The general election isn't until November, but this year's primary will determine who leads Allentown for the next four years.

Mayor Matt Tuerk and Councilman Ed Zucal are about to face off, and their first head to head debate.

You'll hear from the candidates directly as they answer tough questions and share their visions for the future.

In partnership with Miller Symphony Hall in the heart of Center City, Lehigh Valley Public Media presents the 2025 primary Allentown mayoral debate.

Here are our moderators to kick us off right now.

Good evening, and welcome to the 2025 Allentown mayoral debate.

Lehigh Valley Public Media is proud to present on all of its platforms this debate, those platforms being Lehigh Valley News.com, PBS 39 and 91.3.

We are we are coming from from the beautiful Miller Symphony Hall in downtown Allentown, just a few blocks from City Hall.

I'm Tom Shortell politics reporter at Lehigh Valley News.com.

And I'm Jason Addy, Lehigh Valle The primary election is a month away.

This year, Allentown will elect a mayor and four city council members and fill five school board seats.

It's the mayor's race that brings us here tonight.

The next leader will be tasked with ironing out internal issues, while paving the way for significant growth and development in Pennsylvania's third largest city.

We're delighted to be joined by the two candidates, both Democrats, competing for that responsibility.

There are no Republicans on the primary ballot, which means the winner of the upcoming Democratic primary is all but assured of winning the general election later this fall.

Let's meet the candidates.

Matt Tuerk is the incumbent mayor in his fourth year on the job.

He won election in 2021 after working years and economic development, and has lived in Allentown for over two decades and is a two term city councilman, first elected in 2017.

Before that, he served for 24 years in the Allentown Police Department, retiring as a sergeant.

Okay, let's get started.

First, a quick note.

The candidates do not know what the questions will be.

Journalists from Lehigh Valley Public Media prepared the questions and had.

And the candidates have not seen them.

Mr. Zucal before the debate, we flipped a coin.

You'll lead us off with your opening statement.

You have two minutes.

Okay.

Thank you.

Welcome, everybody.

My name is Ed Zuko.

I stand before you as a member of the community who hears your concerns as both homeowners and renters.

I am running because as a longtime resident, a retired Allentown policeman, and a current city Council person, I see our city going in the wrong direction.

Fixing problems generally rely on more focus groups and whiteboards, but rather tackling the problems head on.

Our taxes are too high.

Our city government, embroiled in such a scandal.

Downtown neighborhoods distress and our nuisance laws barely enforced.

Our parks used to be regarded as some of the best in the country.

All of this has led to a stagnant quality of life here in the city.

I live it, I see it, I hear it, and so do all of you.

I am running because my opponent says the city is moving forward.

But I ask yourself, is it really?

Has anything really changed in the last four years?

Businesses open and close, one right after the other.

Downtown is a ghost town.

Housing and crime are still major issues, and residents are telling me their neighborhoods are getting worse and they are worried.

The mayor had his chance.

He failed.

Allentown is broken and needs to be fixed.

If something isn't working, you replace it.

As your mayor, I will keep your taxes down by controlling city spending.

I will start this right in the mayor's office.

As mayor, I will put money, grant money into infrastructure rather than into the pockets of big donors and special interest groups.

Under my new police plan, officers will be able to address the quality of life issues.

Our streets will be safer and our parks preserved.

Our parks will have police presence to keep families and children safe.

No one should have to be gunned down in a park.

When I am mayor, I will help create solutions, not excuses.

Spend less time talking about our problems and more time trying to fix them.

Create a workplace atmosphere to prevent lawsuits from employees rather than spending our taxpayer money defending them.

Allentown cannot afford four more years of wasteful spending, lawsuits, employee turnover, and ineffective leadership.

Allentown needs a mayor who is concerned about running the city as a business, not who spends his day pandering.

Raising flags and cutting ribbons.

It is time for you to take your city back, and I hope you will make that right choice on May 20th.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zucal.

Mr. Tuerk, your two minute statement.

Four years ago, Allentown committed to the democratic ideals of inclusion, representation and collaboration.

When you chose me as your mayor, your vote said you liked my energy and my vision for our future.

At the end of the last Trump administration and the Covid pandemic, we were ready to turn the page on the divisive politics of the past and focus on making Allentown a safer, cleaner, and healthier city, promoting the well-being of all and giving people an opportunity to get ahead.

In my first three years as your mayor, we've made incredible progress.

Crime has hit historic lows.

Downtown is more vibrant.

Our parks are more beautiful, and we're in our best fiscal position in decades.

I've put together an excellent team that has effectively delivered city services and managed our finances, all while keeping our property taxes level.

But there still is a ton of work to do.

I've delivered plans for safe streets, for more affordable housing, for improving our workforce, and for using data to deliver city services more equitably.

To implement those plans, we've launched partnerships that will keep our parks our crown jewel, make Hamilton Street the coolest place in the Lehigh Valley, and help our Antonians lead better, longer lives.

Through it all.

I'll.

Remain the most accessible mayor that you know.

A real Democrat who advocates for every resident stands up to destructive of MAGA policies, stands by our LGBTQ plus siblings, and proudly stands for Allentown Latino Community in City Hall.

As we approach the Democratic primary on May 20th, Allentown has an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to my vision as a place where families thrive, businesses prosper, and we celebrate the joy of life together.

We've come a long way, and we have a long way to go to make this vision a reality.

I'm ready to continue the work and bring the energy every day, embodying the kindness and compassion that makes Allentown the beating heart of the Lehigh Valley.

Thank you, Mayor Tuerk.

We begin with each candidate answering a few questions directed specifically to them.

There are no rebuttals in this portion of the debate.

