Slonaker off Whitehall ballot for treasurer as petition challenge rulings handed down
Thomas Slonaker’s name will not appear on the Democratic ballot for the May 20 primary for treasurer/tax collector in Whitehall Township.
In a ruling issued Monday, Lehigh County Judge Melissa Pavlack said Slonaker did not file a statement of financial interest with Whitehall Township.
Candidates in Lehigh County must file a financial interest statement with the governmental body where they are seeking office. The deadline was March 11. They must also attach a copy of the statement to the nomination petition they file with Lehigh County.
Slonaker, who is president of the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners, filed his statement with the county on March 4.
While Slonaker was involved in a car accident the evening of March 10, Pavlack’s order said she was not aware of any exceptions that can be made for such a situation that could cause a statement not being filed.
The challenge was filed by incumbent Democrat Tina Jo Koren, who is seeking her second term as treasurer/tax collector. Koren faces no other Democratic opponent and no Republicans appear on the GOP ballot. Slonaker held the post from 1994 to 1997.
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In other petition challenge decisions handed down in Lehigh County:
Incumbent Jacob Hammond and candidate Derek Kirsopp agreed to a settlement over challenges they filed against each other for magistrate in district 31-2-02, which covers South and North Whitehall townships. Hammond’s name will appear on the Democratic and Republican ballots while Kirsopp’s will appear on the Democratic ballot, court records show. Geoff Spitko had also filed a challenge against Kirsopp.
Solomon Tembo, who was seeking to be on the Republican ballot for Allentown mayor, agreed to withdraw his nomination petition on Monday. A challenge filed by Danielle Scott, a Republican who lives in Allentown, said Tembo’s nomination petition listed a Salisbury Township address for his residence. Scott also said of the 140 petitions Tembo gathered on his nomination petition, 100 were invalid, including some that she alleged were mechanically created. Lehigh County requires 100 valid signatures on a petition to qualify for a spot on the primary ballot.
Parkland School Board candidates Mike Millo and David Caruth, both Republicans, were removed from the ballot over their statements of financial interest. In Millo’s case, the ruling said he did not file one with the Parkland School District while Caruth’s was received by Parkland after the March 11 deadline. Millo was unsuccessful in his run for school board in 2023.
Republican James Pica’s name will not appear on the Republican ballot in the Southern Lehigh School District race over failure to file his financial statement with the school district. He had filed one with Lehigh County.
Sharon Fehlinger Ricker was removed from the Democratic ballot for South Whitehall Commissioner for failure to file a financial statement with South Whitehall. She had filed one with the county.
Petition challenges previously reported by Armchair Lehigh Valley include:
Democrat Luis Acevedo, a would-be candidate for Allentown City Council, was removed from the ballot because he did not file his statement of financial interest on time with the city clerk’s office. He said earlier he would run a write-in campaign in the primary,
Betsey Charles, who was removed from the Republican ballot for Whitehall Township commissioner over a signature on her nomination petition and her financial statement of interest.