Joseph M. Egan; ran for mayor against Rendell

Joseph M. Egan Jr., 74, a longtime economic-development figure in Philadelphia who was thrust into the 1991 mayoral campaign against Ed Rendell after Frank Rizzo died, died Friday at his Bucks County home.

Mr. Egan had returned home recently after treatment for his pancreatic cancer was discontinued at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, said M. Walter D'Alessio, a longtime friend.

He died as he had lived, "with dignity, respect, and a positive attitude," said Charles Pizzi, chief executive officer of Tasty Baking Co. and another longtime friend.

"He had an incredible career," said D'Alessio, who was the finance chairman for Egan's unsuccessful mayoral run.

Egan served in so many high-profile positions and led so many projects that Gov. Rendell likened him to a utility baseball player.

"But not because he didn't have the talent to be a starter. It was because he was talented at so many things and so willing to serve," Rendell said.

Mr. Egan also had a reputation as a man of integrity in a city not regarded as a beacon for such a virtue.

"He always talked about building relationships in government with integrity," Pizzi said.

Mr. Egan was a key figure in getting the Convention Center built, along with other major projects, including the Four Seasons Hotel on the Parkway.

After Rizzo, who had been mayor in the 1970s, died during his bid for another chance to lead Philadelphia, city Republicans turned to Mr. Egan to fill the void.

"We laughed our way through it," D'Alessio recalled. "We went into it knowing that Joe was a pretty significant underdog."

Mr. Egan - who had been a Democrat until a change of heart culminated with his changing his registration in 1989 - lost to Rendell by more than a 2-1 ratio.

"We were impressed that he accepted that challenge," City Councilman Frank Rizzo Jr. said. "We went to a lot of different events together, and he knew it was a battle that was going to be tough. But he was classy. He never let on that it was impossible."

Mr. Egan had been running a promising campaign for an at-large City Council seat, and D'Alessio recalled that when he asked him why he was giving up a "sure shot" at Council for a long shot against Rendell, Mr. Egan responded: "It's the honor."

"What do you mean, 'The honor'?" D'Alessio asked.

"When somebody asks you to run for mayor, you do it," Mr. Egan said.

"He really saw it as a privilege to run for mayor of Philadelphia, and he wanted to do it his way," Pizzi said.

Rendell said Mr. Egan had run a "tough" but fair campaign "totally devoid of mudslinging.

"When I ran for governor in 2002, he sent me a check. I was tickled by that," Rendell said.

While most people who casually follow Philadelphia politics will remember Mr. Egan for the 1991 mayoral race, he had been a city figure since the 1960s, when he started working for the Redevelopment Authority.

Pizzi said Mr. Egan had been on the "front lines" in getting the Independence Mall project developed.

That was a long way to come for a boy who had been born on July 4, 1934, to an insurance adjuster and a homemaker and had grown up at Eighth Street and Hunting Park Avenue with five sisters and one brother.

His sisters would say that as a child, Mr. Egan thought the Independence Day fireworks were for him, niece Kate O'Neill said.

He graduated from North Catholic High School in 1952, attended Temple University for a short time, then worked in factories and loaded freight before being drafted in 1954.

After his Army service, Mr. Egan returned to Philadelphia, began working in real estate, and married Patricia Saring in 1959. The couple raised three sons.

His career with the city began in 1964, after he saw a newspaper ad for work with the Redevelopment Authority. Mr. Egan was deputy commerce director in the 1970s, under then-Democratic Mayor Rizzo.

"It was kind of a love-hate relationship" that Rizzo had with Mr. Egan, D'Alessio said, because Mr. Egan was not afraid to disagree with the mayor.

Mr. Egan later became president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. and most recently was executive director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

He also had several stints working in real estate and banking.

He continued to work through his final days.

"He was making phone calls from his hospital bed," D'Alessio said.

Mr. Egan was a family man and a voracious reader of biographies, particularly ones dealing with world history, D'Alessio said, adding that "he had a great curiosity."

He also served on the board of the Foundation for Melanoma Research, which was founded in 1999 by his niece Noreen O'Neill, who later died of the disease.

Mr. Egan is survived by his wife; his sons, Joseph III, Patrick, and David; a brother; two sisters; and three grandchildren.

Friends may call after 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Bede the Venerable Church, 1071 Holland Rd., Holland, Bucks County, where a Funeral Mass will be said at noon.