Peter F. Flaherty | |
---|---|
Member of the Allegheny County Board of Commissioners |
|
In office January 2, 1984 – January 1, 1996 |
|
Preceded by | Cyril Wecht |
Succeeded by | Michael Dawida |
United States Deputy Attorney General | |
In office April 12, 1977 – 1978 |
|
President | Jimmy Carter |
Preceded by | Harold R. Tyler, Jr. |
Succeeded by | Benjamin Civiletti |
54th Mayor of Pittsburgh | |
In office January 5, 1970 – April 11, 1977 |
|
Preceded by | Joe Barr |
Succeeded by | Richard Caligiuri |
Personal details | |
Born |
Peter Francis Flaherty June 25, 1924 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Died | April 18, 2005 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
(aged 80)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Nancy Flaherty, Charlene Conely Musser (m. 1998) |
Alma mater |
Carlow University Notre Dame University (Law) |
Profession | Assistant District Attorney; City Council |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Peter Francis "Pete" Flaherty (June 25, 1924 – April 18, 2005) was an American politician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
He served as Assistant District Attorney of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania from 1957 to 1964; a City of Pittsburgh Councilman 1966 to 1970; Democratic mayor of Pittsburgh from 1970 to 1977; United States Deputy Attorney General during the Carter administration from 1977 to 1978, and County Commissioner of Allegheny County from 1984 to 1996.
Flaherty was born and raised on Pittsburgh's North Side. He served in the United States Air Force during World War II and used the G.I. Bill to become the first in his family to attend college. He graduated from Carlow University in three years, then graduated cum laude from Notre Dame Law School and became a member of the Pennsylvania Bar. He developed his own legal practice which included the Pittsburgh Steelers among his clients.
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 and the Republican primary, the latter 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.[1] He first campaigned for Mayor with the promise to return the Mayor's Office to the neighborhoods instead of the "special interests".