Ex police chief, business owner square off in GOP primary for Lehigh County executive
Roger MacLean, a former Allentown police chief, and Mike Welsh, a small business owner, will face each other on Tuesday in the Republican primary for Lehigh County executive.
MacLean, who lives in Allentown, said Lehigh County is at a pivotal moment. “We must balance growth with preserving our community’s character and values. I’ve done that throughout my career, and I’ll continue that mission as county executive,” he said.
Welsh, an insurance business owner who served on the Allentown School Board, said he believes the county “is heading in the wrong direction” in a number of ways.
“I know that there are always ways in which we can be improving, and I will leave no stone unturned in county government in looking at ways we can improve, just like I have in my business career,” said Welsh, who lives in South Whitehall Township.
The two Republicans running for Lehigh County executive share similar views on almost every issue.
That includes the reason they decided to seek office: They don’t want Josh Siegel, a state lawmaker who is the lone candidate on the Democratic ballot, to win an unchallenged election in November.
While acknowledging their similarities, Welsh criticized MacLean for becoming a Democrat when he ran for city council in 2015. He told WAEB radio host Bobby Gunther Walsh on April 28 that he is worried that MacLean’s “Democratic tendencies” could emerge if he were elected.
In 2015, MacLean switched from Republican to Democrat to run for the Allentown council, which is typically controlled by Democrats. He told Armchair Lehigh Valley that he switched back in December. “My conservative values were always with me,” he said.
He said staunch Republicans have told him they are OK with his past affiliation. He said of Welsh, “if that’s the only thing he can attack, I’m in pretty good shape.”
The county executive oversees a $553 million budget that draws about $117 million from property taxes and about $417 million in federal and state funding. The executive’s salary will be $95,000 in 2026, up from $75,000.
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.
Campaign finance: The two GOP candidates raised just under $21,000 and spent just under $14,000 between them.
MacLean’s committee raised $11,825 between March 14 and May 5. His campaign spent $6,321. His largest contribution was $5,000 from Govern PAC, which is affiliated with Charlie Dent, a Republican who served as the U.S. representative in the Lehigh Valley. The Committee to Elect Jim Martin gave $1,000. Frank Dannibale, a retiree from Whitehall, gave $1,000. Contributors giving $500 each included businessman David Jaindl, attorney Robert Johnson, William Steele, owner of Mr. Bill’s Poultry in Allentown, and Whitehall attorney Angelo Almonti. His largest expenditure was $4,958, which was paid to Communications Concepts of Palmer Township for mailers and postage. MacLean listed no loans.
Citizens for Welsh reported raising $9,162 from Feb. 14 to May 5 and spending $7,619. His biggest contributor was John Lovett of Allentown, who gave $3,000. Allentown attorney Robert Daday and Woody Howell each gave $500. Most of his expenses went to postage and post cards. Welsh loaned his campaign $300.
Meanwhile, Siegel carried over $151,042 from his Friends of Joshua Siegel committee and raised $30,850 between Jan. 1 and May 5. He spent $1,715, leaving him with $180,176.
Following are profiles of the candidates and where they stand on issues. Information was drawn from interviews, appearances on Brad Osborne’s “Good Morning Lehigh Valley” on WGPA radio show, Welsh’s appearance on WAEB, news articles, press releases, websites, an April 10 debate and other sources.
Roger MacLean
MacLean grew up in Allentown. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from DeSales University.
He served 39 years with the Allentown Police Department, where he rose through the ranks from cadet to chief. Following his 2013 retirement, he worked for 10 years aiding data analysts in the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office at the James B. Martin Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center.
MacLean was the top vote-getter for three open seats when he ran for council.
In 2018, after then-Mayor Ed Pawlowski was convicted in a pay-to-play scheme, he briefly served as mayor until city council chose Ray O’Connell for the job. MacLean then returned to council.
MacLean said his time as police chief and on Allentown council gave him the skills for the job. “I learned to work with everybody,” he said.
As police chief, MacLean oversaw a staff of over 200 officers and an annual $30 million budget. While on council, the city’s budget was roughly $107 million.
