Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

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.

Senate Democrats have refused to fund the federal government unless Republicans agree to extend tax subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. U.S. Ryan Mackenzie supports the tax subsidies but echoed Republican demands that no deal can be struck until the federal government is funded.

Candidates for Southern Lehigh School Board participated in a forum Tuesday at the Univest Public Media Center organized by the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. There are seven candidates on the ballot, vying for four seats.

Candidates for Parkland School Board will participate in a forum tonight at the Univest Public Media Center organized by the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. There are six candidates on the ballot, vying for four seats.

Northampton County Council voted down a measure Thursday that would have required administrators to seek the council's approval before spending money on planned satellite voting offices in Bethlehem and Washington Township.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure released his proposal Thursday for the 2026 county budget. The proposal keeps taxes flat.

From its founding via executive order at the start of the year, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiencies, or DOGE, intended to accomplish a number of lofty goals. But has DOGE lived up to its promise?

Allentown voters could see five questions on their ballots in November if the proposals are approved.

Republicans leaders are working to increase the number of conservatives who vote by mail. But they may have their work cut out for them after years of attacking the mail-in ballot system.

Following a vote of the Northampton County Council Thursday night, three amendments to the county's home rule charter will appear on the November ballot.

Christopher Ferrante's case became key to the primary race for Northampton County District Attorney. A Common Pleas judge will soon decide whether the case can move forward, and weigh in on one dispute from the primary in the process.

Moms for Liberty, a Florida-based nonprofit that didn't exist in 2020, has become a power player in conservative politics ahead of the 2024 elections, including in the Lehigh Valley.

Some parents and residents are asking schools to take books off library shelves. Others want a parental consent policy for children to take out some books.

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.

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.