State Rep. Harry Readshaw announces retirement after 13 terms

It’s hard to escape one’s mortality when the family business is death.

State Rep. Harry Readshaw III — a third-generation funeral director and owner of Readshaw Funeral Home in Carrick — announced Tuesday that he would retire at the end of the 2019-20 legislative session. The Democrat has represented the 36th District in the state House since 1995.

“Some day, I guess no matter who you are, you have to come to grips with the aging process. When I sat down and thought about winning this next election, I’d be 81 in two more years,” said Readshaw, who lives in Carrick. “It surprises you. I never dwelled on how old I was.”

Readshaw said his age was the sole factor that made him decide against seeking a 14th term in the state House of Representatives.

“There’s just a time to go,” Readshaw said.

Jessica Benham, a progressive Democrat from Pittsburgh’s South Side, who has endorsements from several Pittsburgh-area Democratic officials, was challenging Readshaw for his seat. A contested primary didn’t factor into his decision, Readshaw said.

“I’ve never backed away from opposition,” he said.

Readshaw said he is proud to have served the South Side, Carrick, Baldwin, Brentwood and Mt. Oliver for 25 years.

“There are so many things I really can’t enumerate them right now,” Readshaw said. “Over the years I was able to bring home large amounts of state funding for a variety of projects.”

The money helped build gyms and swimming pools, the Hot Metal Bridge on the South Side, and other projects that helped make the district a better place, Readshaw said.

“That’s the reward in doing this,” he said.

Readshaw, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was a founder of the Pennsylvania Gettysburg Monument Project that helps to preserve the Civil War sites at the battlefield, he said.

“I’ll miss participating in government. I won’t miss politics,” he said, admitting it sounds like a comment many others have made.

“Obviously, I’m a moderate Democrat, and I’ve always been that. I’m a member of the old Democratic Party, if you will. [We] create jobs, create economic development,” he said.

The political divisions in Harrisburg are the same as the divisions in Washington, he said.

“We’ve lost our function. We’ve lost our focus. We get too tied up now. The newer people seem to be more extremist, either left or right,” Readshaw said.

“The word compromise is missing from their vocabulary,” he said about newer members.

“Hopefully it will be a passing phenomenon, but that’s the way it is at the moment,” he said.

As far as his personal future, he said he’s been too busy answering questions about his announcement to decide what he and his wife Carol will do without regular trips to Harrisburg. He couldn’t guess how many times he’s made the nearly three-and-a-half hour drive between Carrick and the state capital but said it was a good time to think and consider things, “legislatively or otherwise,” Readshaw said.

Until the session adjourns at the end of the year, Readshaw said he’ll continue to be active in the legislature.

“I’ve got 11 months to go, and I will fulfill all of my obligations,” he said. “I still enjoy it. I still enjoy representing the people of the 36th District. The reality is I have to consider my age.”