Update: Whitehall Mayor Mike Harakal, who received a vote of no confidence in January amid allegations of employee complaints, has withdrawn his nomination petition for the Democratic primary. Republican candidate Ronald Reaman has also withdrawn his petition, according to Lehigh County’s updated list of candidates who have filed nomination petitions.
In Lehigh County, where Republican District Attorney Jim Martin declined to seek reelection after 25 years in office, his handpicked successor has a clear path in this year’s election to replace him.
Gavin Holihan, a Republican who earlier this year was named first assistant DA, has no opposition in the May 16 primary; no Democrat is running in that party’s primary either.
Contrast that with the district attorney race in Northampton County.
Incumbent Terry Houck faces a challenge for a second four-year term in the Democratic primary from Stephen Baratta, who retired as a county judge last November after 25 years. The primary winner likely will become the county DA as no Republican candidate filed to run in the primary.
Election offices in both counties released their unofficial list of candidates who filed nominating petitions by Tuesday's deadline.
The list of candidates can change before the primary. Nominating petitions can be challenged in county courts up until March 14, which could result in candidates being knocked off the ballot if their petitions, for example, don’t contain the required number of valid signatures. Also candidates can drop out by March 22.
The district attorney contest in Northampton County is among several marquee countywide and municipal races in the Lehigh Valley.
Baratta stepping down as judge opened up a vacancy on the county Court of Common Pleas that will be filled in this year’s election.
Two candidates emerged for a 10-year term on the bench: Brian Panella, a Democrat from Forks Township, a Bethlehem City solicitor and an attorney with Goudsouzian and Associates; and Nancy Aaroe, a Republican from Bethlehem Township, a lawyer with Aaroe Law Offices, a former assistant district attorney and public defender. Both candidates will appear on the Democratic and Republican ballots.
Another primary election to watch is in Easton, where Mayor Sal Panto Jr., who has held the office for 24 years over two different stretches, faces a Democratic primary challenge from two-term City Council member Peter Melan.
Four Northampton County Council seats are up for election this year, but only one has a primary contest.
The District II Democratic primary pits Kelly Keegan, a Forks Township supervisor, against incumbent Kerry L. Myers, who serves as council president and is seeking a second four-year term. District II comprises Easton, Forks Township, Glendon, Palmer Township, Stockertown, Tatamy, West Easton and Wilson. No Republican is on the primary ballot.
The other council races will be decided in the November election: District I, Democrat Ken Kraft and Republican William Rowe; District III, Democrat Jeff Warren and Republican Casey Foreman; District IV, Republican Tom Giovanni, and no Democratic primary candidate.
The Democratic primary contest for a four-year term as county controller features Tara Zrinski, a county commissioner who lost her party’s primary last year for state senator from the 14th District, against Nadeem Qayyum of Easton. Unopposed in the Republican primary is John Cusick, who has served four nonconsecutive terms on county council, first as an at-large member and presently representing District III.
In Lehigh County, the at-large commissioner Democratic primary has seven candidates seeking four nominations; four Republican candidates are seeking their party nominations so there is no GOP primary contest.
Three Democratic incumbents – Bob Elbich, Zakiya Smalls and Dave Harrington – did not seek reelection. The only incumbent seeking another four-year term is Democrat Dan Hartzell. He will be joined on the party’s ballot by Joe Setton, Victor VJ Martinez, Michael Blichar Jr., April Riddick, Sheila Alvarado and Jon Irons.
The four Republican candidates are Jacqueline Rivera, Rita Sisselberger, Gary S. Fedorcha, and Paul Moat.
There will be no primary contest for a four-year term as county controller. Incumbent Democrat Mark Pinsley, who lost the 16th District state Senate election in November, and Republican Robert E. Smith Jr., a former Allentown School Board member who lost the 22nd District state House contest last year, are on track to oppose each other in the general election.
Lehigh County Sheriff Joe Hanna, a Republican, is unopposed in the primary for reelection to a third term. No Democratic candidate is on the primary ballot.
The two candidates who want to replace Andrea Naugle as Lehigh County Clerk of Judicial Records will wait until November to see who takes over the office for the next four years. Unopposed in their primaries are Democrat Michelle Graupner, who works as a clerk in the judicial records office, and Republican Marjulee Colon, the county GOP committee communications manager and an unsuccessful candidate for county commissioner in 2021.
