Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure says he'll run for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District seat in 2026, seeking to bring the seat back under Democratic control.

Mark Pinsley also plans to publish a series of “plain-language reports” about how billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to cut the federal government will affect local municipalities, services and programs.

Patrick Palmer was less than two dozen votes short of winning one of four Democratic nominations for council in 2021.

If you’ve ever thought about running for local office, you’ve probably had one big question above all: How do I get my campaign up and running? Tom Shortell and Sam Chen have the answers in this week's Political Pulse.

Santos became the youngest person ever elected to Allentown City Council when she won election in 2021. She'll join four other candidates in the primary election on May 20, 2025.

The federally funded Neighborhood Health Centers of the Lehigh Valley served about 10,000 people last year across its five locations across the region.

Ben Stemrich announced his bid Friday, joining three other candidates — Jeremy Binder, Luis Acevedo and Cristian Pungo — in the contest for four open seats.

Federal agents were at Northampton County Prison on Friday morning to apprehend an inmate upon his release. The man was alleged to be in the country illegally. The level of cooperation between ICE agents and the county has come under attack by U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie.

Phil Armstrong highlighted a long list of accomplishments and laid out a few more plans for his last year in office Thursday night.

Mayor J. William Reynolds announced Thursday he's running for a chance at another term at mayor. Reynolds, a Democrat, said that while he's excited for another shot at the job, the successes of the past four years have been a group effort.

Philip Ginder, 74, who served on the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners for 24 years, was appointed on Wednesday to fill the vacancy created when Commissioner Robert Piligian resigned in February.

Candidates for Northampton County Council, Allentown City Council, Allentown mayor and Parkland School Board are being challenged in court for allegedly failing to meet legal requirements to appear on the May ballot.

A Lehigh County judge ruled in favor of LoriAnn Fehnel, a Republican candidate for Whitehall Township Commissioner, who challenged that candidate Betsey H. Charles's nominating petition is invalid and should be set aside.

City officials voted in favor of raising the next council president’s salary from $7,600 to $11,400 a year and council members’ annual pay from $7,100 to $10,650. However, City Council decided against salary increases for the next mayor and controller.

This week on Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell speaks with Celeste Dee, owner of Lehigh Valley-based Advantage Political Strategies. The two talk about judicial campaigns.

The vacancy on the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners will be filled at a meeting on Wednesday night. The board interviewed three candidates on Monday night.

Whitehall Township treasurer/tax collector Tina Koren is asking the Lehigh County Court to reject Commissioner Thomas Slonaker's nominating petition for her job.

Whitehall Township commissioner Republican candidate LoriAnn Fehnel filed a challenge March 14 against fellow Republican candidate Betsey H. Charles, 3212 Chestnut St., based on deficiencies on the latter’s petition.

Gerald C. Yob has been mayor of Freemansburg for 44 years. He served on borough council 12 years before that. Yob turns 96 in August, and plans on running for a 12th term as mayor.

Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners have until March 29 to fill the vacancy and will conduct public interviews with candidates on Monday starting at 6 p.m.

H.B. 827 was proposed by State Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton. The bill aims to establish a tutoring program in which high school students could receive academic credit for being tutors

Tuesday was the deadline for candidates in scores of political races to file their nominating petitions in hopes of getting on 2025 election ballots. Here's a look at how some of the races are shaping up.