Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

On this week's episode of Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick dissect the Democratic sweep in elections across the country and the Lehigh Valley last week.

The House passed a bill Wednesday night to end the nation's longest government shutdown, sending the measure to President Donald Trump for his signature after a historic 43-day funding lapse that saw federal workers go without multiple paychecks, travelers stranded at airports and people lining up at food banks to get a meal for their families.

Billions of dollars for Pennsylvania’s public schools and social services will soon start flowing after months of delay, as lawmakers on Wednesday approved a $50 billion spending plan to break the state’s budget impasse.

The historic 40-day federal shutdown could be coming to an end after eight members of the Democratic caucus broke ranks on a procedural vote Sunday.

Gov. Josh Shapiro says Pennsylvania's utility companies have stepped up to shelter low-income households this winter. The customers are usually covered by LIHEAP, but the federal assistance program has experienced delays due to the federal government shutdown.

“If my vote is the deciding vote … let me save you the suspense: No va pa sa. It’s not happening,” Councilwoman Cynthia Mota said during her Election Night speech last week.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh/Bucks, introduced the bill in 2023 after a student brought a knife to Schnecksville Elementary School. Parents didn't learn of the incident until a week later.

Three Democrats will join the Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners in January. The trio appear to have become the first Democrats to be elected to the township governing body in more than a half century.

The winners, based on unofficial results, are Democratic candidates: Kimberly Jaramillo, Luis Melecio, Josh Rager and Chris Sykora — who ran together on a slate.

The councilman fell to defeat Tuesday in his bid for mayor, and his second term on the body ends soon.

Director Patrick Foose has recently clashed with other board directors and has been the lone dissenting vote on several issues related to transparency on the board.

Allentown City Council elected previous president Daryl Hendricks as the council president while outgoing president Cynthia Mota was elected to the vice president position

Ken Greene and Frank Pintabone are current Easton planning commission members looking for a seat on Easton's city council.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin will not be seeking reelection after nearly 25 years in the office

Levinson was originally appointed to the East Penn School Board in September 2018 and was later elected to a full four-year term in 2019.

Parkland School Board Vice President Marisa Ziegler announced her reelection campaign Tuesday.

Democrat Josh Shapiro will become the 48th governor of Pennsylvania at Tuesday's inaugural ceremony at the state Capitol, taking the oath of office on a cold winter day in the nation's fifth-most populous state on the heels of his blowout win in November's election.

Members of the governor-elect's transition team were required to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), so the public may never know how it progressed or who paid for it.

A retrospective of Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf's years in office reveals the challenges he faced.

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

Glazier was originally appointed to the post in 2016 after the resignation of the previous controller

Tom Shortell and Brad Klein go behind the scenes on Shortell's reporting following Pat Browne's nomination to Pennsylvania secretary of revenue.