Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Republican Roger MacLean and Democrat Josh Siegel are vying for a four-year term as Lehigh County executive. The winner in the Nov. 4 election will succeed Democrat Phil Armstrong, who cannot run again because of term limits.

Operations at Lehigh Valley International Airport have not suffered from the government shutdown to date, according to Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority officials. However, an increase in air traffic controllers calling out sick during the last shutdown spurred a deal in 2019.

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.

School board races were among the most prominent contests Tuesday across the Lehigh Valley.

Zrinski had a more than 6,000 vote lead, according to unofficial election returns, with an unspecified number of provisional ballots remaining to be counted.

Colleen Laird, a lifelong Bethlehem resident and Democrat, brought in 8,336 votes across Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Check out searchable, unofficial returns for contested school board races in Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Preliminary results show a Democratic sweep in the hotly contested East Penn School Board race, over Republican challengers by over 1,000 votes each in the hotly contested and controversy laden race

These are searchable, unofficial results as reported by the Lehigh County elections office on Tuesday night. Provisional ballots are not included. The vote will remain unofficial until certified in several days.

These are searchable, unofficial results as reported by the Northampton County elections office on Tuesday night. Provisional ballots are not included. The vote will remain unofficial until certified in several days.

Four incumbents could have much higher pay rates when they start new terms next year than when they won re-election Tuesday night, according to unofficial results.

In Southern Lehigh School District, 10 candidates faced off for five seats on the nine-member school board.

Republicans needed to win two of the four seats up for grabs on the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners Tuesday to regain the majority.

The unofficial but complete results for the 2023 Parkland School Board election results are in: the Democratic slate, made of mostly incumbents, has swept all six seats.

Unofficial results showed Democratic incumbent Mark Pinsley leading Republican challenger Robert Smith Jr. by more than 6,200 votes with nearly all precincts reporting. Pinsley has made headlines for his unconventional audits through his first four years in office.