Michael Stack Jr., political power

Michael J. Stack Jr., 84, the Democratic leader of the 58th Ward in the Bustleton and Somerton neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia from 1970 to 2007 - and a political influence far beyond - died of congestive heart failure Wednesday, July 13, at Temple University Hospital.

He was the father of the current 58th Ward leader, State Sen. Michael J. Stack 3d, and son of a congressman, Michael J. Stack, who served two terms from 1935 to 1939.

In addition, he was an accomplished amateur landscape painter, and he self-published six novels of political intrigue in the manner of John Grisham.

In 1977, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Tom Fox described the stature Mr. Stack had achieved in political circles through the scene at a St. Patrick's Day event.

"A lot of ambitious men riding dreams of winning public office or respected judgeships showed up at Mike Stack's party and knelt at the ward altar, praying that Mike Stack, who has a reputation for delivering the 58th Ward for the candidates he endorses, might say the right word," Fox wrote.

Fox playfully outlined the convoluted, and successful, way that Mr. Stack dealt with Mayor Frank L. Rizzo and his predecessor, James H.J. Tate.

Because Mr. Stack was lawyer to Tate, Rizzo removed him from a high-paying patronage appointment. Mr. Stack regained the legendary mayor's favor by challenging a Rizzo rival, F. Emmet Fitzpatrick, for district attorney - unsuccessfully - in 1973.

Mr. Stack, Fox wrote, "has been In and Out and back In again with Frank Rizzo and he will tell you that In is a lot, lot better."

In fact, Mr. Stack's son said in an interview, his father was most proud of his work as the campaign manager for Tate's re-election in 1967, when the Democratic Party abandoned Tate for City Controller Alexander Hemphill in the primary.

"Tate had a small handful of trusted operatives or friends and my dad was among them, and it took every political skill" possessed by Mr. Stack for Tate to win. Tate went on to claim the general election.

When Rizzo came to power in the early 1970s, Sen. Stack recalled, Rizzo tried to get rid of Mr. Stack, whom he lumped in with a group of Irish ward leaders whom Rizzo considered to be "a problem."

After failing to unseat Mr. Stack, Rizzo sought him out to gain his friendship, and from then on, "my dad became a friend and adviser," Sen. Stack said.

Born in West Philadelphia, Mr. Stack graduated from West Catholic High School in 1945, served in the Army in Europe from 1945 to 1947, and earned his bachelor's degree in economics from what is now St. Joseph's University in 1951 and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1954.

From 1954 to 1960, he was an instructor in American government at St. Joseph's. He was deputy state attorney general from 1958 to 1961.

From 1964 to 1968, while working in a federal antipoverty program in Washington, he was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School.

His resumé shows that he was general counsel for the Philadelphia Parking Authority and Redevelopment Authority.

Mr. Stack began writing his self-published novels in the 1980s, his son said, because "he said many of the things he read, he could write the same thing or better."

He faced his own real-life political drama following the 2003 race for the 10th District City Council seat in Northeast Philadelphia.

Democratic candidate John Farley, whose nominating petitions were thrown out in a court challenge, accused Mr. Stack of forging signatures. In February 2004, Mr. Stack and two Democratic committeemen were charged by the attorney general with a number of forgery-related charges. All were eventually dropped.

His passions for politics and literature were matched by his enthusiasm for art, manifested in landscapes painted in the style of Claude Monet.

"The grandkids would say, 'Could I have a painting lesson?', and he would take them down to the basement, where he had a studio," said Sen. Stack. "He would set up a canvas for himself and a canvas for the grandchild, and they would paint together."

The framed works of the grandchildren are throughout the family's homes.

Besides his son, Mr. Stack is survived by his wife, Felice, a Municipal Court senior judge; another son, Patrick; daughters Mary Theresa Nardi, Carol Poggio, and Eileen Mirsch; and 11 grandchildren.

Visitation was set for 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, July 17, and at 9:30 a.m. Monday, July 18, before an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass, at St. Christopher's Church, 13301 Proctor Rd. Burial will be at William Penn Cemetery.