Lehigh County sheriff seeks 2nd term, cites safety of courthouse
Lehigh County Sheriff Joe Hanna is seeking a second term.
The 62-year-old former Allentown police chief said he wants to continue the work he started after winning the office in 2015, including programs aimed at making the courthouse safer and his staff more accessible to the public.
“I have been privileged and humbled to collectively serve the citizens of Allentown and Lehigh County for the past 39 years,” Hanna said in a statement. “It would be an honor to continue my commitments to the advancement and safety of our county by serving another term as your Sheriff.”
A Republican, Hanna was elected to the post long occupied by Sheriff Ronald Rossi, a Democrat who held the office since 1991.
Since being sworn in, he’s started a Community Outreach Program, in which deputies make presentations to school and community groups, and brought in Nevie, the courthouse’s first explosives detection dog. Since joining the office, Nevie has sniffed out numerous suspicious packages, including a piece of mail with traces of gunpowder on it that caused the county government center to be evacuated last month.
A graduate of Moravian College, Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command and the FBI National Academy, Hanna is a lifelong Lehigh County resident.
He served on the Allentown police force for 34 years, retiring as chief. Hanna was appointed chief in September 2013 and led the department until December of that year, when former Chief Joel Fitzgerald was hired. He then joined the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office as a county detective.
In seeking another term, Hanna touted his fiscal and managerial accomplishments. He said he’s instituted more structure in hiring practices and increased diversity in his staff, and noted that the office has received more than $300,000 in grants during his tenure.
No Democratic candidate has stepped forward to challenge Hanna yet, though the Lehigh County Democratic Committee is meeting next week.
Hanna, a father of two, lives in Lower Macungie Township with his wife, Randy Anne.
He will join his son, Jared Hanna, on the campaign trial. Jared Hanna, an assistant district attorney, is one of five lawyers running for Lehigh County Judge this year.