Debate shows kindred views in GOP race for Lehigh County executive
Mike Welsh and Roger MacLean are running to stop Democrat Josh Siegel from winning in November
The two Republicans running for Lehigh County executive shared similar views on a host of issues during a debate Thursday night at Lehigh Valley Active Life in Allentown, including the reason they decided to seek office.
Roger MacLean, a former Allentown police chief, and Mike Welsh, an insurance company owner, said they want to make sure Josh Siegel, a state lawmaker who is the lone Democrat on his party’s ticket, doesn’t win in November.
“I'm a little surprised that Democrats have chosen to field Josh as their candidate. I mean, personally, I feel there were better candidates that they could have been able to field and did not. But that's a big part of the reason that I'm running,” Welsh said.
Said MacLean, “That's the main reason I decided to run.”
About 30 people, including Siegel, attended the debate that was organized and moderated by Brad Osborne, a former Lehigh County commissioner who hosts “Good Morning Lehigh Valley” on Sunny 1100 WPGA radio.
The four-year post is now held by Democrat Phil Armstrong, who is prevented under the county Home Rule Charter from seeking a third consecutive term. The May 20 primary will determine which Republican candidate will face Siegel.
Here is a look at what the candidates said in response to questions from Osborne and the audience.
Backgrounds
Welsh, who is originally from Paoli, Chester County, told the audience he is a graduate of DeSales University who worked for Liberty Mutual in Allentown and then became owner of AC Thompson Insurance in South Whitehall Township. He served on the Allentown School Board from 2014 to 2017.
MacLean said he was born and grew up in Allentown and went to DeSales University where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice. After joining the Allentown police department, MacLean said he worked in just about every position during his 39 years on the force. “I actually rode horses back in the ’70s,” he said.
After retiring, he was elected to Allentown City Council, serving as council president for two years. He also worked for the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office at the James B. Martin Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center.
To see more photos from the debate, click here.
Budgets and taxes
Both candidates agreed the biggest challenge facing the county executive is the budget, which for this year is $533 million and was adopted with a $5.3 million operating loss that was expected to be filled with a 2024 projected surplus, according to WFMZ. The budget maintained the 3.78 millage rate.
Both candidates said they would not want to raise taxes.
“We’ve got to find other ways to make government more efficient than raising taxes all the time,” MacLean said.
MacLean said the county has to watch what it is spending. “We’ve got to get on top of that,” he said,” because we can’t keep pulling money out of a hat.”
He said he would be “looking at the government, looking at the budget, seeing that it's done in the most efficient way. Are there places where we can save money? Are there places where we can get a better bang for the buck?”
MacLean said he has the skills to manage a budget. As police chief, he said he kept a close watch on the police department budget. “Every two weeks I would look at the overtime budget,” he said.
Welsh said the county can’t keep tapping into a rainy day fund to close budget deficits. He blamed the budget predicament on Democrats, who hold the county executive seat and the majority on the Board of Commissioners. He said the county needs to take the steps “to ensure that we're getting the best value for our tax dollar.”
Welsh said his nearly 40 years in the insurance industry has given him the skills needed to tackle the job.
“I can tell you that each and every day, it's about, How can we do things more efficiently? How can we break down costs? And these skills are going to be absolutely critical when it comes to serving as the next Lehigh County executive,” he said.
When asked an audience question on what specifically they would look to cut in the budget, both candidates said they did not have an answer this time.
“I think it'd be foolish on my part to choose one thing and say, ‘Look, this is what I'm going to go after,’” Welsh said. He said he would get “the best minds” together to look at the budget.
MacLean said he looked at the budget, which he says is about 500 pages, and said it will take time to review it to look for efficiencies.
ICE policy
Welsh, saying he has called Lehigh County a sanctuary city, said he believes the county is not fully cooperating with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement when it comes to detaining undocumented immigrants.
“But I can tell you, if I were Lehigh County executive, I'd be using all the tools at my disposal to make sure that we are not releasing arrested illegal immigrants out into the community,” he said.
