Peter F Flaherty

Mayor of Pittsburgh

In 1965, Flaherty led the Democratic Party ticket when he was elected to City Council. Four years later in 1969 he easily won as "Nobody's Boy" against the Democratic Party machine candidate, 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, the latter two through write in votes. He was the only mayoral candidate to have achieved this feat in Pittsburgh's history. It would not be achieved again until by incumbent Mayor Luke Ravenstahl in 2009. He first campaigned for Mayor with the promise to return the Mayor's Office to the neighborhoods instead of the "special interests".

Flaherty became immensely popular as he focused on infrastructure instead of the large redevelopment projects which had been pursued over the previous twenty years. He also focused on the tax burden which had been increased every year from 1960-70 by tax increases and/or the addition of new taxes each year.

In his first full year in office he had to deal with a Blue Flu of the Police, a strike by telephone operators and in the beginning of 1971 a general strike of all City of Pittsburgh blue collar employees, including refuse collectors. He made national headlines by using rental trucks and his administrative staff to collect refuse during the strike to comply with a mandamus action by the Democratic machine County Commissioners.

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. In order to improve refuse collection, Flaherty cancelled the contract for the North Side of the City with Browning Ferris Industries and had the North Side pick up done by City employees under the City's supervision. In reaction to public demand Flaherty organized the first citywide emergency ambulance system using City employees.

Flaherty converted the City Zoo, the Conservatory and a number of fire stations from coal furnaces to gas heat in order to eliminate pollution and operate the systems more cost effectively. Flaherty put in a modern centralized water filtration and pump station system which dramatically increased the efficiency of the Water Department. Flaherty's City management brought accolades from David Rockefeller and Fortune Magazine.

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 huge project which included a rubber tired transit vehicle called 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 of 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 (March 5, 1976 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, p. 1).

While he was Mayor the City of Pittsburgh through Flaherty's staff negotiated the first collective bargaining agreements in the City's history pursuant to State laws passed in 1968 for Police and Fire and in 1970 for all other employees.

Despite the labor strife caused by cutbacks during the first year of his administration, there were only five grievances appealed to arbitration during the remaining six years that he served as Mayor and there were no more work stoppages or interruptions. While Flaherty was Mayor, the City adopted a home rule charter which he supported. In addition, the law was changed so that the Members of the Pittsburgh School District Board of Directors were elected instead of being appointed (April 28, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette p 1.)

Minority community relations

Flaherty insured through his influence and appointments to the body which drew up the School Board electoral districts that African Americans in Pittsburgh would have equal and fair representation on the Elected School Board. Although he was criticized in the African-American community for opposing forced busing, his administration was a leader in recruiting minorities and women for top administrative posts and throughout the work force. One of his early appointments was former Duquesne University and Boston Celtics basketball star Chuck Cooper, as Director of Parks and Recreation.

He also 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. The City of Pittsburgh was the first major City in Pennsylvania to adopt a successful affirmative action program for minorities and women.

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 a first class 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 architect Henry 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.

Senatorial and gubernatorial elections

Flaherty was the Democratic Party nominee for United States Senate in 1974, losing to incumbent Republican Senator Richard Schweiker in the general election. Flaherty was also the Democratic Party's nominee for governor of Pennsylvania in 1978, losing in the general election to Republican Richard Thornburgh, who would go on to become United States Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush. In 1980, he again ran statewide as the Democratic nominee for United States Senate. Flaherty was defeated by Republican Arlen Specter, having taken 48% of the vote.

Deputy Attorney General

He supported Hubert Humphrey in 1968, Jimmy Carter in 1976 and went to New Hampshire to support Bill Clinton in his first run for the presidency. His early support of Carter earned Flaherty his appointment as Deputy Attorney General of the United States in 1977.

Death

Flaherty died at age 80 in 2005, and interred in the Roman Catholic Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Electoral history