Longtime state Rep. Daley remembered for life of service
Mike Jones/For the Herald-Standard
State Rep. Pete Daley is shown in this 2015 file photo on the phone in his district office in Donora.
Pete Daley
People who knew Peter J. Daley remembered him Thursday as a man with many talents whose career arc took him from a schoolteacher and young mayor of California to an accomplished attorney and longtime state lawmaker.
But Daley might be most fondly remembered for his dedication to helping others and working tirelessly to improve his beloved Mon Valley.
“Pete, you know, he had such a unique background in public service. He just meant a lot to so many of us in these communities,” said Steve Toprani, a friend and fellow Washington County attorney. “You can’t walk through the Mon Valley without seeing his footprints. He was involved in so many things.”
Daley died Wednesday night following complications from recent heart surgery. He was 71.
Toprani and others described how Daley mentored them either in the courtroom or in the state House, where he served for 34 years representing the 49th District before retiring at the end of his 17th term in 2016. The district includes communities straddling the Monongahela River in Washington and Fayette counties.
“Even though he left public office in recent years, he never lost interest in public causes,” Toprani said. “Pete was a giant in our area.”
Daley’s career began as a teacher, but his life in public service started as mayor of California, where he served in office for 10 years. He later ran for state House and won his first election to the Legislature in 1982. What he soon encountered after he took office was daunting as the steel and coal industries collapsed, leaving the Mon Valley in economic turmoil.
“He was a legislator during a very difficult time in the early 1980s when this region had a big economic decline and he worked to drive the economy in the Mon Valley,” Toprani said. “But Pete the person was even bigger than in his public life. He was always smiling.”
That attitude left an impression on his colleagues in the House of Representatives as the Democrat was willing to work with Republicans in a less polarizing time. He took new legislators under his wing and showed them how Harrisburg operated with his jovial and outgoing personality. Fellow Democratic state Rep. Pam Snyder served on the state Consumer Affairs Committee that Daley chaired as they pushed for the creation of the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority that is now helping to bring high-speed internet to rural areas.
“A lot of us called him Uncle Pete because he was that kind of a guy,” said Snyder, who served with Daley the final four years of his legislative career. “He was always there to give you advice and had so much institutional knowledge. … One thing about Pete is he wasn’t shy. He was always willing to give you advice to be a better legislator.”
But while Daley had a lengthy career as a legislator, he might be just as well known for his career as an attorney. He earned his law degree after becoming a state representative and split time between lawmaking in Harrisburg and arguing the law in courtrooms.
He kept an active schedule as an attorney even up until last month, traveling to counties across the state to practice law. Daley was respected by his peers and a member of the Washington County Bar Association from 1995 until 2015. Bar President E.J. Julian called Daley “friendly, caring and knowledgeable about the law” in each case he handled.
“He would work opposing counsel to try to get settlements, and some attorneys didn’t try to do that,” Julian said. “Obviously, his politician part of him would come through, even as a lawyer. He was a good lawyer and an excellent state representative. We’ll miss Pete.”
Daley also mentored many young attorneys eager for advice or encouragement. Christina DeMarco-Breeden, who grew up in the Mon Valley and is now a lawyer practicing in Washington County and also deputy district attorney in Somerset County, said Daley was always available when she needed his input.
“I don’t know anybody who didn’t like Pete. … When you saw him, your day got better,” DeMarco-Breeden said. “We’re all better for having known him.”
He also gave back to his Mon Valley community, helping to organize drive-thru food distribution events each Thanksgiving and Easter at United Christian Church in Coal Center, oftentimes spending his own money on food. He was a member of the California University of Pennsylvania’s board of trustees, offered ski lessons at Hidden Valley and also played guitar in a band – a fact DeMarco-Breeden just learned recently.
“He always told us to give back and help people,” DeMarco-Breeden said. “And he helped a lot of people.”
In December 2020, he contracted COVID and was hospitalized with a rare heart condition caused by the virus, but he recovered and was released after several days of treatment and continued practicing law. It was unclear whether that bout with COVID contributed to his recent heart issues.
Toprani said even through his busy career, Daley tried to make time for his family. Daley leaves behind his wife, Sally, and their two adult daughters and several grandchildren.
Toprani said it is somewhat ironic that Daley’s death comes just as his beloved 49th District is being consolidated into a new district connecting with Greene County due to reapportionment following the decennial census. Daley, who was born in Brownsville and lived in California, never left his Mon Valley roots, Toprani said, as he tried to bring economic development and training opportunities to a place still going through tough economic times.
“The 49th District is Pete’s legacy. I know this area won’t see representation like that again, if ever,” Toprani said. “He did it all and he lived a great life.”
Funeral arrangements were not available as of Thursday night.