Ray O'Connell | |
---|---|
42nd Mayor of Allentown | |
In office March 29, 2018 –January 3, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Roger MacLean (acting) |
Succeeded by | Matthew Tuerk |
Personal details | |
Born | Raymond D. O'Connell December 10,1949 |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Mary Beth |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Kutztown University Lehigh University |
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.
O'Connell was selected to serve as mayor by the Allentown City Council in a 4-to-3 vote. [1]
Prior to taking office as mayor,O'Connell was an educator and the executive director of secondary education for the Allentown School District and served as president of the Allentown City Council from 2015 until 2018. [2]
O'Connell previously ran for mayor in 2017 in both the Democratic primary and as a write-in candidate in the general election,losing to incumbent mayor Pawlowski in both. [3] O'Connell ran for election to finish Pawlowski’s mayoral term in 2019,and won the Democratic primary for the special election on May 21. [4] He won the election to complete the term by a 2-to-1 margin in the general election on November 5,2019. [5]
In 2019,he announced that he would not seek re-election in 2021, [6] but announced a bid for re-election in 2020. [7]
O'Connell lost his re-election primary to former economic development official Matthew Tuerk. [8]
Hellertown is a borough in Northampton County,Pennsylvania. Its population was 6,131 at the 2020 census. Hellertown is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area,which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of 2020.
WFMZ-TV is an independent television station in Allentown,Pennsylvania,United States. Locally-based Maranatha Broadcasting Company owns both WFMZ-TV and Wilmington,Delaware–licensed MeTV affiliate WDPN-TV. Both stations share studios on East Rock Road on South Mountain in Allentown,where WFMZ-TV's transmitter is located. WFMZ-TV also maintains a secondary studio in the PPL Center sports arena in Center City Allentown and a newsroom on Court Street in Reading.
The city of Allentown,Pennsylvania was founded in 1762 as Northampton Town by William Allen,a wealthy shipping merchant. During its first fifty years of existence,Northampton Town 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.
Donald Cunningham Jr. is an American politician who is president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC). He previously served as executive of Lehigh County,Pennsylvania,secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of General Services,and mayor of Bethlehem,Pennsylvania.
The PPL Center is an 8,500 seat capacity indoor sports arena in Allentown,Pennsylvania. It opened on September 10,2014. It is the home arena for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League,the primary development hockey team for the Philadelphia Flyers. The arena also hosts major concerts,sports,and entertainment events throughout the year.
Bieber Transportation Group was an American bus company based in Kutztown,Pennsylvania,operating intercity commuter buses,charter buses,and tours. The company provided bus service from the Reading and Lehigh Valley regions of eastern Pennsylvania to Philadelphia and New York City. The company was founded by Carl R. Bieber in 1946. Bieber ended operations on February 8,2019.
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.
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.
The 2021 mayoral election in Allentown,Pennsylvania was held on November 2,2021. The primary election was held on May 18,2021.
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,Tuerk became the first candidate to defeat an incumbent mayor in an Allentown primary since 1973. Tuerk is the city's first Latino mayor. Previously,he held positions in the Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) and the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC).
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,starting his term 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.
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.