Northampton County GOP candidates introduce themselves
Party looks to take over executive, council from Democrats
Republican candidates for Northampton County offices Tuesday presented their platform for the 2025 election, saying it's time for a change from a Democratic administration that saw problems with voting machines in two elections and with the Gracedale nursing home.
During a press conference at the county courthouse in Easton arranged by county Republican chair Glenn Geissinger, the message was simple: They intend to make the county government more efficient and responsive to the people.
Thomas Giovanni, who leads the Republican ticket as a candidate for county executive, is in the middle of his second term on council representing District 4. He said he is known as the “quiet man” on council.
“I don't aim to make headlines or play politics,” he said. However, he decided to run for the county’s top job because of the “dysfunction, mismanagement and irresponsibility that I have seen in the recent years.”
County Executive Lamont McClure, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection to a third term, guaranteeing that someone new will oversee county government next year. Two Democrats, county Controller Tara Zrinski and Amy Cozze, a former county elections official under whose watch the elections went smoothly, have announced their candidacies. The primary is May 20. No other Republican has come forward as an executive candidate.
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Giovanni of Plainfield Township said he will be an effective manager of county finances.
“We need to stand up for the taxpayers in this county by being fiscally responsible and rejecting tax increases,” he said, adding he supports preserving open space and family farms and improving care for Gracedale residents.
Five at-large positions on county council, with a 6-3 Democratic majority, are up for election.
The two council Republican council members, John Brown and John Goffredo, are running for reelection. The other candidates making their first attempts for council are Daniel Campo, Sam Elias and Juan Martinez.
To view Donna Fisher’s photo gallery of the press conference, click here
Brown, a former Bangor mayor, served one term as county executive before losing his reelection bid to McClure in 2017. In 2021, he was elected to his first term as an at-large commissioner.
He said the county’s Democratic leadership has failed in several ways, including a lower occupancy rate at Gracedale, severe voting machine problems in the 2019 and 2023 elections and a deteriorating infrastructure.
“I believe having been county executive, served on county council, having been a mayor uniquely qualified me for the position and to offer a unique perspective on each of the challenges that we face,” he said.
Goffredo of Washington Township, who serves as vice chairman of county council, is seeking his second, four-year term on council.
“Voting for this slate is a vote … to move the Northampton County government in a new direction, focusing on the core functions. We'll promote a culture of excellence in everything we do,” he said.
Martinez has owned Don Juan Mex Grill in Easton since its 2011 opening. He and his wife Melanie, a co-owner of the restaurant, live in Easton.
He said running a small business has given him a perspective on how the government should work.
He wants "to bring commonsense accountability to local government. We need leaders that listen, work hard to put people first. If you believe in supporting strong local businesses, lower taxes, budgets that are responsible, building safer communities and better infrastructure, and believe in a county government that works for the people, then I'd be honored and humbled to have your vote.”
Elias and Campo, both of Bethlehem, were unable to attend, but Geissinger noted that Elias is a 20-year veteran of the Bethlehem police force. He said Campo is an immigrant “who saw the opportunity for the American dream” by becoming a pilot, which is why he was unable to attend Tuesday's press conference. In an October 2024 essay published in the online publication Delaware Valley Journal, Campo relayed his family’s experience in Venezuela.
James T. Fuller of Allen Township is the only Republican among the three candidates for county judge. He has been the first assistant district attorney in Monroe County for two years and served as an assistant public defender in the county for seven years. The other candidates are Jeremy Clark, who has a law practice in Easton, and Robert Eyer, an assistant Northampton County district attorney.
“I'm running for judge,” Fuller said, “because I feel like it's the best way that I can give back to this community that has given so much over the last couple decades.”