Incumbent Tuerk secures Democratic nomination for Allentown Mayor

He defeated councilman Ed Zucal

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, who rode his bicycle Tuesday to greet people for the primary election, shakes hands with poll worker Noah Mitchell at the 15th Ward polling place at St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church on Hanover Avenue. / Donna Fisher

Incumbent Mayor Matt Tuerk handedly won the Democratic nomination for mayor of Allentown on Tuesday, fending off a challenge from councilman Ed Zucal.

Tuerk is seeking a second, four-year term as mayor. The general election will be held on Nov. 5.

Tuerk declared victory shortly before 11 p.m. after he opened a wide lead over Zucal. “It’s pretty decisive, and it’s consistent with my experience knocking on doors, talking to Allentown residents,” Tuerk told WMFZ-TV at his watch party at Union and Fitch in Allentown.

With 160 of 161 precincts partially reporting votes a few hours after polls closed, Tuerk had more than a 3,000 vote lead. He received 4,919 votes to Zucal’s 1,189. (Armchair Lehigh Valley will update vote totals on this post directly on our Substack site. Click here.)

“I kind of thought it would be a lot closer than this. I’ll call [Tuerk] in a couple of minutes and concede for tonight,” Zucal told WFMZ at his watch party at the American Legion in Allentown.

There were no candidates on the Republican ballot. Zucal launched a last minute write-in campaign as a Republican, and if he were to secure at least 100 votes, it would set up a rematch against Tuerk in the November election. Write-in vote tallies were not available on Tuesday night.

In response to a potential rematch in November, Tuerk told WMFZ, “We’re ready.”

Zucal was first elected to council in 2017 and is also a retired Allentown police sergeant. He did not simultaneously run for reelection to council.

In running for reelection, Tuerk pointed to new openings downtown that created economic opportunities, including the Da Vinci Science Center, Archer Music Hall and the Moxy Hotel in the Allentown arts district. He said the city also received a $20 million federal grant and Moody’s first A2 bond rating for Allentown.

During Tuerk’s first term, the city of Allentown reached the lowest number of homicides since 1989. There were four in 2024, compared to 17 in 2023 and nine in 2022. Still, Zucal said that residents did not feel safe and criticized how the Allentown Police Department was run during his campaign.

Tuerk has had a contentious relationship with City Council during his last term. Although they agreed on investigating claims of racial discrimination and harassment brought forth in a 2023 letter from the Allentown branch of the NAACP, the mayor and council have vastly disagreed on how to execute that investigation.

Zucal was at the forefront of opposition to Tuerk. He co-sponsored a no-confidence vote and voted against ending Council’s lawsuit against Tuerk.

Allentown City Councilman and Democratic mayoral candidate Ed Zucal greets a poll worker at the 15th Ward polling place at St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church on Hanover Avenue.

The two candidates also criticized each others’ political views. Zucal said Tuerk was “too woke” for Allentown during the mayoral debate sponsored by Lehigh Valley Live. One of the mailers sent by Zucal’s campaign said “Go Woke, Go Broke” and featured a photo of Tuerk.

In the debate, Tuerk accused Zucal of using language that sounded like MAGA ideology by “Making Allentown Great Again,” but Zucal defended his record, saying he had been a Democrat his entire life and “does not believe in the MAGA system.”

Tuerk also held a significant fundraising advantage over Zucal. The incumbent raised $50,970 while Zucal raised $21,279 from January through May 5.