That will come later.

You'll have one minute to answer, Mr. Zucal The first question is for you.

Yes.

You've alleged the mayor is cherry picking crime statistics to downplay concerns about public safety.

What evidence do you have to support that claim?

Well, he's claimed that, crime is down.

However, you need to take credit for your entire term.

The last year in 2023, there were 19 homicides.

In January, he, had a press conference and said that there were 326 class one crimes, which are homicides, rapes, robberies, assaults, shootings and stabbings.

If I take those numbers, I can tell you that I will be a victim of a crime.

27 days out of the month.

I don't really believe that I would consider that as crime.

Being down.

Onto our second question.

This one is for you.

Mr. Tuerk, two months ago, a man was killed and three others shot outside the PKK lounge on Union Boulevard.

Police were called to the unlicensed nightclub more than two dozen times in the 18 months before the shooting.

Why wasn't anything done about that sooner?

And what steps has your ministration taken to address issues stemming from after hours businesses?

So crime is way down.

But crimes only.

You only feel safe, independent of the statistics.

Crime is a feeling.

So the steps that were taken to close nuisance lounges and nuisance nightclubs have been significant.

We closed, Secret Lounge prior to the incident at BK lounge.

We closed the lounge on Hanover Avenue.

Excuse me.

On, Susquehanna right before that shooting occurred.

We have continued to focus our time and energy on responding to the calls that our residents make.

We can only respond to calls that residents make so nuisance.

From what we saw at the BCC lounge in the months leading up to the shooting that claimed the life of, a city, security guard was an actual reduction in the amount of activity.

Sometimes these things happen.

Our police are responding.

We've invested in technology and manpower to help our police respond quickly to incidents.

And in this case, we were able to arrest the suspect within hours.

So we respond to incidents as they occur, and that has a chilling effect on crime.

It still does happen.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Mr.. Zucal this question is for you.

You led the charge to hire an independent investigator to look into allegations of racism and discrimination in City Hall, outside of the city's normal procurement process.

18 months later, taxpayers are on the hook for about $130,000 in legal fees for an investigation that was halted in favor of a different one.

We're going to ask both candidates more about this topic later.

But Mr. Zucal what, if anything, would you have done differently?

Well, quite frankly, I wouldn't have done anything differently because the charter under section 210 allows for council to conduct investigations outside, with outside independent investigators without going through the procurement process.

I would not have done anything different at all.

It's my understanding that in a few weeks, possibly we will getting we will be getting some results from that investigation.

Mayor Tuerk, the city has added thousands of luxury apartment units over the past decade.

And you've sung the praises of these developments.

But data keeps showing the average household increasingly can't afford to live in a place like that.

What would you say to city residents who question the benefits of these luxury units?

And during an affordable housing crisis?

So there's a tremendous level of complexity when you're talking about housing markets.

And unfortunately, I mean, it's not going to give us a chance to talk through it all, but every investment in a housing unit in the city of Allentown has an impact on the total market.

So while and I take issue with the word luxury, these are at market.

These are housing units that are being built at market rates.

While we continue to see investment in housing across the city of Allentown, we also see investment in affordable housing in Allentown.

I was proud to attend the opening of 1528 West, which is a housing development that is designed to affordably house senior girls and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

But we have to continue to to build more housing like that when we have federal funding to make investments in affordable housing.

We are building it.

We have a long way to go in Allentown and in the Lehigh Valley and frankly, in cities across the country.

There's a huge housing shortage, and we have to work diligently to close the gap.

Thank you, Mr. Zucal You've been an outspoken critic of the Turk administration and issued a vote of no confidence at the end of 2023.

You've been a city councilman for eight years now.

What legislative accomplishments can you tout to show residents that you are ready to be mayor?

Well, my accomplishments can only be, accomplished by, four votes from city council.

I've led several, plans, but unfortunately.

Or I should say, fortunately, not everything has been turned down.

It all depends on how council votes.

And that determines whether or not you accomplish anything.

Does that speak to your ability to to lead?

Do you believe?

Yes.

I am a leader, and I believe I will be very effective as the mayor of Allentown.

Thank you, Mayor Tuerk.

Last week, Lehigh Valley News.com reported that Allentown police have issued more than 3100 citations since January for school bus stop violations.

Bethlehem has issued less than 500 tickets.

When you learned of the high number, you wondered if citations were being issued fairly and proportion nately.

Isn't that on you and the police department?

And what exactly is the review process for violations before police send out those citations?

So when I answered, Stephanie Seager for this question, I wasn't referring to the Allentown City Police Department's review process.

It was actually referring to Salisbury Township review process.

But the the concern stands, and the primary concern is that people are driving too fast in the city of Allentown.

We, adopted a safe streets for all plan that presents an opportunity for the city of Allentown to make real investments in modifying engineering in the city of Allentown and road designed to make it safer, continue to step up enforcement, to make people let people know that aggressive driving is not acceptable, and continue to educate people and work to modify driver behavior.

This starts with us.

We have to make the investments and hopefully there's again to be a wake up call to our residents that they have to change the way that they navigate the city.

Is there a review process for these citations in Allentown?

So we have a traffic unit that reviews incidents, and they issue based on the motor vehicle code.

And if they are in, our team is thankfully holding people accountable for their bad driving behavior.

Thank you.

That concludes the first round of the debate.

Thank you both.

And thank you as well to our viewers, listeners and Miller Symphony Hall.

We're glad that you're with us for this primary election debate between Allentown mayoral candidates on Lehigh Valley News.com, PBS, 39 and 91.3.

Weaver.

For the next questions, you'll both have a minute to answer.

