Delaware County lost a political icon July 28 in the passing of former state Rep. Nicholas Micozzie, writes Alex Rose for the Daily Times.

Micozzie represented the 163^rd District from 1979 until 2014, when he retired.

His political career began as a Democrat on Upper Darby Council in 1971. Former

Micozzie became a Republican in 1978 after the Democrats opted not to support a run for state legislator.

Friends and family said party labels meant little to Micozzie. For him it was about serving the people . He championed the cause of increased education funding, an idea not supported in his own caucus.

“Politically, I’d say he was kind of a dying generation. He did come from an era where people did cross the aisle. Politics wasn’t necessarily a zero-sum game. I know that he worked with (Democratic) Gov. (Bob) Casey on a number of things, always with a desire to do what’s best for the people of the 163rd District,” .said Paul McNichol, son of former Delaware County GOP leader John McNichol.

His last success before leaving office was pushing through a $2.3 billion transportation funding bill, providing much-needed revenue for local mass transit.

Read more about the life of Nick Micozzie here.

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