The county coroner’s position will also be determined in November, as neither candidate has a primary challenge — Democrat Daniel Buglio, who was appointed interim coroner in April 2022 after Coroner Eric Minnich resigned, and Republican Joseph Zitarelli.
In Allentown, seven Democratic candidates are seeking three nominations for seats on City Council. No Republicans are on the primary ballot. The seven Democratic candidates are Luis E. Acevedo, Tino Babayan, Rodney Bushe, Sarina Torres and incumbents Santo Napoli, Ce Ce Gerlach and Candida Affa.
Allentown Controller Jeff Glazer, a Democrat, is unopposed for his party’s nomination; no Republican is running in that primary.
At-large seats are up for Bethlehem City Council. Five Democrats are seeking three nominations: Colleen Laird, Ricky Butler, Bryan Callahan, incumbent Michael G. Colon and Celeste Dee. Two Republicans are running in their primary - Thomas Ginthner and Devin Brunges - and will appear on the ballot in November.
In Whitehall Township, Mayor Mike Harakal, who faced a vote of no confidence in January over employee complaints, has two challengers in the Democratic primary – Board President Joseph Marx Jr. and Michael Cocca. Update: Harakal has since withdrawn his petition.
Three are running on the Republican ticket – Ronald G. Reaman, Tina Jo Koren and John C. Hersh. Update: Harakal and Reaman have withdrawn their petitions, according to the Lehigh County Election Office. Update: Reaman has withdrawn his petition.
Meanwhile, at a time when school boards have become battlegrounds over pandemic-related mask mandates, diversity initiatives, library books and curriculum, candidates came out in droves for a say in how their districts operate.
In most cases, five seats are up for grabs in each district, though some races are broken down by districts. With candidates eligible to cross-file, there will be contests on both sides of the ballots.
In the Parkland School District, 13 people are running for five seats and some of them are also running for a two-year term.
They include incumbents Carol Facchiano, Patrick Foose, Marisa Ziegler, Lisa Roth and Jay Rohatgi, who was appointed to the board in January 2022. Member Robert Bold, who was appointed in January to fill a seat vacated by the election of member Jarrett Coleman to the state Senate, is not seeking election.
The challengers include George Rivera, Mike Deering, Bobby Lanyon, Joanne Dillman, Christopher Pirotta, Beth Finch, Natalie Janota, Laura Warmkessel and Mike Millo (two-year term only).
The East Penn School District has 11 people running on the Democratic side and all but one of them on the Republican side.
Only two incumbents are running again – Joshua Levinson and Jeffrey Jankowski. The other candidates are Brian Wessner, Lawrence Huyssen, Angelic Schneider, Matt Mull, Paul Barbehenn, Kristofer DePaolo, Gabrielle Klotz, Timothy Kelly and Shonta Ford. Wessner is not on the Republican ballot.
In Southern Lehigh, 11 people are running on the Republican ticket. Emily Gehman appears to be the only incumbent running for reelection in a district where in 2021 a slate of Republicans – backed with $10,000 in donations from a political action committee favoring back-to-school policies in the wake of covid-related closures – won.
The other Republican ballot candidates are Lance Tittle, Paul Deebel, Maria L. Schantz, Candi Kruse, Eric Boyer, Timothy Kearney, Danelle Roy, Douglas A. Durham, James Pica and Melissa Torba. The Democrat ballot includes Deebel, Kruse, Boyer, Kearny, Pica, Gehman and Torba.
In Saucon Valley, where controversy recently erupted over a decision to rescind approval of allowing the After School Satan Club to meet, nine people have cross-filed to run for five seats while another filed for the Republican ballot. Five are incumbents: Susan Baxter, Shawn Welch, Michael Krabin, Bryan Eichfeld and Laurel Erickson-Parsons.
Challenging them are Vivian Demko, Bill Broun, Donald Carpenter, Jay Santos and J. Barrett Geyer (Republican ballot only).
Bangor Area has nine people running with four incumbents seeking reelection. The incumbents are Christopher Marozzi, Toni E. Lynch, Zachary Miller and Michael Goffredo. Challenging them are Annamarie T. Robertone, Courtney Gilmour, Colleen Schiavone and Tanya Peifly. Melissa Smith is a candidate on the Republican ballot only. All other candidates appear on both ballots.