Councilman DiGiacinto Running for City Controller

Bethlehem City Councilman Dave DiGiacinto announced his candidacy today for city controller.

In a news release, DiGiacinto said he is running for controller because he believes that his combined private sector business and his local government financial experience make him uniquely qualified to oversee the city of Bethlehem's $72 million budget.

DiGiacinto said that his priority as controller would be to ensure that Bethlehem has an independent review of the financial activities of the city.  

A Democrat, DiGiacinto is in the last year of his one elected term to City Council. He ran for controller in 2007 and lost a hard-fought special election campaign to Republican Meg Holland.

DiGiacinto was one of six men who applied to be appointed to the job by City Council after Holland resigned the position a year ago. But council could not break a three-way deadlock in its deliberations and the decision fell to Northampton County Court, which picked Robert Pfenning to complete Holland’s term.

DiGiacinto’s decision to run for controller means voters will have to select at least one non-incumbent to City Council this year. Four council terms, including DiGiacinto’s, expire at the end of 2013.

DiGiacinto grew up in Bethlehem, and although his military and business careers have given him the opportunity to live in other parts of the country, he returned to make Bethlehem his home.

DiGiacinto spent 6½ years serving his country as a pilot-in-command in the U.S. Air Force. With more than 30 years of experience in providing fiscal oversight and responsible business management in corporations and the private equity financial sector, DiGiacinto said he is confident that his real world experience and know-how would be an asset in his role as Bethlehem controller.

DiGiacinto has operated his own business consulting company, Bethany Enterprise, for approximately seven years. He was appointed to the Bethlehem Authority Board in 2003 and has served on the Lehigh and Northampton Airport Authority Board of Directors. He is also involved and served in other community and civic organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club of Bethlehem, American Hellenic Education Progressive Association, and the Historic Bethlehem Partnership.

DiGiacinto is a graduate of Liberty High School and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.