Amy Cozze, former Casey staffer, running for Norco executive
Amy Cozze, a Democrat who most recently worked for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, announced she is running for Northampton County executive.
“I believe in Northampton County, from the hardworking residents of the Slate Belt to the vibrant downtowns of Easton and Bethlehem,” Cozze said in a press release issued Monday. “We can build a future where all Northampton residents can not just survive, but thrive.”
Cozze’s announcement means that there could be at least two Democrats seeking the party’s nomination. The other is Tara Zrinski, who is currently the county’s elected controller. The primary will be May 20.
So far the only Republican in the race is county council member Thomas Giovanni. All three must submit valid nomination petitions before appearing on the ballot.
Tara Zrinski announces candidacy for Northampton County executive
The executive seat is open because Democrat Lamont McClure announced last week that he won’t seek a third four-year term. McClure said he wants to serve the public in another capacity and wants to respect a change to the Home Rule Charter limiting the executive to two consecutive terms, starting in 2026.
Cozze most recently worked as a senior staff member for Casey, who lost to Republican Dave McCormick in November.
She was appointed by McClure to be the county’s director of elections and chief registrar starting in 2020, a job she held until resigning in March 2022 to work for Casey.
She started the elections job two months after the November 2019 election, when votes for one candidate in a county judge election were significantly undercounted on the voting machines. Scanning the paper printout for each voter, however, reflected the accurate totals and determined that the candidate, Abe Kassis, was elected judge.
The manufacturer, Election Systems & Software, apologized for those problems that resulted from programming errors by some of its workers.
Similar problems occurred again on ES&S machines in the November 2023 election, where votes on paper summaries switched yes and no choices for two state judicial retention candidates; that time, the units tabulated the votes properly.
McClure faced calls to resign after the 2023 problems.
Cozze, 42, of Bethlehem, is a mother of two teenage sons and is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. She previously owned a bakery and worked for a family auto parts store.
This isn’t Cozze’s first run for office. In 2018, she ran for state representative in the 137th District, losing to incumbent Republican Joe Emrick, who captured 56.52% of the vote. McClure had endorsed her candidacy.
In seeking to be executive, she said, “Northampton County government should work for the people that it serves but for too long our leaders have been focused on infighting and political games, instead of us.”
She promised to “approach my service as County Executive like I did my role as Election Director - with attention to detail, a focus on residents, and a dedication to excellence in government – because that’s what the people of Northampton County deserve.”