Piccola served as a member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the
104th district from 1977 to 1995. He served as a member of the
Pennsylvania State Senate for the 15th district from 1995 to 2012. In 2002, the political website
PoliticsPA named him to the list of "Smartest Legislators," saying that he was known for being "[a]rticulate and quick on his feet." In a 2002
PoliticsPA feature story designating politicians with
yearbook superlatives, he was named the "Most Likely to Succeed." In 2005, Piccola announced that he would
run for
governor, seeking the Republican nomination against incumbent
Democratic governor
Ed Rendell. Piccola dropped out of the race for governor in early 2006, after it became clear that former professional football player
Lynn Swann had earned the support of most of the
Pennsylvania Republican Party. Following the
2006 elections, Piccola gave up his position as Senate Whip, and instead made a bid to become
president pro tempore of the State Senate, after the sitting president pro tempore,
Bob Jubelirer, lost the Republican primary in his home district. State Senate Republicans ultimately chose Senator
Joe Scarnati for the president pro tempore position instead of Piccola. Piccola was replaced as Republican Whip by
Jane Orie. Piccola considered running for a spot on the
State Supreme Court in 2007 but withdrew after he was unable to secure support for the state committee endorsement. In 2009, the
Pennsylvania Report noted that Piccola had been "left for dead" after the 2006 leadership election, but was able to return to a leadership role as Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. In 2012, he received a public reprimand from the Disciplinary Board of the
State Supreme Court due to his conduct as a private attorney. He was reprimanded for violations to the code of conduct for lawyers by representing a Utah-based "heir-hunting" firm while also representing three clients involved in estate settlements. The public reprimand was the result of an agreement that allowed Piccola to keep his lawyer license and the dismissal of more serious charges of fraud, dishonesty and champery. Piccola did not seek re-election in
2012, and was succeeded by Democrat
Rob Teplitz. ==References==