Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi says he will remain on the board while he fights drug charges stemming from a three-year grand jury investigation, denying any wrongdoing and suggesting he was politically targeted.
“I never sold drugs to anyone,” Cole-Borghi said at Wednesday’s commissioners’ meeting, publicly addressing his Aug. 28 arrest for the first time. He also plans to remain in his reelection race.
The Bethlehem resident, a commissioner since 2021, was among 22 people arrested following what authorities said was a four-state investigation into drug distribution. He was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute a pound of marijuana.
Few other details about the investigation are available because documents remain sealed. Cole-Borghi — who was arrested at Bethlehem City Hall, where he worked as the city’s right-to-know officer — is the only defendant to have been publicly named by authorities.
He suggested that his singling-out shows political motivation behind his arrest and vowed to find out who is behind it and pursue legal action. He has not received an affidavit or probable cause outlining the charges, he added.
The Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Cole-Borghi’s board colleague Antonio Pineda suggested he resign because potential conflicts of interest might arise as the board considers the recently proposed 2026 budget, which funds the district attorney’s office among other criminal justice functions.
Others spoke in his support. Commissioners Ron Beitler and Dan Hartzell both spoke of his due process rights, which Commissioner Jon Irons said Cole-Borghi has been denied.
Mike O’Hare, a member of the Lehigh County Board of Elections, said during public comment that Cole-Borghi should resign, but others spoke in the commissioner’s favor, commending his board service.
In a statement released after the meeting, Irons said Cole-Borghi, who is Black, was arrested as a part of an “expensive, discriminatory and failed war on drugs” that disproportionately targets people of color.
“Public officials and Democratic organizations have lambasted him in an effort to defame his name and manufacture political opportunity,” Irons wrote. “This behavior is sickening, especially in 2025 when it is a widely-known fact that Black men are targeted by local law enforcement and disproportionately charged in drug-related offenses.”
Cole-Borghi is running for a second term in District 3, which covers parts of Allentown, west Bethlehem, Fountain Hill, Hanover Township and Catasauqua. His opponent in the race is Republican Jacqueline Rivera, who issued a statement after his arrest calling the news “deeply troubling and disappointing.”
