BETHLEHEM, Pa. — This week on Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick switch things up.
Or, should we say, host Chris Borick and politics reporter Tom Shortell flip the script. In this week's episode, Shortell takes the hot seat as the interviewee.
Borick asks Shortell about the "packed primary" election in the Lehigh Valley, including notable races.
The two start by talking about the mayoral races in Bethlehem and Allentown — what makes them interesting?
"In both cities, you're seeing the incumbents kind of accusing their challengers of being operatives for the opposite party," Shortell said. "We saw that in both debates we hosted."
The Allentown mayoral debate between Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk and challenger Ed Zucal took place at Miller Symphony Hall. Rewatch it by clicking here.
For the debate between Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds and challenger Grace Crampsie Smith, click here.
"It seems to be a pushback within the parties against the status-quo," Shortell said. "Zucal has no love lost for Matt Tuerk, I think safely put Grace Crampsie Smith is in the same category with Mayor Reynolds."
Shortell and Borick also talk about the challengers' strategy for targeting their incumbent opponents.
Seats also are open at the county level.
Democratic candidates Tara Zrinski and Amy Cozze are seeking their party's nomination for Northampton County Executive.
"The Northampton County [Executive Race]... it's almost like a proxy race against Lamont McClure — who is not on the ballot..." Shortell said. "But a lot of the issues coming up there are directly related to his administration and the policies that he has followed."
Lehigh Valley Public Media also hosted a debate between the candidates. Click here to rewatch it.
What about the Republican race for Lehigh County Executive?
"In that race, you have two candidates who are doing their best not to beat up on each other," Shortell said. "...And they are kind of jockeying to kind of see which of them is the better candidate."
Watch the debate between candidates Mike Welsh and Roger MacLean in the module below or by clicking here.
Find out more by listening to this week's episode of Political Pulse by clicking the play button on the module at the top of this article.
To view any of the debates held at the Univest Public Media Center, check out the "Political Debates" section on PBS39's YouTube channel.