He said he is experienced with working with unions. “I've dealt with grievances, I've dealt with arbitrations,” he said. ”We got together and we settled most of those grievances that could have cost a good amount of money if they went to arbitration.”
MacLean is a father of six grown children and three grandchildren.
Mike Welsh
Welsh is from Paoli in Chester County. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from DeSales University in 1985. He has worked in the insurance industry, first with Liberty Mutual in Allentown. He has been the owner of A.C. Thompson in South Whitehall Township for the last 11 years.
Welsh is a past board president of the Liberty Bell Shrine Museum and the Allentown Flag Day Association. He is a member of the St. Catharine of Siena Cathedral choir in Allentown. He and his wife have three grown children.
He has criticized Siegel for his multiple runs for elected office, including Siegel’s unsuccessful try for Allentown mayor in 2017, his winning run in 2019 for Allentown City Council, two wins in the state House in 2022 and 2024, and now candidacy for county executive. Siegel announced but never formally became a candidate for mayor in 2021.
This is Welsh’s fifth run for office. He ran unsuccessfully for state representative in the 132nd House District in 2008 and lost in running for Lehigh County commissioner in 2009 and 2011.
Welsh was elected to the Allentown School Board in 2013 and served until 2017 when he resigned for professional reasons.
In running for office multiple times, he said he stepped up to help the Republican Party. He said he doesn’t like it when there are no Republicans on a ballot.
Welsh was one of three Republicans on the school board during his time in office. He said he was a fiscal conservative who tried to look out for the best interests of the students and taxpayers. At the time, the budget was about $255.7 million.
“I'm really proud of the work that took place when I was on the school board,” he said. “We really had to work together for the good of the students.”
In 2014, with the district facing a deficit that would have required depleting much of its reserves, Welsh joined the 6-3 majority to raise taxes by 5.8% and eliminate 98 positions, including 73 teachers, according to a WFMZ article from the time. The lost teaching positions came from retirements and resignations.
In 2016, Welsh was a “no” vote when the school board voted 6-3 to grant Superintendent Russ Mayo a one-year sabbatical related to “health restoration” that was slated to end when his contract ran out in June 2017. The board majority also voted to pay him $114,295 – 60 percent of his salary, according to a Morning Call article from the time.
“I really thought it was in the best interest of the school district that he complete that contract,” Welsh said of Mayo.
Budget 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 projected $5.3 million operating loss that was expected to be filled with a 2024 forecasted surplus.
The $533 million budget includes about $117 million in money generated from the 3.78 mill property tax and the rest from federal and state funding.
Both said they don’t want to raise taxes but did not offer ideas on where to save money when asked at the April 10 debate.
MacLean: “We’ve got to find other ways to make government more efficient than raising taxes all the time,” he said. He said he would go line-by-line looking for spending cuts, saying it will require give and take.
“Whether you're talking city government, whether you're talking county government, what the taxpayers can afford versus what we would like to do is a fine line and takes some compromise at times,” MacLean said.
Welsh: “I’m someone who has the skillset and the background to be able to confront difficult and challenging issues, particularly, as it relates to trying to stave off a tax increase on Lehigh County residents,” he said.
He said he has the ability “to work with others in achieving mutual goals for the success of Lehigh County.”
He said his work in the insurance industry has exposed him to efforts to improve efficiency, employee reductions and new technologies that have resulted in cost-savings.
Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehab
The county owns and operates Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehab, a skilled nursing facility with nearly 600 beds in South Whitehall and Fountain Hill. The county is in the midst of a $118 million plan to renovate the South Whitehall site, which has 473 beds. About 90% of the residents have their room and board covered by Medicaid.
MacLean: “I think it's definitely a valuable asset for the citizens,” he said. “I think it’s being run pretty well right now.”
Walsh: “My experience with this is that these public facilities provide a very high level of service for our most in-need seniors,” he said. “Now, do we always need to be looking at ways we can do things more efficiently to control costs? Absolutely.”
Economic development
MacLean: He said he believes the county has a role in encouraging economic growth, working with agencies such as the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. He supports tax incentives to attract business.
