ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk in May cruised to the Democratic nomination for re-election, easily seeing off Councilman Ed Zucal’s bid to stop him from winning a second term.
A more-than-60-point margin of victory in a Democratic primary would mean an uncontested general election and certain win in most years.
But Zucal, a Democrat, earned enough write-in votes from Republicans to take the race into November.
“I've got a pretty good, clear path to victory in November."Mayor Matt Tuerk
The mayor said he's eager to again take on his primary opponent and is confident he’ll win four more years in his role.
“I've got a pretty good, clear path to victory in November,” Tuerk said.
But Zucal’s plans are unclear; he has not responded to numerous calls and messages from LehighValleyNews.com over the past two weeks.
The two-term councilman declared victory in the Republican primary after picking up almost 500 write-in votes.
“Although we fell short on Tuesday on the Democratic side, we still won,” Zucal posted May 23 on his Facebook page. “I’m still alive."
But his only public social media activity since was to share a message promoting a cat’s availability for adoption from a Monroe County animal shelter.
‘Asking voters to show up’
The mayor said he’s also “heard zero” from his opponent recently.
“If he is not going to run a campaign, then I don't have to worry too much about him."Mayor Matt Tuerk on his opponent, Ed Zucal
The re-election campaign “has been catching a breath,” Tuerk said, adding he’s “kind of … waiting for what’s going to happen with Ed Zucal.”
“If he is not going to run a campaign, then I don't have to worry too much about him,” Tuerk said in late June.
The mayor said he hopes to increase his margin of victory and plans to “spend my time and energy trying to engage people who didn't vote in the primary.”
Tuerk swept all of Allentown’s ,more than 50 voting precincts in this year’s Democratic primary as he picked up almost 5,000 votes to Zucal’s 1,191 votes.
The mayor earned just over 2,000 votes as he won the 2021 Democratic nomination by 122 votes. More than 8,200 people voted for Tuerk in that year’s general election.
“One way or another — with or without Ed Zucal — I can compete against voter apathy,” he said.
“I can compete against the idea that government doesn't do anything, and I can work to convince people that Allentown shows up as a local government,” Tuerk said.
“We're asking voters to show up for the city of Allentown, as well.”
