Friday, May 17, 2013
Lehigh County Executive Bill Hansell was recently hospitalized with pneumonia and subsequently diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, according to a release from Lehigh County. Tom Muller is now acting executive.
Lehigh County Executive William H. Hansell, who was appointed last summer to fill the unexpired term of former Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham, has resigned his post for health reasons, according to a release from the county. Hansell was recently hospitalized with pneumonia and subsequently diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He has started undergoing treatment and felt he needed to devote his energy to restoring his health, the release said. “I have been proud to serve as Lehigh County Executive for the past year," Hansell said in the prepared release. "I felt that it was the culmination of my 52-year career in local government. The decision to resign has been one of the hardest I’ve had to make in my professional life.” Thomas …
Councilman J. William Reynolds endorsed by Mayor John Callahan and state Rep. Steve Samuelson. Councilman Bob Donchez calls mayor 'the ultimate hypocrite.'
UPDATED: 9:05 p.m. Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan endorsed City Councilman J. William Reynolds to be the next mayor of the city at a campaign rally before about 100 supporters in Payrow Plaza next to City Hall on Friday afternoon. “This city has always turned to a culture of invigorating leadership as opposed to a more cautious, status quo, stand pat, ‘let’s test the winds’ kind of approach,” Callahan said. “That was true when Don Cunningham was elected at the age of 31, 15 years ago. It was true when I was elected at the age of 34, ten years ago. “On those occasions, every time, the insiders tried to falsely scare the voters by portraying youth as somehow irresponsible or inherently reckless.” The mayor criticized Reynolds’ opponent, Bob…
40.618712
-75.378074
City of Bethlehem
10 E Church St, Bethlehem, PA
/articles/callahan-endorses-reynolds-for-mayor
870005
/locations/9398923
Thursday, May 16, 2013
In last debate between Bethlehem mayoral candidates, Donchez says he has 'no apologies' for campaign mailers.
In their last scheduled face-to-face meeting before Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Bethlehem's mayoral candidates continued to argue over negative campaigning. J. William Reynolds charged that Bob Donchez had spent more than $100,000 on negative advertisements against him. Donchez countered that “95 or 96 percent” of his campaign mailers have been positive. The ones that were not, Donchez said, were a legitimate effort to educate the voters on Reynolds’ record. “If he thinks that 95 percent of his ads were positive, I’m not sure we want him in charge at City Hall because there’s a math problem there,” Reynolds said. The last debate between the two City Council colleagues who want to be mayor was Thursday afternoon in the Grand Ballroom of…
40.619556
-75.382037
Historic Hotel Bethlehem
437 Main St, Bethlehem, PA
/articles/reynolds-donchez-spent-100-000-on-negative-ads
872096
/locations/9397040
2 incumbents among 6 candidates for 4 City Council seats—with a single Republican waiting to challenge Democrats in November. The primary is on May 21.
Six Democrats—two of them incumbents—are vying for four nominations for Bethlehem City Council in Tuesday’s primary election. Bethlehem Patch sent a questionnaire to each of the six Democratic candidates and has posted the replies in their entirety. Click on the name of the candidate to read his/her information, including educational and family background as well as each candidate's qualifications. Here are the candidates in alphabetical order: At least three of the four winners on Tuesday will actually serve on City Council beginning in 2014 as only one Republican is running. That Republican, Chris Morales—best known in Bethlehem as the man who runs the city’s lone street hot dog vending cart—is expected to be the only competition for …
Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan and County Councilman Lamont McClure face off against former executive Glenn Reibman.
Although it's been two years since Northampton County voters chose to keep Gracedale from being sold, the county-owned nursing home remains a hot issue. So much so that the three Democrats running to become the next county executive list Gracedale as one of their top priorities. Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, county Councilman Lamont McClure, and former are all seeking the Democratic nomination for executive in next Tuesday's primary. Patch asked all three candidates to fill out questionnaires about themselves and the issues. Click on their names below to see how they responded. The three candidates also spoke about their positions—while attacking those of their opponents—in a debate last week. The winner of the primary will face …
Incumbent David Jones faces a challenge from Juan P. Camacho for the Democratic nomination to a Lehigh County commissioner seat in a District that includes part of Bethlehem.