Under a 2014 policy, Lehigh County Department of Corrections will seek to notify U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement of the pending release of an undocumented immigrant sought by the agency. ICE is permitted to enter the county jail and detain an undocumented immigrant scheduled for release if the county has received a judicially issued detainer, warrant or order.
The policy was adopted following settlement of a 2010 lawsuit involving a U.S. citizen of Puerto Rican descent who was wrongly detained in the county jail when ICE alleged he was in the U.S. illegally.
Welsh said he supports a recently proposed Pennsylvania Senate bill that would require state and county prosecutors to report undocumented migrants charged with crimes to ICE.
“That’s a step in the right direction,” he said.
MacLean said cooperation with ICE is a “no-brainer” and that it is already taking place. “We give them the information and they give us a warrant and they can take them,” he said.
Voting integrity
MacLean said he prefers voting in person but recognizes that early voting is here to stay and advocates having “a reasonable number of drop boxes” for mail-in ballots. The county uses five drop boxes that are electronically monitored.
Welsh said he is fine with drop boxes as long as monitoring cameras are strategically located.
Welsh also noted that if a Republican is elected in November, then the county Board of Elections would be controlled by Republicans as the make-up is one Democrat, one Republican and the county executive, whatever their party.
“It would give Republicans control over how we are going to implement drop boxes, the location of cameras,” he said. “So as a Republican, this is very important to me.”
Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehab
Both candidates said they support the county owning and operating Cedarbrook Senior and Rehab, a skilled nursing facility with nearly 600 beds in South Whitehall and Fountain Hill.
Welsh additionally said he would like to see certified nurse technicians have the option to have additional money in lieu of benefits, saying it could attract workers and reduce the reliance on contract employees to fill posts.
Working with row officers
When asked about his ability to work with row officers, Welsh brought up Republican District Attorney Gavin Holihan and his censure in February by the Lehigh County Republican Committee for endorsing Siegel.
He said Holihan made the endorsement “without any consideration, without a phone call to the Lehigh County Republican Committee to even see if Republicans were going to field a candidate.”
“So you can understand why I kind of feel like the fix was in, meaning there was some kind of set up for Gavin Holihan to toss out an endorsement for Josh Siegel, whatever that was, but I didn't like it,” he said.
Welsh went on to say he “would be a great partner in working with all of the departments and, figuring it out, what we can do, working together, to make Lehigh County the best.”
MacLean said, “Working with the row officers is the primary function of the county executive's job. I had to work with department heads within the city and city council. And when I was a police chief, it's just an essential part of the job. It has to be done. So whether they're Democrats, whether they're Republican, you have to be able to work.”
Party loyalty
MacLean was asked why he was a Democrat when he ran for city council, which has traditionally been controlled by Democrats. He said he first sought to be appointed to council to fill an open seat. When he didn’t get that position, he switched his party affiliation to Democrat to run for office.
“I can tell you this, the only thing that changed was the R to a D because my values did not change,” he said.
Welsh said he is proud to be a lifelong Republican. He said he doesn’t think it’s right when there are no Republicans on ballots to oppose Democrats.
Besides winning a seat on the Allentown School Board, he said he has stepped up for his party, running for state representative once and county commissioner twice, losing those latter races.
Welsh said he can get along with members of opposing political party, pointing to his time on the school board when there were three Republicans and six Democrats.
“We really advocated for the students very well,” he said.
Siegel as an opponent
During the debate Welsh brought up Siegel multiple times, saying he is radical, anti-police and wants to create new county taxes that would burden residents.
Siegel, who watched the debate from the back of the room, issued a statement afterward that said in part:
"At a time when Donald Trump, Elon Musk and MAGA Republicans are tanking the economy, increasing taxes and raising costs by $4,600 per family with tariffs while promising to slash Medicaid and critical funding for children and seniors, Mike Welsh and Roger MacLean were unsurprisingly ignorant of county government, fearing mongering about my campaign while offering not a single genuine idea to improve people's lives, reduce the cost of living or protect our rights. Tonight's debate should be a fire alarm for county residents that don't want D.C. MAGA chaos in their own backyard.”