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The 2021 mayoral election in Allentown, Pennsylvania was held on November 2, 2021.[ citation needed ] The primary election was held on May 18, 2021.
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The 2021 mayoral election in Allentown, Pennsylvania was held on November 2, 2021.[ citation needed ] The primary election was held on May 18, 2021.
Prior Democratic Mayor Ray O'Connell assumed the office in March 2018 following the resignation of former mayor Ed Pawlowski following his federal conviction on 47 counts of conspiracy, bribery, attempted extortion, false statements to federal officials, mail fraud, and wire fraud. [1] [2] O'Connell was eligible for re-election despite his interim term during which he attempted to restore public confidence in the municipal government. However, due to a 27% increase in property taxes, and a hiring freeze coupled with layoffs from the municipal government due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in large scale discontent towards him from within his own party. [3]
O'Connell faced a six-way split Democratic primary between Himself, Ce-Ce Gerlach, Julio Guridy, Stevie Jones, Matt Tuerk, and Joshua Siegel. Gerlach, 35, served two terms as city councilor and previously served two terms on the Allentown School Board. Guridy, 60, was a city councilor for 20 years who had previously worked for the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. Jones, 27, was a political freshmen and Kutztown University alumni who dropped out prior to the primary. Tuerk, 45, was also a political freshmen who held offices in the Allentown Economic Development Corporation and the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation. And Siegel, a city councilmen who left the race early. Police chief Roger MacLean also contemplated joining the race but ultimately did not. On the Republican side, Timothy Ramos would be the sole candidate seeking nomination. The vice president of the Lehigh County Republican Party, he had previously lost to O'Connell in the 2019 Allentown mayoral special election, and his brother, Steve, was a member of the "Latinos for Trump" in 2016 and led its Lehigh Valley local chapter. [4]
Tuerk would win the crowded and hotly contested Democratic primary with just 1.5% or 115 individual votes above O’Connell. This was the most competitive primary in Allentown's history due to the number of candidates within close margins of each other. This primary also saw the highest turnout in a democratic primary since the 2005 election. However, it was not the closest margin that Allentown has seen. In the 1997 election the Democratic nominee was decided by just a singular vote, and in the 2001 election it was just 46 votes. The primary was largely treated as the general election as a Republican had not won the mayoral office in 24 years and with 60% of the city's electorate being registered Democrats. However, for the first time in the city's history both candidates from the major parties would be Latinos. [5]
Turek would center his campaign on bringing more jobs to Allentown. He also knocked, on average, on 1,075 doors per week during his campaign. Tuerk handily defeated Ramos on November 2, with almost double the number of votes to go on and become Allentown's first Latino mayor. [6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Matthew Tuerk | 2,064 | 26.52 | |
| Democratic | Ray O'Connell (incumbent) | 1,942 | 24.95 | |
| Democratic | Julio Guridy | 1,927 | 24.76 | |
| Democratic | Ce Ce Gerlach | 1,817 | 23.34 | |
| Write-in | 34 | 0.44 | ||
| Total votes | 7,784 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Timothy Ramos | 2,007 | 89.48 | |
| Write-in | 236 | 10.52 | ||
| Total votes | 2,243 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Matthew Tuerk | 8,206 | 64.13 | |
| Republican | Timothy Ramos | 4,299 | 33.60 | |
| Independent | Solomon Tembo | 239 | 1.87 | |
| Write-in | 52 | 0.41 | ||
| Total votes | 12,796 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
The city of Allentown, Pennsylvania was founded in 1762 as Northampton Towne by William Allen, a wealthy shipping merchant. During its first 50 years of existence, Northampton Towne was a small unincorporated settlement, consisting of a few homes, stores, and taverns.
Edwin Everett Pawlowski is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He held the office from 2006 until his resignation in 2018, following his election to a fourth term in 2017. He resigned after being convicted on 47 federal charges related to corruption as mayor of Allentown.
