Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

If adopted, the amendments to the county's home rule charter would set new term limits for the county executive and controller, while codifying existing limits for members of council

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild supported a plan Wednesday to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling. If an agreement is not reached in the next week, the U.S. could devastate the global economy by defaulting on its debt.

All primary results in Lehigh and Northampton counties are now official after election workers ran audits and validated totals over the past two weeks.

Allentown saw almost 500 crashes where a pedestrian was hurt in the past five years, eight of which killed people. Federal funding is contributing $312,000 for a study to improve road safety.

City Council members Ce-Ce Gerlach, Santo Napoli and Candida Affa finished as the top three vote-getters in more than a third of Allentown's precincts in their bids for re-election.

Gavin Holihan, the Democratic and Republican nominee for Lehigh County district attorney, said he hopes to find resources to assist underserved families so at-risk kids today don't become victims or defendants a decade from now.

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

Republican William Rowe, a write-in candidate for the Bethlehem-area seat on Northampton County Council, will advance to the November election.

Meanwhile, Lehigh County Sheriff Joe Hannah and district attorney candidate Gavin Holihan locked up both primaries in their races.

Members of Northampton County Council's government committee suggested changes to the county home rule charter, including a commission that could rewrite it altogether.

Democrat Sarah Fevig and Republican Patrick Leonard are running to represent Lehigh County's District 5 on its board of commissioners.

The voter registration deadline to vote in the Nov. 4 election is Monday, Oct. 20, while the last day to request a mail-in ballot is Tuesday, Oct. 28.

Protesting President Trump, marchers took to Broad Street in Bethlehem after a half-hour rally at Rose Garden Park, ending outside City Hall at Payrow Plaza. It was one of thousands of rallies across the nation Saturday that the president's supporters decried as "Hate America" rallies.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie led the field in political fundraising for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District over the past three months. Democratic candidates Ryan Crosswell and Bob Brooks were not far behind, each raising more than $300,000 over the same time period.

Three seats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are up for retention elections this cycle. Typically a "mundane affair," as described by political scientist Chris Borick, these races now have a lot of eyes on them, with parties looking to flip these judicial seats in swing states.

Lehigh County executive candidates Josh Siegel and Roger MacLean met in a debate Wednesday night hosted by Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem. Siegel argued the next executive needs to have big plans for the office, where MacLean positioned himself as offering more stability.

Republican Roger MacLean and Democrat Josh Siegel are vying for a four-year term as Lehigh County executive. The winner in the Nov. 4 election will succeed Democrat Phil Armstrong, who cannot run again because of term limits.

Operations at Lehigh Valley International Airport have not suffered from the government shutdown to date, according to Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority officials. However, an increase in air traffic controllers calling out sick during the last shutdown spurred a deal in 2019.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure released a statement Tuesday explaining he would not take a loan to pay the county's bills during the state budget impasse. He urged legislators to adopt a budget and restore the flow of funds.

“We were looking for answers that aligned with our vision as an association for the work that we want to do in the district,” said Allentown Education Association President Leslie Franklin.

Lehigh Valley Political Pulse host Tom Shortell wants to hear from you. Readers are encouraged to submit questions through the link in the article. They may be addressed on a future episode of the program.

Political scientist Chris Borick joined Tom Shortell again this week to try to make sense of the government shutdown and what it all means.