If you want to rebut or add something, you can just signal us so that we know that you want to respond.

You'll have 30s for rebuttals.

Jason, why don't you start us off?

Thank you.

Tom.

Mr. Zucal development in the downtown is starting to spread toward its peripheries with the Da Vinci Science Center, the Archer Music Hall, and the Moxy Hotel.

The folks in other neighborhoods haven't seen the same investment.

What would your administration do to support communities beyond Center City?

Well, this is a very good concern for the people because, the valley is becoming unaffordable, housing is too expensive, and we're running the risk of losing small businesses.

Allentown has to watch because people are failing to come downtown because of storefronts closing crime.

I want to make sure that Allentown does its part to make sure small businesses, thrive, exist.

That will that will create a business tax for us.

And, I want to make sure that I focus more on working class housing.

A downtown place should be a place where businesses thrive and people want to open up.

What I found interesting was about a month ago, we, gave a key to the city, to Mr. Saquon Barkley, and a couple weeks later, his mother opened up a shop.

However, she did not even open it up in Allentown.

She opened it up in Bethlehem.

I think that says something.

Mr. mayor.

One minute for you.

Is the city paying more attention to downtown at the expense of other neighborhoods?

Absolutely not.

We are investing in our entire city, and that's the core of my administration, is making sure that we equitably deliver city services.

And the key thing that drives economic development is safety.

So I continue to investment in creating a safe, clean and healthy environment in the city of Allentown, gives business owners and gives entrepreneurs the confidence to open businesses.

And if you do drive around or ride around the City of Allentown on a bicycle or run through the city of Allentown, you're going to see investment all over our city.

On Union Boulevard, you'll see actual new new buildings being constructed.

You'll see new buildings being constructed on a mass avenue in the south side.

There is development happening all over the city of Allentown, and entrepreneurs are continue continuing to be supported by the business development team at the City of Allentown.

We spread the love around and I think the city has shown a tremendous increase in the the value of improved properties and a tremendous, tremendous increase in our business privilege tax, which says to me that the entire city is doing well.

Very good.

30 seconds for you, 30s.

Yes.

Thank you.

Well, I have a problem with that because we used to have an excellent marketplace over here in the Arts Walk that accommodated nine businesses.

And in the last two weeks, that is completely closed.

I think that's an indication that small businesses is not thriving in Allentown.

Mr. Tuerk.

I have, seen tremendous growth on Hamilton Street.

I ride and walk it all the time.

We just opened a restaurant called Rosa Blanca, which is serving Cuban food on on Hamilton Street.

The Archer Music Hall is packed.

They just had a show, a sold out show the other night.

You're seeing growth in downtown, but importantly, you're continuing to see business investment across the city, which drives job creation across the city.

I appreciate that there's more that you guys want to say on this topic, but unfortunately, we have other matters that we need to get to.

So moving on to our next question.

Mr. Tuerk we'll start with you.

Your administration has faced several high profile allegations of racism and discrimination.

Claims of wrongdoing have come from members of the city chapter of the NAACP and even your former HR director.

Is the city doing enough to ensure that city government is providing equal service and opportunities to its residents and workforce?

Absolutely.

City employee so when I started three years ago, we we started at the at the end of a pandemic, and we started with employees who had worked hard through a pandemic and never got the appropriate, I think, respect that they deserved for leading our city safely through a tragic time.

They've been through a lot and they've been through a lot over the years.

Civil servants across the country are getting beat up.

You see this in the federal government with Doge eliminating, pointlessly eliminating, government jobs.

We at the City of Allentown focus on making sure that our employees are treated with respect, with support, with care, and that we're creating an inclusive work environment at the city that involves change.

So we have led through change, and we've been there for our employees.

We've diligently investigated claims of discrimination as they've occurred.

Not every case is borne out.

So a claim is sometimes found to be without merit.

And that in in the case of some employees who, and it's difficult to talk about personnel matters on a stage like this.

But in the case of our workplace, I see a tremendous level of camaraderie among our employees.

There is it feels good to be in the city of Allentown, and we've hired more people over the last few years than previous administrations had.

Thank you, Mayor Tuerk.

Mr. Zucal.

Yes.

Well, I think there's an issue with that, because if that was the case and everyone was a welcomed employee, we wouldn't have several lawsuits filed.

People have come before you and your administration asking for help.

They did not get help.

And that's why those are those lawsuits are, They asked us to start an investigation.

We did that.

But no one wants to seem to give us the right answers to that investigation.

The problem is, I think it's a toxic work environment.

And until you change that toxic work environment, you're not going to change the outcome.

I think that what Mr. Zucal sees in the work environment is something that doesn't look like the workplace that he used to work in, and for him, that's toxic.

The reality is that we are having difficult conversations in our workplace.

We are hiring people to work the city of Allentown that better reflect the community that we serve.

And we are growing as a workplace.

We've hired a called people and culture coordinator to lead our Office of Equity and Inclusion, and we've recently hired a former city council person to be our HR director, and he's done phenomenal work.

His next thing will be they launch a handbook that hadn't been updated since 2009.

We're looking forward to a positive work environment.

The City of Allentown.

Mr. Zucal you want to respond?

That's correct.

He did hire a Dei, coordinator.

However, I don't know if that's working out so well because all all the the, complaints and discrimination are from, nonwhite, employees.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

Moving on.

Mr. Zucal, Allentown’s, safe Streets for all program, which aims to eliminate serious injuries and deaths for drivers, pedestrians and other road users by 2030, officially took effect this month.

A week later, a 69 year old woman was hit and killed while crossing the street.

How can the city realistically achieve this ambitious goal, given the infrastructure, infrastructure needs and poor driving habits in the community?

