Trailblazer Jim Roddey praised for acumen, stewardship and making friends of his enemies

Jim Roddey — a North Carolina native living in Pittsburgh and a Republican thriving in a Democratic stronghold — relied on his outsider status as he ascended to the most powerful political position in Allegheny County as its first executive.

The man who once sailed with Ted Turner and served with the Marines mixed folksiness with a Southern gentleman’s bearing as he helped to remake the region’s political structure, drawing respect from even his opponents as he shepherded the county into a new dawn.

Roddey died Thursday at the age of 91. He is survived by his wife, Elin, and their two children.

He served as the first Allegheny county executive from 2000 to 2004, ushering in a new form of local government that would bring about an end to the three-person commissioner system and the row offices.

Roddey won his 1999 election narrowly against Democrat and then-coroner Cyril Wecht.

Roddey’s successors say he was instrumental in transitioning Allegheny County’s new government into what it is today. He was laser focused on being a steward of good government, even though he was a Republican among a sea of Democrats.

No ill will

Dan Onorato served as Allegheny County executive from 2004 to 2012. He defeated Roddey when he was up for reelection in 2004, but Onorato said Roddey never held any ill feelings towards him. In fact, he became Onorato’s friend and would give advice to him throughout Onorato’s tenure.

Onorato said Roddey just wanted the government to function well and would do anything to help ensure that happened, even working with political rivals.

“From the day of the election, he made it very easy on the transition,” Onorato said. “And he could have been angry, but it was nothing like that. It was how a transition is supposed to work and a great example of Roddey’s focus on good government stewardship.”

Roddey was born in Asheville, N.C., and grew up in the South. He spoke with a Southern accent. He moved to Pittsburgh in 1979, where he started a billboard business and quickly adapted to Pittsburgh life, joining civic groups, boards, and local charities.

Rich Fitzgerald recently finished a 12-year term as county executive in December. He said Roddey’s political acumen and work ethic helped him cut through the typical parochial nature of Pittsburgh.

“For someone to be accepted, and to go beyond that and win such elected office in that time, and do it as a Republican, it just shows Jim’s ability and his talents,” Fitzgerald said.

Joe Mistick, a Duquesne University law professor, hosted a political television program with Roddey for years. He said when Roddey ran for county executive in 1999, Democrats were unsure about him.

“A Southern guy with an accent and a Republican nonetheless,” Mistick said. “Those of us that had been laboring away thought he was jumping the line.”

Mistick, who worked with and socialized with Roddey for years after getting past his initial skepticism, said Roddey was one of his closest friends.

Trailblazer

Former Republican Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett knew Roddey for years and served on his transition team in 1999.

Corbett said Roddey’s outsider status, as well as his business and military background, helped him succeed in transitioning Allegheny County government.

Roddey was elected following voters approving a new form of county government, where the county established three new branches: the county executive, the county controller, and a 15-member county council. That replaced the three-person county commissioner system.

Corbett said Roddey was the perfect first executive because he lacked ties to those in government, many of whom were Democrats, and he came in with a corporate mentality.

“When looking at businesslike decisions for the county, he had to step on toes, and maybe not worry about it,” Corbett said. “But because he wasn’t beholden to too many people he could really set it up like that and take any bruises along the way.”

Roddey is remembered as a trailblazer, said Corbett

He brought Republicans to the top office in the county, even though Democrats held a significant voter advantage.

“Government has changed dramatically in the 24 years since he took office, but I think he set the foundation for that office and how county government should work,” Corbett said. “He set a standard that any Republican should try to match and exceed.”

Life of service

Roddey grew up a military brat and moved from town to town, mostly in the South and California, to follow his father’s career as a radar technician for the U.S. Navy. He graduated from Texas Christian University and enrolled in the Marine Corps.

Roddey became a captain. He never forgot about his commitment to the Marines and other service members, said state Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, who is also a Marine veteran.

“Marines have that special bond and that brotherhood. He was a Cold War Marine vet, and every time I saw him it was always a handshake and ‘Semper Fi, do or die,’ ” said Robinson, citing the Marines’ Latin motto meaning “Always Faithful.”

Robinson said Roddey was passionate about the Marine Corps scholarship fund and was active in local Marine events and fundraising efforts even late in life.

After the Marines, Roddey started work as a billboard salesman and eventually became an executive at Rollins Inc., a communication company, according to an essay he wrote for Pittsburgh Quarterly.

He moved to Atlanta in 1967 and met medial mogul Ted Turner. They became sailing friends. After a deal between Rollins and Turner, Roddey became the president of Turner Communications for a few years.

He eventually bought a billboard company in Pittsburgh and moved to the Steel City in 1979.

Roddey adopted Pittsburgh as his new permanent home, and became involved in many arenas of civic life.

Onorato said Roddey built a track record of commitment to Allegheny County, including being active in local charities and joining the board of the Port Authority of Allegheny County, now called Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

“Not only did he chair the Allegheny County Port Authority, he instructed board members to ride the buses and fully understand the needs of their riders,” said Allegheny County Councilman at-large Sam DeMarco.

It was that spirit that helped guide his politics, said Onorato, and it was instrumental in him winning the race for county executive.

“Where he was from or the accent he had, it was almost irrelevant,” Onorato said. “He was embedded in this community, and that is what made him a viable candidate.”

Republican Standard

DeMarco, the chair of the Allegheny County Republican Committee, credits Roddey with rejuvenating the party in the region.

Democrats have historically dominated in Allegheny County, and still do today. Roddey’s tenure saw him win a countywide election and help Corbett win statewide offices.

Mary Ann Meloy, a Republican state committeewoman for years, served with Roddey and knew him well.

She said Roddey was instrumental in holding off some of the partisanship and extremism that grips Pennsylvania’s Republican Party today. Meloy said his stewardship was important in helping Republicans win races in unfriendly territory like Allegheny County.

“The one thing that Jim built was an inclusive, moderate, yet still conservative, Republican Party,” she said.

Wry humor

While many disagreed with Roddey’s politics, all agreed that Roddey’s sense of humor was a defining and contagious characteristic.

Robinson said Roddey led with jokes, and his speeches were off-the-cuff, humorous, and engaging.

Onorato said on his first day of office in 2004, Roddey left a life-size poster of himself in the bathroom as a good-spirited prank.

“Even though he was leaving office and I beat him in the election, it was that kind of humor and joking about it that made me feel comfortable coming in,” said Onorato.

Roddey also took life in stride, especially if it meant sticking up for causes, said Mistick.

Mistick and Roddey hosted a point-counterpoint program on WQED called “Roddey vs. Mistick,” with Roddey coming from a more conservative angle and Mistick a liberal one.

Mistick said he was planning to write a column lampooning WQED’s executives for their lavish perks while laying off cleaning and mailroom staff.

“I told him, ‘I think I am going to get us fired at WQED,’ and then told him why,” Mistick said. “And he responded, ‘You know what, that is a good reason to get us fired. I will find us another place for the show.’ ”

As predicted, they lost the program.

Mistick said Roddey found them a spot on PCNC, the public affairs channel of WPXI.

Mistick worked as an aide to former Pittsburgh mayors Richard Caliguiri and Sophie Masloff, both Democrats. He said his friendship with Roddey, who consistently eschewed partisanship for practicality, helped to make him less partisan, too.

“My own political values have been affected by his values,” Mistick said. “We need some Jim Roddeys now.”