The May primary election for mayor in Allentown saw a candidates debate, two well-attended election night watch parties, and thousands of dollars raised and spent by the campaigns as well as outside groups.
Now, even though the same two candidates are on the November ballot, their campaigns have been much more low-key, with few public events or activity on social media.
City Council member Ed Zucal, who is challenging Democratic Mayor Matt Tuerk as a Republican, has declined to participate in a second debate, reasoning that his platform has not changed since the primary, so he sees no need to debate Tuerk again. The two met in April in a televised debate hosted by Lehigh Valley Public Media.
With the general election now five weeks away, both candidates say they are focusing on direct voter outreach, door knocking and connecting face to face with possible supporters.
How a repeat of the primary came to be
However, Zucal mounted a successful write-in effort for the Republican nomination, receiving 498 write-in votes, which put him on the general election ballot.
He is not, however, receiving support from the Lehigh County Republican Committee. Zucal said he still is a Democrat, which is why the party has not endorsed him or visibly supported his campaign.
“They are very strict when it comes to supporting … registered Republicans,” Zucal said.
Democrats have a large voter registration advantage in Allentown. As of mid-April, more than half of Allentown’s 69,791 voters were Democrats — 37,943 voters, compared with 14,925 Republicans. The last time Allentown had a Republican mayor was 2002, when Bill Heydt, who died this year, finished his second term and declined to run for reelection.
Still, Zucal said he is undeterred by what appears to be an uphill battle for his campaign.
‘Let’s bring Allentown back’
Zucal’s campaign slogan is “Let’s bring Allentown back to the All-American city together,” and he has said his first priority if elected as mayor would be to address public safety. A retired police officer, Zucal has said he would oust police Chief Charles Roca and embrace “broken windows” policing, prosecuting low-level crimes like vandalism and loitering in order to, in theory, improve quality of life and discourage violent crime.
In July, Zucal posted on Facebook that his campaign was taking a “different strategy” for the general election.
“We Know what mistakes we made during the Primary,” Zucal wrote. “We are hoping for a much better time. There will be no debate. No need. My plan is still the same. Reducing Crime, Community Policing, Strong Quality of Life Initiative, Restoring Trust and Transparency and Exercising Fiscal Responsibility.”
That “new strategy” involves more direct, door-to-door voter outreach and fewer public appearances, Zucal has said.
While primary elections only allow members of a given party to vote for their nominee, any registered voter from any political party can vote in the general election, so Zucal said he is casting a wider net for support.
“This is kind of a different scenario that has never happened before in the city, where one party is running on the opposite ticket, so I am trying to cover my bases, as well as reaching out to the Democrats,” Zucal said.
In a recent campaign finance report, Zucal reported fundraising $21,279 before the primary election. He received a $5,000 contribution from the Allentown Fraternal Order of Police, which also endorsed him in a news release this year.
Chris Borick, professor of political science at Muhlenberg College, said it is “possible, but not very feasible” for a Republican to win a citywide election in Allentown. One of the only ways a victory could be achieved, Borick said, is by exploiting widespread voter dissatisfaction or other issues with Tuerk’s leadership.
But considering Tuerk’s nearly 40-point margin of victory and the advantage Democrats have in Allentown’s voter registration numbers, it could be hard to exploit any of Tuerk’s perceived weaknesses as a leader.
“In the end, it would take some inroads among Democrats [to win],” Borick said. “How do you do that? … Expose weaknesses of the Democratic candidate. Perhaps they have liabilities, weaknesses, some personal challenges, some policy problems in terms of public perception that you can leverage. And if any of those problems are really salient, for example their weakness is an issue people really care about. Maybe an issue like safety, or an issue like taxes, that you can exploit.”
Zucal has honed in on issues as a City Council member and mayoral candidate. He led the push for a vote of no confidence against Tuerk and an outside investigation by City Council into claims of racism and discrimination in City Hall — which recently were declared to be largely unfounded. He also opposed Tuerk’s proposed 2024 budget which included a tax increase.
“If people want the status quo, they’ll vote for him,” Zucal said. “If they want to move the city forward, they’ll vote for me.”
‘A referendum on the job you’ve done’
Tuerk, on the other hand, thinks he can handily defeat Zucal the way he did in the primary. His campaign took a “breather” over the summer, but Tuerk said he spent the last month campaigning heavily, knocking on doors and attending community events on behalf of his reelection efforts.
“Winning reelection, it’s really a referendum on the job you’ve done, so I did a good job over the past 2.5 years, clearly we have done well, but we still have a lot to do, and I made that case to Democratic voters in May, and I continue to make that case to all voters in Allentown,” said Tuerk, who was first elected in 2021, when he won a close Democratic primary and then defeated Republican Tim Ramos in the general election.
As mayor, Tuerk has overseen the city’s $20 million award from the federal government to address unemployment gaps, made investments in city parks and began the process of a $40 million renovation to the city’s police headquarters.
But along with that list of accomplishments Tuerk has also faced some challenges, including the public accusations of City Hall discrimination. The results of that investigation were not made public, but lawyers said they found “isolated incidents of discriminatory conduct” and a “severely dysfunctional” human resources department.
In an interview, Tuerk brushed off those concerns, saying former and current political opponents, including Zucal and City Council member Ce-Ce Gerlach, who ran for mayor in 2021, spearheaded the investigation and vote of no confidence. He felt the controversies would not affect his reelection prospects.
“I respect the work of City Council members, I do respect the roles that they have and I plan to work with them in the future, not just to get a budget passed, but to drive some real changes that make Allentown lives a little bit better,” Tuerk said.
In a preprimary campaign finance report, Tuerk reported raising $50,970. Significant contributions include $10,000 from the IBEW Local 375 union, $2,500 from IAFF Local 302 representing Allentown firefighters and IUPAT DC 21, which represents local construction workers.
The election is Nov. 4. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 20.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.
https://www.mcall.com/2025/10/01/allentown-mayor-election-2025/