I think it's a great question and I think that Safe Streets was a great program.

However, I think we're more being focused on the, roadway issues of it rather than the pedestrian, issues.

The fact that we have over 3000 people violating school busses is an indication to me that our problem is a lot bigger than safe streets for all.

And the other thing, I think is an issue that we've brought that to the forefront.

We have such a bad driving city that insurance companies are now going to pick up on that.

And whoever has a car in Allentown is probably going to see their insurance rates go up.

Mayor, you have a response on the, your thoughts on, this ambitious effort?

I think it is an ambitious effort, and we did that intentionally.

We have to we have to try.

We must make an effort.

When we set a goal like that, it leads everybody to focus on the goal.

And that was one of the things that I appreciated in the stories that Lehigh Valley News has run on driving and the work that Stephanie Secretary said and the work that you've done in that arena.

But we have got to make our roadways safer for all users.

It's not just drive, it's not just drivers.

It's not just pedestrians.

It's not just bicyclists.

It's for all users.

People must feel safe navigating the city.

When they feel safe navigating the city, they they're more likely to invest.

They're more likely to pursue their wellness and their happiness.

That's what our Allentown residents deserve.

We built that plan.

I don't think that Mr. Zucal will read it, because we built it with all roadway users in mind, and we built it with the feedback of our residents.

It's something that I administration has committed to is making sure that we're engaging with our community as we develop our plans for the future.

Thank you.

Mayor Tuerk, City Center bought the old Allentown State Hospital site almost 200 acres for $5.5 million.

The same developer just sold 17 acres of the school district to the school district for 15 million.

What do you think of that deal?

And what should the future hold for that site?

So I think there's some complications with the description of the deal.

They the sale price, as I understand it.

And this is a private transaction between the Allentown School District, over which we have no authority, and city center, which is a private developer, as I understand it, the the school district acquired the site with improvements.

So that means with roads that will be safe because we will institute a safe, systems approach to those roads.

That what I, what I think is that's going to add needed infrastructure to the east side.

It's going to add respect for the east side.

This is a community that has for a long time not felt seen or felt ignored by various different administrations.

So I'm glad that the Allentown School District is making an investment in, middle school on the East side, and I'm glad that City Center is going to be making an investment in critically needed housing on the East side.

That should help to fill the gap for residents here in Allentown.

And Mr. Zucal what are your thoughts on City Center's sale to the school district and the future of that site?

Well, I you know, I haven't being a school district employee.

I have to be careful how I answer that, but I do think that they did kind of overpay for the property.

Absolutely.

We need a school in the housing.

The only problem I see with the housing is I don't know that it's going to be affordable because it's going to be market rate housing.

So it's nice that we have it, but I don't know how beneficial it's going to be for the actual citizens.

Okay.

Thank you.

And we'll stick with housing then.

Mr. Zucal The Allentown Housing Authority has a waitlist of 15,000 people seeking public housing or vouchers.

What can the city do to address this backlog?

At a time when home prices have skyrocketed across the region?

Well, thank God for for HUD.

I mean, I mean, even the places that have been recently built, like 15, 28, there's, there's a waiting line and, the gentleman that broke ground the other day, there's a waiting line for that.

I don't think there's a way to combat that.

There is such a, a need for housing that we can probably build every day, and we probably wouldn't, you know, fix the problem.

And, Mr. Tuerk, how can the city address this.

Housing, actually.

I wish you had read the housing plan that we issued a few months ago, because that pretty succinctly describes the things that we can do to combat this incredibly complex problem.

Our housing plan is very specific about how we will address the housing issue.

It's build more housing.

It's create more supply.

This is how you fix this market.

You continue to build and you build not just here in Allentown, but you work collaboratively across the region to build housing in places like Bethlehem and the East and Whitehall, as well.

People want to be in Allentown.

That is something that we cannot stop.

We are not a gated community.

We can't turn people away.

They want to be here.

If we don't build to meet that demand, it results in a lack of affordability.

So our housing plan is focused on allowing the City of Allentown to incentivize developers to build more quickly through streamlined permitting and through better zoning that will allow us to build with greater density, while at the same time maintaining the look and feel of the city of Allentown.

We don't want to lose our Allentown, but we do want to create a more affordable city that gives everyone a chance to get ahead.

Mr. Zucal you want to respond?

Yes.

Well, the problem is, what we're building is luxury housing that does nothing for the people that can't afford it.

I think the best thing for us to do is try to, provide a tax abatement program for developers to restore some blighted properties, and also to try to get those who want to be homeowners property in the city at low to no cost.

Mr. Tuerk, I see you raised your hand, but unfortunately, we do need to move on to our next question.

Is this a question for you?

The majority of Allentown identifies as Hispanic.

68,000 people, according to the census.

How has your administration serve this population.

Out in El Paso?

I don't think everybody out there speaks Spanish.

We have from day one focus on making sure that our communications are in English and in Spanish.

We have, from day one, create an inclusive environment in City Hall so that when people come to City Hall to pay their taxes or to pull a zoning permit, or to just do any type of business, that we have a way to speak to people in English and in Spanish.

And we developed a plan for language access that would have allowed us to provide services not just in English and in Spanish, but in languages like Arabic and Vietnamese and Farsi.

Excuse me.

And, and Pashto and, we but in addition to that is much more than language, right?

It is a recognition of the culture.

It is making sure that people feel like they are included and that Allentown is a home for them.

And I think there's nothing more important than having city leadership that reflects the community that we serve.

And I'm able to accomplish that by being out in the streets and talking to our residents and connecting with them on a human level to understand what challenges they face.

