David ‘Chip’ Brightbill, former district attorney & state senate leader, dies at 83

Former Lebanon County district attorney and Republican Pennsylvania state senator David J. “Chip” Brightbill has died at the age of 83, it was announced Thursday, Nov. 6. He had been ill for some time.

Brightbill’s legal and political career in Lebanon County and statewide covered over 40 years.

He was born in Lebanon on Nov. 3, 1942, to John M. (“Jack”) and Verda McGill Brightbill. His parents operated the Lincoln Diner and his father served on city council.

After his 1960 graduation from Lebanon High School, he attended Pennsylvania Military College (now Widener University) from 1960 to 1962 before transferring to Penn State, where he graduated in 1964 with a B.S. degree in business administration. In 1970, Brightbill graduated cum laude from Duquesne University Law School in Pittsburgh. While there, he was editor-in-chief of the Duquesne Law Review.

In 1965, at the age of 22, Brightbill was elected to the Lebanon school board, his first public office. He served the city schools through 1967.

He also worked as a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News between 1964 and 1967, then for the Pittsburgh Press in 1968.

Brightbill was admitted to the practice of law, locally and statewide, in 1970. After his admission to the bar, Brightbill practiced with Lebanon law firm Lewis, Brubaker, Whitman and Christianson. Later in his career he was a partner in Siegrist, Koller, Brightbill and Long, now known as Long Brightbill.

Brightbill was an assistant Lebanon County district attorney between 1970 and 1977, under the late George Christianson. After Christianson decided not to seek reelection, Brightbill secured the Republican slot on the general election ballot by easily defeating his party’s endorsed candidate, Keith Kilgore, in the May 1977 Republican primary.

Brightbill was elected district attorney in 1977, defeating Democratic challenger John Feather, and served in that capacity through 1981.

As district attorney, Brightbill revived the position of county detective, which had been vacant for several years, with the hiring of Michael Wahmann. The county detective bureau has since become an integral part of the district attorney’s office.

Brightbill spent a year in private law practice after leaving the district attorney’s office at the end of 1981.

On Nov. 2, 1982, a day before his 40th birthday, Brightbill was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate’s 48th district, defeating Democrat John Anspach, a two-term Lebanon County Commissioner. Brightbill succeeded Fredericksburg Republican Clarence Manbeck, the founder of Farmers Pride Poultry, in the 48th.

Brightbill steadily rose through the Republican senate ranks. According to the senate library, Brightbill was majority caucus secretary from 1985 to 1988, majority whip from 1989 to 1990, majority policy chair in 1991, majority whip a second time from 1997 to 1999, and majority leader from 2000 until leaving office in 2006. He served on the senate appropriations committee and chaired the rules and executive nominations committee.

Due largely to public outrage over a July 2005 early morning legislative pay raise that was passed without public review or commentary and ranged from 16% to 34%, Brightbill lost the 2006 Republican primary to Mike Folmer, who won the general election for the 48th district that fall.

Brightbill and senate president pro tem Robert Jubelirer, an Altoona Republican, were the first state legislators in leadership positions to lose in a primary in over 40 years. The ousters, fueled by new media such as blogs and talk radio, made national news in the pages of the New York Times.

After leaving the state senate, Brightbill joined the Reading-based law firm of Stevens & Lee, where he practiced law in their government affairs section.

Brightbill’s long time law partner, Thomas Long, told LebTown “the best thing I can say about Chip is that he did more for Lebanon County than any other individual in my lifetime.”

“As partners, he and I never disagreed on anything, we never had an argument,” said Long.

Read More: Lebanon County mourns David “Chip” Brightbill, whose leadership secured Governor Dick park and shaped region

Retired Lebanon County Judge Robert Eby credited Brightbill with mentoring him when he ran for judge as a 36-year-old political novice.

“When I ran for judge, Chip was very, very helpful to me, with what he knew and what he knew I didn’t know,” Eby said.

Describing Brightbill as a natural politician who was “damn good at it,” Eby said that “you met people and you learned things because of Chip, because of who Chip was.”

Current 48th district Republican state Sen. Chris Gebhard told LebTown, “I think Chip’s impact on the area is probably too great to measure.”

Gebhard pointed to many examples of Brightbill bringing funds into the 48th that improved his constituents’ quality of life, citing the now-flourishing Lebanon Valley Fairgrounds and Exposition Center in particular.

“The Expo Center was basically on its death bed. It wasn’t financially sustainable,” Gebhard said. “Chip was able to secure state funding needed to do construction and renovations. He basically got the Expo Center to the point it is today.”

Brightbill is survived by his wife, Lebanon County Common Pleas Court Judge Donna Long-Brightbill, and five sons, David, Jon, Andrew, Christian, and Adam.

Funeral arrangements had not been announced as of publication time.