"The passing of the former director of Delaware County's data processing center might seem of little consequence," wrote Joseph McLaughlin, director of the Institute for Public Affairs at Temple, in an opinion piece. "Yet crowds of powerful politicians and average citizens paid their respects to John F. McNichol last week….He cared about policy as well as politics, and his relationship with [Republican leader] Bill Meehan was crucial to winning support for projects that were important for both the city and the region. What counted for them both was not who got the credit, but what got done."