Mr. Zucal, how would your administration ensure that Latinos are represented in your cabinet and be served by their government?

Well, first of all, all citizens, as far as I'm concerned, will be treated equally regardless of what nationality, race or, you know, religion they are.

The interesting part is that his, his, one of his main goals was to deal with equity, diversity, equity and inclusion when and then in fact, all the lawsuits are a result of that.

So I don't think that his plan is working.

Mr. Tuerk, you wanted to respond?

Yeah, I want to respond.

I want to continue to say that this is a majority Latino city, but it is not an exclusively Latino city.

And the things that we do to make our community feel included extend far beyond a Dominican flag raising or holding a Latina on Hamilton Street.

We have a phenomenal, Saint Patrick's Day parade, and I was glad to see so many of our friends out there joining us for that, including former mayor O'Connell.

We do a Polish flag raising.

We are an inclusive community, and that's really what differentiates Allentown from many other places around the country.

Thank you.

We continue the 2025 Allentown mayoral primary debate, hosted with our partners at Miller Symphony Hall and organized by Lehigh Valley Public Media.

This program is being streamed on PBS 30 Nine's YouTube channel and our website, Lehigh Valley News.com.

It will also air on PBS 39 and on 91.3 LVA tomorrow night.

Remember, the primary election is Tuesday, May 20th.

The deadline to register to vote in the May primary is May is May 5th.

Residents can vote in person on Election day or by mail.

The last day to apply for a mail in ballot is May 13th.

All right, candidates.

We're going to do something a little different now and allow you to ask each other some questions.

Taking turns.

You'll ask your opponent two questions and they'll have one minute to respond.

Mr. Zucal you'll start.

What is your first question for Mr. Tuerk?

Yes.

Mr. Tuerk, prior to becoming mayor, there were five mayors before you, with a total span of about 34 years.

Not one of those mayors ever had a lawsuit of discrimination, harassment, or unfair work practices against them.

Why you.

And I don't know if the facts are accurate.

None of your other facts have been accurate.

You know, they ask for, the.

Mayors if you want.

Sure.

Go ahead.

I'm going to answer the question, though.

So the heart of a modern work environment is, employee relations.

And we don't control how people litigate.

We are in a more litigious society.

You're well aware of that?

For from your home life.

I the answer the question of why me?

It's not me.

Exactly.

It's a city administration that inherited challenges from administrations past.

I don't want to put anybody else on the spot, but people make decisions about, our personnel, and they're hard to discuss in a public forum like this.

And, you know, frankly, I don't have a good answer for that because I don't think it's a legitimate question.

I don't think it's specific to me.

I'm engaged with mayors from across the country, and this is common practice.

This is something that you see in cities all over the country.

Allentown is not unique in that way.

Mr..

There's no rebuttal for this portion.

Mr.. Zucal, so instead, Mr.. Tuerk, do you have a question for Mr. Zucal?

I do, the very first thing that came out of your mouth when you stepped to the curb at the Ritz Barbecue to announce that you were running for mayor, was that I was too woke.

Yes.

So what I'd like to know is, what are the woke policies and procedures that you would kill?

And how do you square them with the democratic values like inclusivity, compassion and progressive change?

Well, I think there's more to, running a city than having, bicycle paths.

Deciding what color sunglasses you're going to wear for a photo op.

I think we need to go back.

This is a blue collar city.

It's not a city.

You know, back when we had punk rock or anything like that.

This is a city that is made up of Pennsylvania, Dutch Irishmen, everything.

So that's what I mean by I believe that we need to get back to what this city was originally.

Mr.. Zucal, your second and final question for Mr. Tuerk.

Yes.

When speaking with all the residents, when I go door to door like you, who have been in their house for like, 50 plus years, are concerned if you remain mayor, the rising cost of taxes, impending tax increases in everyday general expenses has them scared.

What can I tell them that you're going to do to prevent them from losing their home?

So the residents of the City of Allentown deserve the best.

They deserve the best services.

And our team works hard to deliver value for taxpayer dollars.

I'm really excited.

A lot of those older folks that you've talked to, or actually the families of many of our employees that work on the budget and that deliver those city services, and they take they take it to heart.

They take that very much to heart, as do I.

We have the way that we do this is that we prioritize the things that we must do to empower our residents and make smart investments in efficiency and data.

We invest in improvements to the way that we do things at City Hall, like digitization of our permitting system.

We just upgraded our accounting system to facilitate better, transactions.

It leads to a level of efficiency, and a citywide data strategy will allow us to make investments in key areas where they matter most fundamentally.

We balance the delivery of city services with protecting the taxpayer purse.

It's a it's something that we take seriously every day.

And we're listening to those residents and making sure that they can count on having their streets cleared so that they can get to doctor's appointments, that they can count on having clean streets that they enjoy when they walk to our beautiful parks.

All of that comes with effective management.

I'm proud of my team and they take that work seriously.

Again, no rebuttal.

Sorry, Mr. Tuerk, Your final question for Mr. Zucal.

Yeah.

So what I'd like to do is just come back to that first question of the work policies.

You didn't answer it.

You didn't say what things that you would stop doing, and you specifically didn't mention, the democratic values that you hold close.

In fact, you use the language that I've heard from MAGA about making Allentown sound like make Allentown great again.

Can you please explain which democratic values you hold dear and how you can square those with elimination of that?

Again, the work policies that you in cancel?

Well, unlike you, I've been a registered Democrat my entire life.

You were only partially, registered.

So when the statement actually goes back to you in the beginning when you said you basically do everything based on your democratic values, I believe in our system in America.