“We must balance growth with preserving our community’s character and values,” he said. “I’ve done that throughout my career, and I’ll continue that mission as county executive.”
Welsh: He said Lehigh County has an advantage of being strategically located and having a well-trained workforce.
“I would be an advocate for a lot of our small business owners by promoting a healthy environment,” he said. “And what I mean by a healthy environment is low taxes, not introducing taxes like a countywide sales tax, like an earned income tax because those things hurt our small business owners.”
Law and order
Lehigh County does not have a police force. The county Sheriff’s Office oversees courtroom security, prisoner transfers and serves legal documents. It investigates fugitives and bail jumpers, and manages concealed carry permits for weapons, according to the county’s website.
Welsh: He described himself as the law-and-order candidate.
“I want to see the DA's office have the funding that they need to prosecute criminals,” Welsh said at the April 10 debate.
He also said, “I would not be someone who wants, in my view, to fundamentally change the way Lehigh County is governed through dramatic reductions in police in favor of social workers going out on calls.”
On Osborne’s radio show, Welsh said his support for law enforcement is linked to personal experience. He said he sold his home in Allentown in 2004 partly because of “small petty crime” taking place in his Highland Street neighborhood. He said it’s important to tackle small crimes before they lead to bigger crimes.
MacLean: As a former police chief, he said there is no one more pro-law enforcement than he is. At the debate, MacLean said he needed to clarify what Welsh said about the police force staffing. “We have nothing to do with who hires, how many police officers are hired,” he said of the county. “Each municipality has their own police department, so they decide on the number of officers that they have.”
When asked about his views on a county police force, MacLean said he studied the idea when he worked for the DA’s office. He said many places have them and that they require buy-in from police departments. “Am I going to push for a county police department? No, but if it came up, would I, would I be opposed to it? No,” he said.
On the Bobby Gunther Walsh show, Welsh said he was surprised by MacLean’s answer.
“Did one of his Democratic tendencies begin to emerge?” he said. He said it’s important to know because MacLean has been endorsed by former District Attorney Jim Martin, who had endorsed current DA Gavin Holihan when he ran for office last year. Holihan endorsed Siegel and as a result was censured by the Lehigh County Republican Committee.
Open space/farmland
The county is involved in farmland preservation and oversees more than 4,000 acres of parks and open space, including the Trexler Nature Preserve, soccer fields and sections of the Delaware & Lehigh Trail.
MacLean: He said he supports adding to the county’s open space, citing the Lehigh County Sports Fields off Broadway in South Whitehall as an example. “I think it’s a gem. Some weekends it’s jam-packed,” he said.
He is opposed to the proliferation of warehouses, especially if they are built with no tenant in mind.
Welsh: He said he is an advocate for open space and farmland preservation. “As a longtime resident of Lehigh County, you don't have to drive in your car too far to look at some of the warehouses that exist all over, all over our community,” he said. “So I definitely would be someone who would agree with recent efforts to preserve farmland.”
ICE policy
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 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 over a 2010 lawsuit.
MacLean: He said the county’s policy mirrors what is required when other law enforcement agencies, such as those from New Jersey, are seeking an inmate. “I don’t think that’s burdensome,” he said. “The best thing is a paper trail.”
Welsh: He believes that the county should wait for ICE before freeing an undocumented immigrant. He said if ICE wants to pick up a prisoner he would assume “the work had been done” on warrants.
“I would want those criminals held, not released before ICE was able to arrest them,” Welsh said. “I think it puts ICE in a difficult position, increasing the likelihood of injury to our citizens and to them.”
Voting integrity
The county has five drop boxes used for mail-in and absentee voting. All are electronically monitored. A sheriff’s deputy accompanies a county election office employee when ballots are collected.
Welsh: At the April 10 debate, he said he was fine with drop boxes as long as monitoring cameras are strategically located.
Speaking about them on WAEB, he said, “I would want to eliminate drop boxes.”
Welsh also noted that if a Republican is elected executive 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.
MacLean: He 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.