Incumbent Lehigh County Commissioner David Jones faces a challenge from Juan P. Camacho for the Democratic nomination for the county board's District 3 seat. The primary is Tuesday. District 3 includes all the Lehigh County portions of Bethlehem. According to a Voters Guide posted online by the League of Women Voters: —Jones is an executive administrative pastor and has served on the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners for seven years. —Camacho is a lawyer. He has served on the Allentown Human Relations Commission for a year and on the board of the Lehigh County bar association, Renew Lehigh Valley and Casa Guadalupe Center. The primary is Tuesday. No Republicans are seeking their party's nomination to the District seat. So unless there …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Fellow City Council members Bob Donchez and J. William Reynolds seek the Democratic nomination for Bethlehem mayor in the May 21 primary.
Two incumbent Bethlehem city councilmen—Bob Donchez and J. William Reynolds—are seeking the Democratic Party nomination to be the city’s next mayor. Donchez, 63, is serving his fifth term on council. He is a retired teacher who worked for 35 years in the Allentown School District and most recently served as a legislative aide to state Reps. Joe Brennan and Dan McNeill in the 133rd Legislative District. Reynolds, 31, is serving his second term on council. He is currently a social studies teacher at William Allen High School in Allentown. Before then, he was the chief legislative aide to state Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-135. The winner of the primary will likely be the next mayor of Bethlehem. No Republicans—or any other candidates—have …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, a Democrat, announced Tuesday that he's exploring another run for the Senate; Sestak narrowly lost to Pat Toomey in 2010.
A rematch between former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is in the works as Sestak announced Tuesday that he's exploring a run for the Senate in 2016. Democrat Sestak, a former Navy vice admiral, lost narrowly to Republican Toomey in 2010. Sestak, of Delaware County, has formed an exploratory committee—the equivalent of launching a campaign in terms of Federal Elections Commission paperwork, according to a Washington Post report. Can Sestak beat Toomey? Who would you vote for if the Senate election was held today? Tell us in the comments section below. Tuesday's announcement ends speculation that Sestak, 61, is raising money to challenge Gov. Tom Corbett. Sestak raised $460,000 in the first quarter of this year. A Sestak-…
Political foes Scott Ott and Dean Browning seek the Republican Party nomination for Lehigh County Executive in the May 21 primary.
Two political foes—Scott Ott and Dean Browning—are seeking the Republican Party nomination for Lehigh County Executive in the May 21 primary. Ott, 51, of Lower Macungie, is currently a Lehigh County commissioner. He is co-host of a current events talk show for PJTV, a conservative online network. Browning, 57, of South Whitehall, is former Lehigh County commissioner and board chairman. He is executive vice president, finance and administration, and chief financial officer at New World Aviation. Patch sent a questionnaire to Ott and Browning and is posting the replies in their entirety. Click on the name of the candidate to read his information, including educational and family background as well as each candidate's vision for the county …
Monday, May 13, 2013
With one member absent, Bethlehem Area School Board casts preliminary final budget vote.
The Bethlehem Area School Board voted Monday night to increase the district’s school real estate tax by 2.1 percent, though the final budget the board adopts in June could have a larger increase. With one member absent, the board first deadlocked 4-4 on a 2.4 percent tax increase that would have added five full-day kindergarten classes. Board member Sudantha Vidanage was absent due to a family emergency, according to Board President Mike Faccinetto. Board member Basilio Bonilla said Vidanage had written that he was in favor of the higher increase, but that did not count at Monday’s meeting. Monday’s vote was a preliminary budget adoption, which under state law is required to be done at least 30 days before the final budget is passed. The…
Travis
5:47 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013
could not have happened to a nicer guy more ›