Both candidates tout experience in Lehigh County coroner’s race

• Daniel Buglio and Dr. Joseph Zitarelli are squaring off in the Nov. 7 general election for Lehigh County Coroner
• Buglio, a Democrat, was appointed coroner in April 2022 after working in the office for two decades
• Republican Zitarelli is a physician and surgeon with more than 30 years of experience

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio, a Democrat, faced no opposition in May’s primary election, but will have to fight off a challenge from Dr. Joseph Zitarelli in the general election to earn his first full term.

Zitarelli also faced no primary challengers as he secured the Republican nomination.

The pair will face off in the first contested Lehigh County coroner race in at least two decades, according to election records.

Both candidates are putting their experience and “expertise” at the forefront of their campaigns.

Buglio has worked across various roles in the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office for almost a quarter-century. He was appointed coroner in April 2022 after Eric Minnich’s resignation.

He said he also served more than two decades as a part-time police officer in Slatington and Coplay.

“I've devoted my whole life to public service,” Buglio said. “I've devoted it, specifically with the coroner's office, to helping people in need. That's what I do.”

On the other side of the race, Zitarelli is touting his “expertise” as a medical doctor and surgeon since the early 1980s. His website urges voters to “Elect an Expert.”

“The role of the coroner is to determine, in questionable cases, the cause and manner of death,” Zitarelli said. “It's really not that different from what I did for the last 40 years or so.

“Being an acute care surgeon did a very good job of preparing me for that aspect of the job."

Pushing for new technology

Zitarelli said he’s been interested in serving as a coroner “for a long time, but really just never had the chance to do it” until his work slowed down in recent years.

He is a physician at Grand View Wound Care Center in Sellersville after several years at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono. Zitarelli worked a variety of roles in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Indiana over the previous three decades.

Coroners’ offices are responsible for investigating suspicious deaths. Most in Pennsylvania don't perform autopsies themselves. The Lehigh County Coroner’s Office has long used forensic pathologists from HNL Lab Medicine to complete autopsies, Buglio said. 

Forensic pathologists are a “scarce resource” in the United States, Zitarelli said. He called for the next coroner to use “more technology to maybe take some of the burden off of them.”

Devices such as CT scanners or MRI machines could eliminate the need for many autopsies, which “are expensive and very time-consuming,” or let forensic pathologists conduct more targeted procedures, he said.

Zitarelli said he’s running on a platform of “accuracy and efficiency,” which technology will help improve.

'Move us forward'

The Lehigh County Coroner’s Office uses a variety of technology, including mobile X-rays and DNA and fingerprint scanners, and is “working on grants constantly” to pay for new technology, such as a CT scanner, Buglio said.

“I want to continue to move us forward to get the latest equipment,” he said.

The coroner’s office last week started using new equipment that quickly provides toxicology results for people suspected of dying from overdoses, he said.

Giving “families closure after they lost a loved one from illicit or prescription drug overdose in under 30 minutes, compared to six to eight weeks, is fantastic,” Buglio said.

After a year and a half holding the title of Lehigh County coroner, Buglio has racked up a long list of endorsements, including police unions in Allentown and Bethlehem, County Executive Phil Armstrong, and the Lehigh Valley Labor Council.

He’s also gotten the backing of District Attorney Jim Martin, one of the highest-profile Republicans in the Lehigh Valley.

Martin “publicly endorsing me is huge,” Buglio said. “I think that shows the dedication and the respect that I have garnered and earned over my time here.”

Zitarelli said he did not seek endorsements or donations because he believes it’s important “the coroner is not beholden to anybody.”