I do not believe in the mega system, but your I guess the best way to say it is that your personality and my personality obviously very different, how you run the city and how I would run the city.

That's the best way I can probably really just answer your question.

Thank both.

Thank you gentlemen.

We'll continue now with more questions for both of you.

After that, we'll wrap things up with your closing statements.

Once again, this debate between Allentown mayoral candidates is being brought to you by Lehigh Valley Public Media in partnership with Miller Symphony Hall, an Allentown.

Just reminder, you each get up to a minute to respond here.

And if you want to rebut something, signal us.

Jason, please start us off.

Thank you, Mr. Zucal.

This year's City council has adopted legislation protecting immigrant and LGBTQ communities.

Are these simply value statements?

Can the city really provide protections amid immigration crackdowns and executive orders aimed at these issues?

Well, we really can't, limit what the federal government is allowed to do.

My reason for I'll give you my reason for, supporting that.

Back when this was all happening with the ice movement, having work at the school, we did get a list of procedures.

Should Ice come in and try to take students.

My reason for voting for that.

I have a lot of friends that work in, restaurant establishments that I'm sure are not, you know, legitimately illegal here.

However, they're not breaking crimes, and they're they're they're contributing to society.

I do not believe that innocent children and people that although living here undocumented is a crime.

I don't believe it's fair that they should be removed from their families.

Same question for you, Mr. Tuerk.

Can the city really provide protections?

There are so safe, clean and healthy is something that we focus on.

It's our mission of the City of Allentown to promote the well-being of our residents.

And safety has a lot of dimensions, so some of the protection that is provided is when legislation is passed or when policies are adopted that give people the feeling that their city has their back.

That's what happened at the city council meeting last night, where City council urged the mayor to adopt a policy that we quickly started crafting, a policy that lets our LGBTQ plus siblings, particular transgender siblings, know that we are there for them and that we will not turn their safety over in a changing environment.

It's true as well for our immigrant community.

I engage for months prior to the passage of the Welcoming City ordinance, and worked closely with Councilwoman Gerlach to make sure that our ordinance complied with our primary responsibility.

I took an oath.

Councilman Zagel took an oath as a city council person.

All of our police officers took an oath to uphold and obey and defend the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the rules and laws of the City of Allentown.

We have to hold those those commitments sacred so we can provide protections.

There are some things that we have to we have to comply with state law.

Okay.

The next question.

You said we'll just stick with you.

Last time you campaigned as a candidate uniquely qualified to connect with Allentown, a diverse population yet important community events such as the safe Streets for all open house and the city's five year housing plan meeting or sparsely attended.

How do you plan to better engage with city residents on important initiatives?

That is a challenge that everybody faces.

And when I say everybody, I mean everybody across the country.

When you go to an event at the.

So we are doing a parks master plan that is designed to capture community feedback and bring their thoughts about what the future of our parks should be so that we can make sure that we're guiding investments in a way that respects our history, but also the residents of the city of Allentown.

It is very hard to get people to engage.

We try.

We try everything and we'll continue to try everything.

We won't give up because I have a level of confidence that the only way that we can solve the complex challenges that we face is through collaboration.

It's through working together.

So I campaigned on that in the past.

I campaigned on being somebody who would keep putting in the effort, and I will continue to keep putting in the effort.

I show up, I hope that I can set an example for everybody in my second state of the city address.

I encourage people to join me and my wife, Karen, at Allen football games.

We're making a dent.

It's going to take a long time.

There are significant impacts of the Covid pandemic that we're still getting over as a community in Allentown, as a Lehigh Valley and as a country.

But I think we're starting to see the light.

Okay.

Same question for you, Councilman Siegel.

How would your administration inspire community engagement?

Well, you know, I got to agree with the mayor on this one.

You know, people have so much to do.

Some are working double jobs trying to feed their families, trying to exist.

I wouldn't say it's so much apathy.

It's just that people just have so many things to do today.

Sporting events for their children.

You know, and the city meetings are probably second class to them.

So I would agree with them.

It is very hard to get people together.

I like to keep this conversation going because I1I like it when my opponent agrees with me.

That's always good.

But I also like when we have an opportunity to engage our residents on the importance of showing up.

If you don't show up, the you can't express yourself.

You can't take a role in the decisions that are being made.

And that's critically important at events like the Safe Streets for all unveiling.

It's important for a bicycle infrastructure plan, which is alive now, and I believe through the end of May.

And I want to encourage people to to fill that out.

But it's also critically important at the ballot box.

We have a primary election on May 20th.

One of the challenges that we have in the city of Allentown is not just that people have a hard time showing up for a city council meeting, as exciting as they might be, but they have a hard time showing up to vote.

Thank you very much.

We're we're well.

Well, hopefully this will help raise awareness for the primary.

Mr.. Zucal, this questions for you.

The YMCA overnight warming shelter closed this week until November, pushing many people onto city streets.

The city is now facing a lawsuit related to its response to a homelessness encampment.

What are your plans for tackling homelessness in Allentown, and how do you plan to balance efforts for temporary shelters with long term housing solutions?

Well, I would say this, I don't want to speak on the lawsuit because it's not directed at me.

Unfortunately, we have people living in tents, cars under tarps.

We need to get them in the shelters.

The only way to do that is we need to also address any, addictions they may have.

Get them therapy.

We had to have places to put them.

Thank God.

I got to tell you, we have one of the best homeless commission commissions on homelessness in the city, and they do a great job trying to to put this together.

And our ultimate goal, obviously, is long term.

Now, you got to also realize, when I was a police officer, I can probably tell you three times that relatives came to our office or to our this window asking to check on their relatives.

And when we went down, it was cold.

