A nuclear scientist-turned-politician who served 26 years in the state Legislature and had the chutzpah to challenge a popular incumbent governor, Ivan Itkin will be remembered as “one of the smartest and hardest-working people in Harrisburg.”

“Ivan’s hallmark was his steady and intellectual involvement in real challenging issues,” said former state Rep. Bill DeWeese. “He would come into Caucus with 8 inches worth of binders, bills and amendments, while the rest of us might have a Sports Illustrated and cup of coffee.”

Mr. Itkin, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., died of heart failure on April 5, just a week after his 84th birthday.

A native of New York City and longtime resident of Point Breeze, Mr. Itkin discovered a passion for politics in the mid-1960s, when he joined the newly formed 14th Ward Independent Democratic Club in Pittsburgh’s East End.

“At first he just got into politics as a hobby, then he got more and more involved in it,” said his son Marc Itkin, of Oakland. “It became a really big deal to him and he was really dedicated to it. And he never coasted, my dad. He worked really hard.”

After an unsuccessful — but educational — fledgling run at state Senate in 1968, the elder Mr. Itkin won a state House seat four years later in the 23rd Legislative District, which includes Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, Greenfield and other eastern neighborhoods.

A progressive Democrat, Mr. Itkin served 13 terms, including stints as House majority leader, majority and minority whip and chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

He didn’t seek re-election after his doomed 1998 campaign to unseat then-Gov. Tom Ridge, a very popular and well-funded Republican incumbent who later became the nation’s first secretary of homeland security.

“I just knew somebody had to get up to the plate and represent the party,” Mr. Itkin said in a June 2014 Post-Gazette story, marking the 50th anniversary of the 14th Ward club.

Outspent by more than 20-to-1, his predecessor took one for the team in the gubernatorial race, said state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, who represents Mr. Itkin’s former district.

“I think the party were all very thankful to find a Democrat to run against a very popular governor,” he said.

Known for his scraggly mop of white hair, Mr. Itkin had always been more admired for his intellect than his political prowess, former colleagues said.

“He was astute at politics, but his major focus was on policy and the issues,” said former Democratic state Rep. Ronald Cowell.

“It was a landslide. No one was interested in going into the maw that was the Ridge Republican machine,” recalled Mr. DeWeese, former Democratic House speaker. “The handsome, debonair Harvard man who had an unassailable political and personal resume would have been virtually impossible for anyone to compete against. Although Ivan was bereft of the superficial political commodity of charisma, he gained respect from his colleagues.”

Mr. Ridge and his wife said Wednesday they were “sad to learn that Ivan Itkin … a dedicated public servant following a distinguished career as a nuclear engineer” had died.

“He ran a tough but fair campaign and was always a gentleman,” Mr. Ridge said in a statement. “I considered it a privilege to have run against him. Our thoughts are with Ivan's family and friends tonight.”

Mr. Itkin’s smarts were useful beyond issues and policy — his deep understanding of nuclear physics was invaluable during the partial meltdown of a reactor at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station near Harrisburg in 1979, Mr. Cowell recalled.

“When Three Mile Island happened, he was the only person — or the person — who best understood what was happening because of his expertise in nuclear science,” he said. “Ivan was one of the real leaders to help others understand and think through the aftermath of TMI. When he left the Legislature, people lamented the loss.”

Mr. Itkin grew up in New York City’s Manhattan borough, the son of a Jewish immigrant from Belarus. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1952 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1956 and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from New York University a year later.

He came to the Pittsburgh area in 1957, after accepting a job as a nuclear scientist at the Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West Mifflin.

Mr. Itkin attended night school at the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a doctorate degree in mathematics in 1964.

In 1975, he married Joyce Hudak, whom he met when she worked for former Gov. Milton Shapp. Mrs. Itkin later went on to serve as Allegheny County clerk of courts.

After his political career, Mr. Itkin was appointed by former President Bill Clinton to head the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management at the U.S. Department of Energy — or as Mr. Itkin blithely called it, “the nuclear waste czar.”

He retired in 2001 and relocated several years later to Florida, where he remained active in politics, becoming president of the GO-GO Democrats, representing the residents of Galt Ocean Mile in Fort Lauderdale.

“He helped on some campaigns in Florida, and he liked to work on investing,” his son said. “He liked to manage his own investments.”

Mr. Itkin will be remembered for his generosity in sharing legislative initiatives with less experienced lawmakers and for respecting members from both sides of the aisle, without regard to party or tenure, colleagues said.

“He was incapable of being strident or captious. He was utterly warmhearted and fraternal,” Mr. DeWeese said. “Humility punctuated his public service, and that can’t be said for many individuals in politics.”

Along with his wife and son, Mr. Itkin is survived by his other children, Max Itkin, of Hollywood, Fla., and Laurie Itkin, of San Diego.

Due to current health restrictions, no public service is scheduled at this time. A memorial service is being planned for this summer in Pittsburgh.

Memorial donations can be made to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank at www.pittsburghfoodbank.org/.

Janice Crompton: jcrompton@post-gazette.com.

First Published: April 15, 2020, 10:31 p.m.