State Rep. Mike Veon's defeat Tuesday after 22 years in the Legislature sent shock waves through Beaver County's Democratic Party leadership.

"Like him or dislike him, Mike Veon was a consummate politician," state Rep. Vince Biancucci said of his fallen stablemate.

Mr. Veon, who served as the House minority whip, was beaten by a little-known Big Beaver Councilman Jim Marshall. Mr. Veon's defeat primarily has been tied to his staunch support of last year's controversial pay raises, which every legislator except Mr. Veon voted to revoke.

Mr. Veon, 49, of Beaver Falls couldn't be reached for comment, but other party leaders were quick to praise him.

"It was a surprise, a shock, a disappointment -- choose whatever word you want," state Sen. Gerry LaValle, D-Rochester, said. "Mike Veon is one of the most effective legislators in Harrisburg."

"When you wanted money, you went to Mike, no matter what county you were from," Beaver County Commissioners' Chairman Dan Donatella said.

Perhaps, though, those very assets are also part of what brought him down.

"The gentleman was just a little too arrogant for his office," county Republican Party Chairman Martin Matthews said.

Mr. Veon helped to engineer the Legislature's middle-of-the-night pay raise vote in July 2005, a move that infuriated voters. And Mr. Veon was unapologetic and strongly defended the raises throughout the uproar.

Other local politicians draw a straight line from the pay raise to his defeat.

"All the opposition had to do was prey on that," Mr. Donatella said.

"Mike took a stand, and maybe it was the wrong stand," Mr. Biancucci said.

Mr. Matthews, though, believes the pay raises were more of a catalyst for an underlying distaste voters had for Mr. Veon.

"It's like if you have a cut on your finger, and the more you use your hand the more sore it gets," he said. "Eventually you have to do something about it."

Mr. Matthews conceded that Mr. Veon was a master at bringing money back to his district. He has been pushing for a harness track and casino there; he's been working on riverfront development, brownfields funding and money for county parks; his participation is key to an ongoing project to get streetscaping done in all of Beaver County's river towns.

"It goes on and on and on," Mr. Donatella said. "There's a whole laundry list of projects [Mr. Veon] was involved in."

Mr. Veon helped get $7.5 million in state funding for the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center, a key part of the renaissance centered on the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School in Midland. He got a Keystone Innovation Zone established for Beaver Falls, part of Chippewa and Geneva College. His fingerprints are on almost every state-funded project in Beaver County, even outside his district.

"From his leadership position, he's been able to bring a lot of projects -- funded projects -- into Beaver County," Mr. LaValle said.

He also brought in significant money through the Beaver Initiative for Growth, a development corporation he and Mr. LaValle co-founded in 1992.

The initiative has come under fire for lax bookkeeping and allegations of improper spending, but it has also brought about $10 million into the district for various projects.

Mr. LaValle defended the organization, noting that it had input from some 200 members drawn from political and business leadership in the county, and that the state monitored its use of money.

"Any time a politician does something that makes himself look good, he gets criticized," he said.

Mr. LaValle also noted that BIG's future is uncertain, since Mr. Veon was the primary source for its funding.

"We're not going to be able to replace Mike Veon," he said.