ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach is eyeing a new seat.
Gerlach on Thursday formally threw her hat into the race to serve Allentown and part of Salisbury Township in the state House of Representatives.
She pledged to always “fight for” working-class residents of the 22nd State House District, as she said she’s done for more than a decade as an elected official in Allentown.
“I’m ready to fight like hell for housing that we can afford, for wages that we can live on, for schools that actually prepare our kids for a better future."Ce-Ce Gerlach, candidate for state representative
Gerlach described herself as “the daughter of an undocumented migrant worker from Jamaica and a custodian.”
“That’s why my focus … has always been about the working class,” she said at her campaign announcement at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 375 headquarters on South Seventh Street.
“And it always will be — because that's who I am; that is what I am.
“I’m ready to fight like hell for housing that we can afford, for wages that we can live on, for schools that actually prepare our kids for a better future,” she said.
Meanwhile, she decried billionaires and corporations that take advantage of tax loopholes.
'Everything is converging'
Gerlach said her drive to help improve people’s circumstances started as a child when she realized she was “dirt poor.”
“I would think about a day where maybe somehow, someway, I would be in a position to help my mom out and to help other struggling families out that I was surrounded by,” Gerlach said.
Gerlach moved to Allentown to study at Cedar Crest College, where she got a degree in elementary education.
She worked with Lehigh Valley nonprofits and at warehouses while also doing gig work to try to make ends meet; she said she lived in her car for about six months in 2009 amid money issues.
Gerlach was elected to Allentown School Board in 2011 and served two terms. She will be about halfway through her second term on Allentown City Council when voters cast their ballots next year.
“It's like everything is converging to this moment and this time and this place," Gerlach said. "And this moment is when I announce my candidacy for state representative.”
Gerlach said she was “falling short for words” for the occasion.
'Working-class candidate'
Gerlach is seeking the seat held by Democrat Josh Siegel, who is running for Lehigh County executive this year. She said she expects him to beat Republican nominee Roger McLean.
“We need someone who is going to go down there and give them hell, and [who] knows how to give them hell strategically."Ce-Ce Gerlach, candidate for state representative
That would prompt a special election to fill his seat in the House. And Gerlach said she wants to earn the backing of the local Democratic Party’s executive committee, which would be tasked with nominating a candidate for that contest.
“I would like that [nominee] to be me,” she told LehighValleyNews.com. “I have the most experience, I have the most courage, and I'm ready.
“I want the Democratic executive board to choose me to be on that ballot so that the voters actually can get a working-class candidate.”
Gerlach said she wants to bring “audacious leadership” to Harrisburg.
She said she plans to pursue legislation to stabilize rents, end solitary confinement and implement inclusionary zoning across the state to add affordable housing.
“We need someone who is going to go down there and give them hell, and [who] knows how to give them hell strategically,” Gerlach said.