The 2010 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in Pennsylvania and other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2008 congressional elections in Pennsylvania was held on November 4, 2008, to determine who will represent the state of Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives. Pennsylvania has 19 seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009, until January 3, 2011. The election coincides with the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
John Fallon Pressmann was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Roger MacLean is an American police officer and politician who was president of the Allentown, Pennsylvania City Council and served as acting Allentown mayor until March 29, 2018. MacLean became the acting mayor on March 9, 2018 following the resignation of Ed Pawlowski, who was convicted on March 1, 2018 on 47 felony charges related to a pay-to-play scheme involving his asking for campaign donations in exchange for city contracts and favors.
Ray O'Connell is an American politician who served as the 42nd Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He assumed the office on March 29, 2018 following the resignation of former mayor Ed Pawlowski.
Susan Wild is an American attorney and politician from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A Democrat, she is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district. The district is in the heart of the Lehigh Valley, and includes Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and Bangor. Wild spent the last two months of 2018 as the member for Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district after Charlie Dent resigned in 2018. From September 2022 to January 2023, she was chair of the House Ethics Committee. She continues to sit on the committee as ranking member. She also co-chairs the New Democrat Coalition Climate Change Task Force and is vice chair of both the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus and the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations. Wild is the first woman to represent the Lehigh Valley in Congress.
The 2017 mayoral election in Allentown, Pennsylvania was held on November 7, 2017, and resulted in the incumbent mayor Ed Pawlowski, a member of the Democratic Party, being re-elected to a fourth term over Republican Party candidate Nat Hyman.
Matthew Tuerk is an American politician and economic development official serving as the mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania since January 2022. Despite entering a crowded field with low name recognition, he was the first candidate to defeat an incumbent mayor in an Allentown primary since 1973, becoming the city's first Latino mayor.
J. William "Willie" Reynolds is an American politician. He served as a city councilman of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from 2008 until 2022 and is currently the city's 12th and incumbent mayor. His term began in 2022 which is set to expire in 2026. He is eligible to stand for re-election.
Joshua Siegel is an American politician who is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he will represent the 22nd district, which contains parts of Allentown and Salisbury Township.
The Allentown 2019 special mayoral election was held on May 19, 2019 following the resignation of Democratic mayor Ed Pawlowski. Incumbent interim Democratic mayor Ray O'Connell defeated Republican challenger Timothy Ramos.
Salvatore J. Panto Jr. is an American politician from Pennsylvania who is the current mayor of Easton, Pennsylvania, and has served for seven non-consecutive terms. First for two terms from 1984-1992, and another four terms from 2008 to present.
The 2013 mayoral election in Allentown, Pennsylvania was held on November 5, 2013, and resulted in the incumbent mayor Ed Pawlowski, a member of the Democratic Party, being re-elected to a third term over Independent candidate William Michael Donovan.
The 2009 mayoral election in Allentown, Pennsylvania was held on November 3, 2009, and resulted in the incumbent mayor Ed Pawlowski, a member of the Democratic Party, being re-elected to a second term over Republican Party candidate Tony Phillips.
The 2005 mayoral election in Allentown, Pennsylvania was held on November 8, 2005, and resulted in the Democrat Ed Pawlowski, being elected to his first of four terms over Republican challenger and former mayor, William L Heydt.
The 2001 mayoral election in Allentown, Pennsylvania was held on November 6, 2001, and resulted in the Democrat and former state senator Roy Afflerbach, being elected over Republican challenger and businessman, Bob Lovett. Since this election there has never been a Republican mayor of Allentown.
The 1997 mayoral election in Allentown, Pennsylvania was held on November 4, 1997, and resulted in the Republican incumbent mayor William L. Heydt defeating Democratic challenger and city councilmen Martin Velazquez III. This election is remembered for its razor thin margin for the Democratic primary which saw Velazquez win by a singular vote against Emma Tropiano after a lengthy and hotly contested recount.
The 1993 Allentown mayoral election was a municipal election to determine a new mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Incumbent 16-year Democratic mayor Joseph S. Daddona refused to run for re-election, retiring from politics allowing for a new slate of Democratic candidates to try and succeed him, but Republican William L. Heydt won the election to become, to date, the most recent Republican mayor of Allentown.