There was a time when I thought Sen. Dominic Pileggi might be the governor of Pennsylvania some day.
I think he still might.
But right now, he's not even the Senate Majority Leader.
In a stunning GOP power struggle that came to a vote yesterday, Pileggi, R-9, the former mayor of Chester, was dumped from his leadership position by his own party.
His GOP brethren instead hitched their wagon to Sen. Jake Corman, R-34, of Centre County.
Pileggi, whose quiet exterior masks a political heavyweight, had managed to work his way into the crosshairs of the conservative wing of the Republican Party.
Several senators from the middle of the state have gone public in their attacks against him in recent days, including Sen. Scott Wagner of York County. Some went so far as to accuse Pileggi of undermining the agenda of Gov. Tom Corbett. Wagner called him "the number one obstacle in the Senate."
That probably comes as news to a lot of people who also consider him one of the smartest people in that chamber. And no less a figure than former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell branded Pileggi as the most powerful man in Harrisburg.
Not anymore.
Pileggi always did something I admired. Every time I ask him a question, he pauses and clearly thinks about his response. He doesn't offer the meaningless, rote responses regurgitated by so many politicians.
Yesterday he was conciliatory in what must have been a bitter defeat.
"It has been an honor to serve the Senate Republican Caucus as leader for the past eight years and I'm proud of our many accomplishments," Pileggi said in a statement. "I wish the new Republican leadership team the best."
Make no mistake, this is a big hit for Delaware County, and the southeastern Pennsylvania region on the whole. There is a lot of anti-Philadelphia region sentiment bubbling to the surface in Harrisburg. Yesterday that problem just got a little louder.
Over in the House, things went better for another Delco legislative leader. Rep. Bill Adolph, R-165 of Springfield, was re-elected as majority chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
But he lost a key leadership ally in the Senate.
So did Delaware County.
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