald Reagan from 198 ...
. Flaherty was also the Democratic nominee for governor of Pennsylvania in
1978 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
The 1978 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1978 between Republican Dick Thornburgh and Democrat Pete Flaherty.
Primary elections
Candidates
Democratic
* Bob Casey, Auditor General (from Lackawanna County)
*Pete Fl ...
, losing in the general election to Republican
Dick Thornburgh, who would go on to become
United States attorney general
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
under President
Ronald Reagan and President
George H. W. Bush. In
1980, he again ran statewide as the Democratic nominee for
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. Flaherty was defeated by Republican
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...
, winning 48% of the vote.
County Commissioner
Flaherty was elected to the
Allegheny County Board of Commissioners in November 1983.
He supported longtime commissioner and fellow Democrat
Tom Foerster's long-term goal of building a world class airport in Allegheny County. This became a reality in 1992 when the
Pittsburgh International Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pitts ...
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 architect
Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...
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.
Death
Flaherty died on April 21, 2005 in
Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania at the age of 80. He is interred in the Roman Catholic Queen of Heaven Cemetery,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
.
Obituary
post-gazette.com; accessed July 11, 2018.
Electoral history
* 1969 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
**Pete Flaherty (D), 65%
**John Tabor (R), 35%
* 1973 Race for Pittsburgh Mayor
**Pete Flaherty (D), 100%
**Unopposed
* 1978 Race for Pennsylvania Governor
** Dick Thornburgh (R), 52%
** Pete Flaherty (D), 46%
* 1980 Race for U.S. Senate
** Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...
(R), 51%
** Pete Flaherty (D), 48%
See also
*List of Mayors of Pittsburgh
The mayor of Pittsburgh is the chief executive of the government of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Pittsburgh. This article is a listing of past (and present) mayors of Pittsburgh. ...
References
Sources
*
Google News article on the Flaherty administration
External links
2008 Election Central Guide
Finding aid to the Peter F. Flaherty Papers
at the Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaherty, Peter F.
1924 births
2005 deaths
Catholics from Pennsylvania
American prosecutors
United States Deputy Attorneys General
County commissioners in Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh City Council members
Mayors of Pittsburgh
Notre Dame Law School alumni
Candidates in the 1978 United States elections
Carlow University alumni
20th-century American politicians
Carter administration personnel