They don't want help.

There are folks that do want to be crazy.

So it sounds wants to want to remain homeless.

But our goal should be to get them short term, immediate help.

And then, the ultimate goal is long term.

Mr. Tuerk, Balancing temporary shelters with long term housing solution.

Homelessness is an incredibly complex issue and truly deserves more than a minute response or a two minute response.

But I want to point out that I think Mr. Zucal does not understand the issue.

I have not seen it.

Glad that he's saying nice things about the Commission on Homelessness, but I've never seen him in a meeting.

I think when he says things like people want to remain homeless, it displays a profound lack of understanding and a profound lack of empathy for the challenges that people face.

I spent I spend a lot of time and energy thinking about this particular challenge when I was down at the Jordan Creek, working alongside volunteers to clean up the Jordan Creek, I was able to speak with some of the people who are living in tents right now and living in temporary shelters.

They face a host of different challenges while we work to develop long term solutions, we have to continue to support our partners like the Conference of Churches, like the YMCA, like the Allentown Rescue Mission in providing those various different support services that help people through those difficult times, because sometimes you see a success.

I saw my friend John, who the last time I'd seen was homeless and living in Stevens Park.

Today, when I was knocking on doors, I saw him on Tilghman Street.

He has an apartment.

He's doing better.

And if we just bulldoze problems, it just pushes them somewhere else.

And that's that's what the lawsuit asks us to do.

And that's that's a policy of the past.

It simply won't work anymore.

We are working.

Mr. Zucal, did you signal?

I'm sorry, I was okay.

I'm seeing we're going to.

We're going to stick with everybody.

His silence.

The lawsuit.

Mr. Tuerk, a whistleblower lawsuit has reopened investigations that paint troubling pictures of the Allentown Police Department.

A sergeant and former officer charged with sexual assault and other crimes, and apparently had been investigated previously without being charged.

Do you believe the department has the trust and confidence of the public?

So earlier in the in regard to the lawsuit against the City of Allentown, Mr. Zucal said that it wasn't directed at him.

You represent the city.

So it is in fact directed at you.

And a lawsuit like this is difficult for us to comment on.

We can't exceed the both the lawsuit and the criminal, the criminal act.

The question, though, which you can't answer, is, do you believe the department has the trust and confidence of the public?

I think that we've invested in our officers to continue to build trust.

One thing that we've done is we continue to hire more officers that reflect the community that they serve.

I'm always proud to meet new cadets at the Allentown Police Academy, and I know that we are building trust with our community because we're hiring officers who truly get it.

We have an incredibly intense vetting process that leads to about 1% of applicants making it through.

It challenges our ability to appropriately staff, but we place Officer Wellness as the highest priority.

And if we invest in our officers, they'll invest in the community that they serve.

And Councilman Sokol, you served for decades in the Allentown Police Department.

How much faith do you have in its leadership and what, if any, steps need to be taken to restore community trust?

Well, I can tell you that the community does not trust the police anymore.

The fact that an officer goes in a 7-Eleven and he's called a rapist a thief.

To me, that's not confidence in the police department.

I truly believe that.

And I know the mayor won't agree with me on this, and that's okay.

I believe we need new leadership at the top in the police department.

And if I become mayor, that will be one of the first positions I replace.

Mayor, what?

What would you like to say?

So I think he's totally wrong.

I think that one, when the actions of a single individual do not, in fact, reflect the integrity of an entire department.

And I think that Chief Rocha, our police chief, has done an incredible job leading the Allentown Police Department out of a culture of a difficult culture and into a culture of excellence.

And he's done that by investing in offer officer wellness, taking seriously the concerns of both officers and of the community to make our Allentown Police Department better and continue to expand in that to to increase the level of recruitment into the Allentown Police Department.

He's also invested heavily in technology that helps our police and gives the tools the job, gives our police the tools they need to do the job.

And we now are on the precipice of making an investment in our public safety building that will truly respect the work that our officers do by giving them a good home.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'd like to address parking next Mister Zuko, in response to community outrage.

The Allentown Parking Authority stopped overnight enforcement two years ago.

However, it restored the practice in January due to budgetary concerns.

Is this a necessary evil?

Well, if it is to them.

I think if we had more, people coming to the city, they don't really make their money on parking decks and things.

I don't believe or permit parking.

They make their money on on the meters.

So in order for them to to sustain some financial stability, unfortunately, they need to do that.

I mean, they got themselves into a bind.

And as you recall about a year or so ago, there was a, you know, a big mess with that.

Thank goodness for the parking authority board.

They came up with some good decisions, however.

One of our requirements or wishes was that there was not be the 24 hour patrol.

And they did stop it for a while.

And now they started again.

And that's I think that's an issue that has to be taken up with the actual parking authority board.

Mayor Tuerk, should overnight enforcement continue.

I think overnight enforcement of safety issues should continue.

So they're the focus of the Allentown Parking Authority when they're doing overnight.

Enforcement is on people who are parked in front of fire hydrants, people who are are parked and blocking garages, people who are parked too close to the corner, making it very difficult for people to drive around the city of Allentown.

Safe, clean and healthy is our mantra at the City of Allentown, and I'm glad to see that the Allentown Parking Authority embraces that value as well.

We have to continue to invest in safe streets to protect the the health and welfare of our residents.

A lot of the times that a pedestrian is hit at night, it's at night.

It's during those days after hours.

So we want to make sure that everybody who's working on enforcement of the rules in the city of Allentown is focused on the safety of the residents.

Valentine, I want to point out, I don't think that Mister Zuko has looked at the Allentown Parking Authority's financial reports or attended the meetings because I don't think that they make their money, in fact, on the meters.

