ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown City Council met Wednesday night to put its new leadership in place after three incumbents were sworn in to new terms last week.
Cynthia Mota, who served as vice president last year, was chosen to take the step up to serve as the council’s president for 2024.
Mota was council president in 2022 before Daryl Hendricks took the role last year. She is the first Latina woman to serve as Allentown City Council president.
Mota cast the deciding vote last month as Allentown City Council approved a no-confidence measure against Mayor Matt Tuerk by a 4-3 vote — a move that heightened tensions between council and the administration during budget season.
But she made clear Wednesday that she wants to move on and strike a better relationship with Tuerk and his staff as council president.
She urged her fellow council members to “work better as a group” and with the city’s administration and staff.
“I recognize we have different interests and personalities, but we need to work for the interests of all ... the residents and the interests of our city as an organization,” she said.
She also urged council and residents to “step up their game and act with better decorum” after multiple meetings last year were disrupted or derailed by outbursts from residents and tense exchanges with members.
“Council should not speak down to the public,” Mota said. “We should not need to remove individuals from meetings, nor should we listen to catcalls from the back of the room."
Mota said she wants to look at re-establishing community policing and “putting officers back on the beat” and in neighborhood “substations.”
She also plans to work with Tuerk and his administration to develop a housing strategy, fiscal policies and a process for capital projects.
“I look forward to a year of working on getting things done, so next year, we can look back and say, ‘We — city staff, council and the mayor — made a big difference,’” Mota said.
Santo Napoli, who is only just starting his first full term as a council member, was elected as vice president by a 4-3 vote.
Ce-Ce Gerlach, a three-term council member, was also nominated for vice president, but her nomination did not receive a vote.
'We're all counting on you'
Tuerk congratulated Napoli and Mota, who he said will “make an exceptional City Council president,” before reminding them of the responsibility that comes with their new roles.
“We’re all counting on you,” Tuerk said. “We're all counting on you to conduct fair meetings and regularly collaborate with my administration to serve the residents and businesses, the taxpayers of Allentown.”
After the meeting, Tuerk told LehighValleyNews.com that he’s optimistic he and council will maintain a productive relationship this year after a difficult end to 2023.
Council rejected multiple tax increases put forward by Tuerk, instead passing a 2024 budget that keeps tax rates flat and forces the mayor to dip into the city’s bank account to balance spending.
Members also passed a no-confidence measure against Tuerk in early December, making him the second Allentown mayor in less than 10 years to officially lose council's confidence.
“With that commitment to open dialogue, I think we can do better together.”Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk
“I think that the members of council that took the actions that they did at the end of 2023 were sending a message — message received,” Tuerk said. “They want to see some change, and I think I expect the same of them.”
Tuerk said his administration and council are “committed to open dialogue” as 2024 begins.
“With that commitment to open dialogue, I think we can do better together,” he said.
