Thomas J. Foerster was a Democratic politician. Foerster held a variety of political positions in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and was seen as one of the last "machine" politicians from the area.
Foerster unsuccessfully sought a seat in the Pennsylvania State House in both 1954 and 1956. He was successful in his third bid in 1958, winning one of Allegheny County's allotted at-large seats by defeating former Steelers quarterback John "Harp" Vaughn. Foerster joined Leroy Irvis and State SenatorEugene Scanlon in a much-heralded freshman legislative class. While in the State House, he championed the cause of outdoorsmen and environmentalists, distinguishing himself by authoring Pennsylvania's Clean Streams Law.
Foerster was persuaded to run for one of the three seats on Allegheny County's Board of Commissioners in 1967. He received significant backing from the political machine of former Pittsburgh MayorDavid Lawrence, whom Foerster had long admired. Lawrence, who had been electedGovernor the same year Foerster won his State House seat, supported Forester and his running mate, former State Senator Leonard Staisey. Together, Staisey and Foerster toppled incumbent Democratic Commissioners William McClelland and John McGrady in the primary election. Foerster would go on to be re-elected to the Board of Commissioners a record six more times. In 1977, he was the Democratic nominee for Pittsburgh Mayor. However, he lost the general election to incumbent Mayor Richard Caliguiri, who ran as an independent. As Chairman, he initiated a plan to establish home rule in Allegheny County, which would replace the county commission with an elected County Executive and a County Council. This initiative was based upon a study set into motion by him and county commissionerPete Flaherty in 1995. They established a committee chaired by the then Chancellor of Duquesne University, John E. Murray, Jr. called "ComPAC 21",. Their report laid the plan for a completely new organizational structure of county government. The new form of government recommended by the study was advanced by the subsequent board, voted upon via a county-wide referendum, and officially instituted in 2000, and he became the first person to represent the 13th district on the Council, which replaced the County Board of Commissioners. He was defeated in the Democratic primary in his bid for an eighth term in 1995. That fall, RepublicansBob Cranmer and Larry Dunn both won seats on the Board, forming the first Republican majority in six decades.
County Council
In 1999, Foerster was elected to the Allegheny County Council, which was created by the enactment of Allgheny County's home rule charter in 1998. He became the first person to represent the 13th district on the Council, which replaced the County Board of Commissioners.
Death
Foerster died on January 11, 2000, just eleven days into his term, from complications of cardiac arrest and diabetes. He was 72 years old and had been in a coma for nearly a week. He was survived by his wife, Georgeann, and five stepchildren.