But that is public information.

Public information.

And I'm not sure about your reporting on the Allentown Parking Authority's response.

By adding overnight parking to as a response to budgetary concerns, I asked, I was alerted to their interest in doing overnight enforcement, and they let me know that they were going to be focusing on safety, and I was happily in favor of that.

City Council raised, parking tickets and fees in response to these budgetary concerns as well.

Mr. Zucal, what is your response to signing off on those?

Well, as I said, they were they had a $2 million deficit.

And, you know, they came to us requesting us to help them.

And the raised some of the prices on the tickets and some of those tickets hadn't been raised for 15, 20 years.

So I, I felt that I think it was a necessary evil.

But I think that most people understand that sometimes, you know, you got to raise things.

That's just, you know, financial, you know, responsibility.

So, I don't have a I didn't have a I wasn't crazy about doing it, but I do see, you know, they did have a need.

And like I said, most of those tickets weren't raised for years.

I'm going to cut you off there just because I need to give Mr. Tuerk, a quick, very brief.

So the.

I want to be clear that the reason that we fine people for doing things is because we don't want them to do those things.

And when you have a fine that's inconsistent with the the desired outcome.

If you're parking fines are only $10, it's not enough to motivate people to do something differently.

It's similar to the by the bus tickets.

If we want people to really change their behavior, we have to make sure that the the the fine is that matches the desired outcome.

Thank you.

Lastly, I'd like to address taxes in the budget.

Mayor Tuerk, you proposed raising taxes as part of the 2024 budget.

It didn't pass, but both of you signed off on hiking the garbage fee and creating the ability to raise the transfer tax.

How healthy are city finances?

And would you propose raising taxes next year or at any point in his second term?

So when I when I proposed raising taxes in the 2024 budget, it was attached to an increase in city services.

So the hope was that we could continue to provide a high level of service to our residents and focus our time and energy on the parks and on doing better with our transportation.

Improvements.

City Council did not want to see a tax increase, and consequently, we did not want to see an increase in the quality of services are provided to our residents.

He Mr.. Zucal to councilman Zucal just said sometimes you have to raise prices.

We don't know what the future holds.

We've seen terrible things coming out of Washington and they're playing havoc on family budgets.

I can't say for sure what's going to happen.

I know that the price of eggs increase, and so does the price of asphalt.

And if we want to continue to have a functioning city, we may have to raise taxes.

We're going to do everything that we can.

As I said before, our families live in the city of Allentown.

We take this deadly seriously.

We want to make sure that people's purses are protected.

We don't want to see people out on the street.

We're going to do everything we can to protect people's purse.

Thank you, Mr. Zucal, The same question will city taxes have to rise next year or in the next term?

Well, I will do my best that this doesn't happen.

And as far as the taxes under this mayor, you know, you can't believe what he says.

You know, in 2023, he came to us initially with a 5.4 increase.

We said no, he came back with 2%.

He said no.

The finance director said that if we don't give that 2%, there would be a double digit tax increase in 2024.

Well, come August, we had a $6.2 million deficit.

Come election time.

At budget time, we and we miraculously, that deficit is gone and there's no tax increase.

The issue I have is word that 6.2 million go.

There's no way my taxes are due July 15th.

We had a $6.2 million deficit in August.

Where does money go?

One of the very first things I will do if I get into office is I will absolutely have a forensic audit.

15 seconds for you, mayor.

So he's wrong.

I think that, Councilman Zagel has, during his time working on budgets, demonstrated an inability to read a budget.

When we project that, we may see a tax increase.

It's based on what we think is going to happen at the beginning of the year.

Things change.

And we right now are in a healthiest financial position ever.

Thank you.

We've come to the time for closing statements.

Each candidate gets 60s.

We'll go in the same order determined by the coin toss, which gives Mr. Tuerk the last word.

Mr. Zucal, your closing statement.

Thank you.

In 1975, there was a commercial with a bear and a park ranger suit and a hat with a shovel.

And his model was.

Only you can prevent forest fires.

It's now 50 years later in 2025, I am standing in front of you with the same request.

Only you can change the outcome and how the city works.

I am asking for your vote on May 20th and thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Zucal.

Mr. Tuerk, your closing statement.

So I'd like to reflect a little bit of what leadership means in Allentown.

During my time as mayor, we have built a safer, cleaner, and healthier city.

Downtown is better, our parks are nicer, and we've managed finances without raising your taxes.

As a real Democrat, I commit to you to always lead with compassion and energy and with integrity.

I will tell you the truth.

I don't focus on our differences.

I'm focused on bringing our Antonians together to face complex challenges head on.

Together, we've improved public safety.

We've built affordable housing, and we have given people a chance to get ahead.

I'm looking forward.

I am dedicated to the work ahead of us.

Allentown deserves a leader who shows up, who listens, and who acts in the interest of all.

As we approach May 20th, I'm asking you to continue to support me as your mayor.

Vote for kindness.

Vote for innovation.

Vote for progress.

Vote for Matt Tuerk.

Thank you, Mr. Tuerk.

This concludes the Allentown mayoral debate for the 2025 primary election.

We want to thank the candidates for being here, and you can give them a round of applause.

Good luck.

Thanks also to my colleague and co moderator, Jason Addy, as well as Miller Symphony Hall for opening this magnificent facility for tonight's forum.

Thanks also to our great PBS 39 production crew for taking this show on the road tonight.

And of course, we want to thank you for joining us.

Remember the deadline to register to vote this May is May 5th and the primary election is May 20th.

I'm Tom Shortell from all of us at Lehigh Valley Public Media.

Good night.

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