Dominic Pileggi does something no other politician I’ve talked to does.
Every time I’ve asked the Chester Republican a question, he pauses, appears to be thinking intently, and then offers his observations.
Pileggi, the former mayor of Chester and now leader of the state Senate, is a bright, articulate thoughtful guy.
Every time I’ve ever talked to him, I’ve come away impressed. This is a guy with actual ideas, who thinks about what he is doing, and how he can put it into action.
Is he also a politician. Absolutely. You might call him the ultimate politician.
It was that was when he gave me a driving tour of Chester back when he was mayor and wanted to show me evidence of the city’s turnaround.
It was that way when we talked about his newly expanded district, and how he was now representing the people in my old home town of Oxford, which could not possibly be more different than Chester.
It was that way every time he came in to meet with our editorial board.
Now it appears Pileggi may have his sights set on higher office. He indicated yesterday that he has been approached by several groups about mounting a challenge to incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr.
You can read the full story here.
It would not be an easy race. But Pileggi would immediately become the front-runner in a very crowded Republican field.
It also would not be easy for him to run for statewide office at the same time he is trying to lead the state Senate through the normal minefield of Harrisburg politics.
Pileggi’s rise has been meteoric, from Chester mayor to replacing the legendary Sen. Clarence Bell, to becoming majority leader in the Senate.
The guess here is that, as with everything else, Pileggi has carefully thought this thing out. He says he has not yet made up his mind. It says here he runs.
You’ve been warned, Sen. Casey.
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