Sen. Coleman should take bipartisan approach
The Lehigh Valley has always prided itself on its local leadership and commitment to pragmatic, bipartisan and solution-oriented leadership.
Charlie Dent, Pat Browne and Susan Wild are and were rightfully regarded as calm, diligent and nonideological, resisting the extremes of both parties to find consensus, work with like-minded leaders and deliver results for their districts.
Anytime I’m given the chance to say where I’m from, I proudly reference the Lehigh Valley. Yes, I represent Allentown and Salisbury Township, and it’s an honor to do so. But I also recognize that we derive our strength from our success as a region. From Alburtis to Allentown and Slatington to Saucon Valley, we are the sum of our parts, and we share a common destiny.
Our regional leadership has recognized that and worked together accordingly. Lehigh Valley lawmakers have put aside party ideology and partisan squabbling to invest in education, strengthen our cities and grow our economy. We offer a model for politics around the country, and more importantly a path out of our current system of endless political gridlock and conflict.
People across the political divide are dissatisfied, dismayed and distrustful of government and elected officials and deeply cynical about the future. A recent Pew poll found just 4% of Americans say our political system is working well and 65% of Americans indicate that they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics.
Unfortunately, state Sen.
Jarrett Coleman, one of the Lehigh Valley’s newest senators, has taken a different approach. He’s adopted an antagonistic relationship with Allentown and hasn’t worked closely with the rest of the delegation. He’s embraced a more partisan and combative style of politics that the Lehigh Valley has historically eschewed.
I hope Coleman will change course and recognize the potential of what can be achieved when we all work together. Our region is the third-largest metropolitan region in Pennsylvania. It’s the fastest growing, has one of the fastest growing young populations in the state and is perfectly positioned to achieve even greater success over the next decade.
To capitalize on that momentum, we need to continue our record of bipartisanship and embrace our mutual fate.
We also have real challenges. Housing attainability in the Lehigh Valley is increasingly out of reach. Continued population increases and development will require us to promote smart growth, making better use of our limited land. Post-COVID impacts on office space and retail will require us to think creatively about new uses and promoting sustainability. Maintaining our quality of life and continuing to attract good paying jobs are paramount to the region’s continued success.
To solve those problems, we need to be collaborative: local, state and federal partners working in concert with one another to develop policy, identify funding and bring relief to residents. We need to reject zero-sum thinking, the notion that our communities are competing against one another, that development in one community means another is losing out or that progress in one must represent decline in another.
Over the last decade, Upper Macungie Township, which Coleman represents, grew by 32%, nearly 5 times the rate of Allentown. South Whitehall Township, also in his district, grew by 10%. That growth is certain to continue, and I welcome it. They benefit from their proximity to a thriving city, and Allentown benefits from strong communities around it.
Our cities, townships and boroughs rise and fall together. Smart growth anywhere benefits us all. Suburbanites attend shows, concerts and eat in Allentown and Allentonians benefit from open space and recreation outside the city. People commute to Allentown to work, and Allentonians work across the Valley. We flock to each other’s festivals and street fairs, from Baconfest to Blues, Brews and Barbecue. We cross municipal borders to bike and hike.
We have remarkable regional assets like the PPL Center, CocaCola Park and the IronPigs, Da Vinci Science Center, ArtsQuest, Allentown Art Museum, Miller Symphony Hall, Wind Creek, and the Crayola Factory, which everyone benefits from. As leaders, we have a role in maintaining them.
Consider a child raised in Lower Macungie Township who attends Lafayette College or returns after college, gets their first job in Bethlehem, and rents an apartment in downtown Allentown as an example of the interconnectedness we should value, not fracture.
I hope it’s one Coleman takes to heart. The Lehigh Valley needs strong cities — they’re our economic and cultural hubs, they foster innovation and economic growth, and make the Lehigh Valley even more attractive. I want his district and constituents to thrive, and our region to grow, and I’ll work with any representative or senator, Republican or Democrat, to make that happen. People are tired of political warfare, they want pragmatic and principled problem solvers. That’s what I aspire to be, and I urge Coleman to join in.