The left-leaning Allentown advocates are criticizing Lehigh County Democrats over their candidate selection in an upcoming state House special election.
In Allentown, a left-leaning political advocate group is accusing the Lehigh County Democratic Party of unfair election practices. The group is claiming that Lehigh County Democrats have undermined transparency in their democratic process through the selection of a candidate for an upcoming state House special election.
The 22nd District seat vacated by Josh Siegel has gained significant interest, with at least five Democrats announcing bids for the seat. The district covers a large part of Center City Allentown.
Siegel resigned from the seat to be sworn in as Lehigh County executive.
Julian Guridy, a constituent services representative with state Senator Nick Miller’s office and former Democratic delegate in the 2024 election, has launched a public campaign for the seat. Ce-Ce Gerlach, an Allentown City Council member, has also launched a campaign.
Erlinda Aguilar, Douglas Kunkle, and Lewis Shupe have also applied to fill the vacant seat, but they have not launched public campaigns.
On Monday, the political advocates accused Lehigh County Democratic Party leaders of unfairly supporting Guridy’s bid for the seat by removing “precinct committee persons” who live in the district and holding closed meetings that are inaccessible to the public and to the media.
Precinct committee persons are set to meet on Saturday to conduct candidate interviews and select a nominee ahead of the February special election. The Saturday meeting will be a closed one.
Chair Lori McFarland defended the actions of the party in choosing a candidate.
“State law explicitly prescribes that the respective parties shall internally select their nominee in special elections. The Lehigh County Democratic Committee will follow the law and our bylaws to select a nominee. Any and all candidates are allowed to apply for an interview, which will be held during the upcoming county committee recommendation meeting. The recommendation will be transmitted to the PA Democratic Party, who makes the final decision on the nomination. The voters will select the next State Representative for the 22nd District in the February 24 special election,” said McFarland in a statement.
Critics have accused the party of attempting to manipulate the selection process in favor of Guridy, who is a precinct committee person for the Lehigh County Democratic Committee. This allows Guridy to cast a vote for himself in the election.
According to McFarland, Aguilar is also a member.
“They knew this position was coming up, they knew who was running, and they planned accordingly. The difference this time is they did not plan for the citizen involvement but planned selfishly for their person to win. This is clearly a setup. A planned setup, and we the citizens will not allow it. We want to vote,” said Paulette Hunter, who is a volunteer for the Democratic Party.
Guridy said he is focused on outreach to voters ahead of the special election and denied improper support from the county Democrats.
“I am just following the process; I am following the law of what and how [the election] occurs. I mean, this is how every special election is throughout the state,” Guridy said in a recent interview.
Guridy plans to run in the May primary election for the Democratic nomination to run for a full term in November.
The special election is set to take place on February 24th to elect a candidate that will serve for the remainder for Siegel’s term.
