Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Organizers with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Democratic National Congressional Committee and several other groups invited U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie to a town hall event Thursday over proposed Medicaid cuts. Instead, the first-term Republican will hold his own telephone town hall.

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.

Concerns also were raised about election officials nationwide leaving jobs amid threats.

U.S. Rep Scott Perry (R-Cumberland/Dauphin/York), who is under Congressional scrutiny for his role in a plot to subvert 2020 election results in some states, is set to lead the House Freedom Caucus starting in January.

Lamont McClure's lead in the 2021 election is being questioned by his challenger, Steve Lynch.

The House State Government Committee moved a bill forward along party lines Monday that would limit how county election departments can be funded.

The Democrat becomes the youngest ever elected to Allentown council.

After an apparently failed bid to unseat Democratic County Executive Lamont McClure, in Northampton County, Republican candidate Steve Lynch took to Facebook to call for an investigation into the election and promise his campaign isn’t over.

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.