Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Gavin Holihan took the oath of office Tuesday morning as Lehigh County's new district attorney. He said he'll divert resources away from penny-ante issues to focus on battling violent crime.

The 20-year-old is a youth director with Promise Neighborhoods of Lehigh Valley. She graduated from William Allen High School in 2021 and won election to the school board in the November general election.

The Pennsylvania Department of State is starting a new office to help train county election workers, Pa. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. It also plans to update its guidance for logic and accuracy testing that could have caught issues with the Northampton County voting machines.

In a letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro, state Rep. Milou Mackenzie asked the Department of State to provide Northampton County with instructions on how to avoid more Election Day mistakes with their voting machines.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure on Friday named a human resources department manager as his acting director of administration. She joined the county in May 2022.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Mark Pinsley announced Friday, Dec. 1, that he will run for auditor general in 2024. The position oversees financial and performance audits of Pennsylvania state government.

County Executive Lamont McClure reiterated Thursday he will not step down after the county experienced widespread problems with its voting machines on Election Day. Despite the problems, the county's Election Commission certified the results last week.

Republican Kat Copeland is hoping her experience as a federal and local prosecutor will help her become Pennsylvania's next attorney general.

County Executive Lamont McClure on Friday accepted the resignation of Charles Dertinger, his director of administration and a longtime political ally. As director of administration, Dertinger oversaw the county elections division, which came under scrutiny in the wake of widespread voting machine problems in the Nov. 7 election.

J. William Reynolds' victory means his spot on Bethlehem City Council will have to be filled.

A back-and-forth battle on Election Night ends with Armstrong saying he's captured a 2nd term.

A major Lehigh Valley race is still too close to call. As of 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Republican challenger for the Lehigh County executive, Glenn Eckhart, barely trailed behind incumbent Phil Armstrong, a Democrat.

The Democrat defeated controversial Republican challenger Steve Lynch with 56 percent of the vote.

Democrat J. William Reynolds will be the next mayor of Bethlehem according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s election. He appears to have defeated Republican John Kachmar 63 to 36 percent.

At the Lehigh County Government Center, the hub for election results in Lehigh County, there wasn’t as much foot traffic inside the actual polling room on the main floor.

Candidates reach out to potential voters by going door-to-door and hosting listening sessions.

Conflict and tension have ramped up at school board meetings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

J. William Reynolds and John Kachmar clashed on spending, taxes and what to do with the city's share of American Rescue Plan funding.

The Republican candidate for Lehigh County executive, Glenn Eckhart, says there is no point in asking current Executive and Democratic candidate Phil Armstrong to resign right now over the recent federal lawsuit in which Armstrong is named.

Three Hispanic candidates are on the Republican ticket for Lehigh County commissioner.

Harsh words and pointed fingers are common during election season, but the barbs traded in the Northampton County Executive’s race might be a little sharper than most.