Matthew Tuerk announces bid for Allentown mayor on Facebook
The 2021 Allentown mayoral race officially has its first candidate.
Matthew Tuerk, who last week left a leadership position at Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., announced Tuesday he will seek the Democratic nomination for mayor next spring.
Tuerk, 45, spent seven years at LVEDC and was most recently the vice president of business attraction, retention and expansion. Before joining LVEDC, he was assistant director of Allentown Economic Development Corp. for five years and worked for a Panamanian outdoor advertising company for four years.
During a Facebook Live announcement delivered in both English and Spanish, Tuerk said he would be an ambassador for the city and “a champion for our quality of life.”
“Myyears at LVEDCtaught me the power of partnerships and the value of building coalitions — not tearing it down and building it back from zero,” he said. “Our government will be run efficiently and effectively, and it will serve all of Allentown’s residents.”
Tuerk moved to Allentown with his wife, Karen, in 2004 after earning his MBA from the University of South Carolina. He chairs the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority board of governors and is on the executive committee of Muhlenberg College’s board of associates.
Charlie Thiel, an Allentown School Board member and business security consultant who is chairing Tuerk’s campaign, said Tuerk’s years of experience in economicdevelopmentmakehim a great candidate to lead the city.
Tuerk has two daughters, Amelia and Margot. He enjoys running and says he has completed 18 marathons. He speaks four languages and is learning Chinese.
Mayor Ray O’Connell, elected last fall to serve out the remaining two years of former Mayor Ed Pawlowski’s fourth term, said Tuesday he has yet to decide whether he will run for reelection. He promised during his 2019 campaign that he would not seek another term, but by January was no longer ruling it out.
Regardless of O’Connell’s decision, Tuerk will likely face a crowded field in the Democratic primary.
Joshua Siegel, elected to City Council last year, said Tuesday he intends to run for mayor. Ce-Ce Gerlach, also elected to City Council last year, has scheduled a campaign announcement Nov. 14, though she has not confirmed she is running for mayor.
City Council Vice President Julio Guridy has also said he is seriously considering a bid for the Democratic nomination, as has Nat Hyman, a developer, property manager and former mayoral candidate.
Patrick Palmer, who challenged O’Connell last year, and Jessica Lee Ortiz, who ran for City Council in 2017, have said in social media posts that they, too, are considering runs.
Tim Ramos, last year’s GOP nominee, said last month that he will take another shot at becoming Allentown’s first Republican mayor in 20 years.
Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 3-1 in the city of approximately 122,000.