Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

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?

Thousands of federal employees are expected to go on furlough and millions more will be expected to work without pay after Congress failed to reach a short-term funding deal by Wednesday's deadline.

Pennsylvania's counties, school districts and social service agencies are warning of mounting layoffs, borrowing costs and damage to the state’s safety net as the politically divided state government enters its fourth month of a budget stalemate.

Candidates for East Penn 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 seven candidates on the ballot, vying for four seats.

Candidates for Allentown School Board will participate in a forum tonight at the Univest Public Media Center organized by the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. Seven of the 8 candidates on the ballot are expected to participate.

The U.S. Justice Department has sued Pennsylvania and other states after they refused to turn over sensitive voter data. State and county officials have defended local election practices.

Gerlach pledged to always “fight for” working-class residents of the 22nd State House District, as she said she’s done for more than a decade as an elected official in Allentown.

On this week's episode of Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick talk about President Donald Trump and his administration's relationship with the media.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, addressed protests outside his office, criticisms of how President Donald Trump has rolled out tariffs and shifting thoughts on how to approach the war in Ukraine.

A Facebook fight between state Rep. Joshua Siegel, D-Lehigh, and Lehigh County Republican Committee Chairman Joe Vichot over Charlie Kirk and political violence spilled into public view Wednesday.

Emil Giordano served as a presiding judge on Northampton County Court, Third Judicial District, from 204 through 2018. He joins Tom Shortell on the latest episode of Lehigh Valley Political Pulse to shed some insight on the role and his time on the bench.

Palmer Township has appointed Baron Vanderburg to fill part of the remainder of the late Charles "Zeke" Bellis III's term on the board of supervisors.

The League of Women Voters of Lehigh County will moderate and run the forums in partnership with Lehigh Valley Public Media. Participating will be school board candidates from Allentown, Parkland, East Penn and Southern Lehigh school districts.

Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi is the only defendant in an alleged interstate marijuana ring whom authorities have publicly identified. He made his first public comments since being arrested Aug. 28 at his job at Bethlehem City Hall.

There's little precedent for what we’re seeing now as multiple states work to redraw their congressional boundaries mid-decade, Tom Shortell says on this week's episode of Political Pulse.

Candidates for Northampton County executive sat Wednesday for a pair of one-on-one interviews rather than a debate in their first major media appearances of the general election campaign.

State Rep. Josh Siegel, D-Lehigh, and Republican Roger MacLean, Allentown's former police chief and city councilman, traded barbs and insults during the taping of the "Business Matters" Lehigh County executive debate.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said Zach Cole-Borghi was one of 22 people taken into custody Thursday as part of an ongoing grand jury investigation. Cole-Borghi was arrested Thursday at his job at Bethlehem City Hall. A city official today said he is no longer employed by the city.

Under Executive Phil Armstrong's final budget plan, taxes would remain at 3.78 mills, lower than they were 11 years ago. The budget now goes to county commissioners for consideration and deliberation.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, a candidate for Congress in the 7th Congressional District, called out former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell at IBEW 375 headquarters in Allentown.

This week on Lehigh Valley Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick discuss the political implications of affordable housing.