NorCo's 2023 Candidates: Let Silly Season Begin!

Most readers of this blog already know this, but let me explain how a person runs for local office here in Pa.  You have to do a bit more than call the Register and say, "Put me on the ballot, damn it!" What you really need is a number of like-minded registered voters from your own party who are willing to tell the Elections Chief, "Put him on the ballot, damn it! Instead of doing this in person, they make their wishes known with something called a nomination petition. They sign it, and a circulator swears to the Blessed Virgin Mary that he saw it, too.  February 14 was the first day that nomination petitions could be circulated, the start of what is known as silly season. On the coldest and darkest days of Winter, judicial hopefuls Nancy Aaroe and Brian Panella navigated the hills of Bushkill and Bethlehem in a quest for signatures. It's the only time of year people visit me. I don't answer, but they can hear me in the background saying, "It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again!" Yesterday was the last day I could play that game. All nomination petitions were due at the end of the day, unless you're running as an independent. What follows is an unofficial list of the contested races, excluding school board races. I will list those candidates in a separate post. .

NorCo Judge's race: Those nomination petitions are filed in Harrisburg. Brian Panella and Nancy Aaroe cross-filed on both the Democratic and Republican sides. They are the only candidates. 

NorCo Council D1 (Bethlehem): Democrat Ken Kraft will face Republican William Rowe. 

NorCo Council D2 (Easton): Incumbent Kerry Myers is facing a primary challenge from fellow Dem Kelly Keegan. Maybe he can tweet her about it. No Republican is running. 

NorCo Council D3 (Nazareth): Democrat Jeffrey Warren faces Republican Casey Foreman.

NorCo Council D4 (Slate Belt & Northern Tier): Republican Tom Giovanni is running unopposed. Democrats could easily field a candidate, but Giovanni has earned their respect as a hard worker with common sense. 

District Attorney: Incumbent Terry Houck faces a primary challenge from former Judge Steve Baratta, a fellow Democrat. No Republican has filed. Barring a write-in campaign, this race will be decided in the primary.  

County Controller: Tara Zrinski and Nadeem Qayyum have filed as Democrats. Republican John Cusick is unopposed. 

Allen Tp Supervisor (2 yr): Gary Behler and Paul J Link have filed as Democrats. Jason Frack is the sole Republican. 

Bangor Borough Council (3 seats): The sole Democrat is Mark Sperling. Three Republicans - Forrest Meyers, Rosemarie Capone and Barry Schweitzer  - are running. Meyers is a member of the Steve Lynch mob.  

Bethlehem City Council (3 seats): Incumbent Michael Colon is running, along with fellow Democrats Colleen Laird, Ricky Butler, former Council member Bryan Callahan and Celeste Dee. It's nice to see Bryan back in the saddle. His viewpoint is sorely missed. Also, in a refreshing sign of small "d" democracy, Republicans Thomas Ginther and Devin Brunges are running. Shit, my brother was right when he said two Republicans would run! 

Bethlehem Tp Comm'r At-Large (1 seat). Incumbent Luke Verdes is facing former Comm'n Prez Mike Hudak on the Democratic side. On the GOP side, former Comm'r Paul Weiss is facing Steven Greco. 

Bethlehem Tp Comm'r W1 (1 seat): DeeAnn L Lawrence is running unopposed on the D side of the ticket. She will face the winner of a GOP primary that includes three candidates - former Comm'n Prez Art Murphy, Rodman J Law and Wayne Buller. 

Bethlehem Tp Comm'r W3 (1 seat): Incumbent John K Gallagher is running unopposed as a Democrat. The sole GOP candidate is Yuri Kulischenko. 

Easton Mayor: Mayor-for-Life Sal Panto faces a Democratic primary challenge from Council member Pete Melan. No Republican is running. I think Panto has been in office long enough, but Melan's only chance was a three-way contest. 

Easton City Council (3 seats): Seven Democrats and zero Republicans are running: The Dems include Downtown Kenny Brown, former Easton School Prez Frank Pintabone, Constable Lance Wheeler, Dave O'Connell, Ken Greene, Crystal Rose and Kurt Carlson. 

Forks Tp Supervisor (1 seat): Democrat Dean Turner and Republican Huntingdon Keim will square off in November. 

Glendon Borough Council (3 seats): Three Democrats and two Republicans are running. The Democrats are Jeffrey M Muschlitz, Donna Breidinger and Michael Veres. The Republicans are Kathryn J Harstine and Kurt Ostrander.  

Hanover Tp Supervisor (2 seats): Three Democrats and three Republicans are running for their party nominations. The Democrats are incumbent Susan Lawless, Stephen Gross and Jean E Versteeg. The Republicans are incumbent John "Jack" Nagle, former Twp Manager Jay Finnigan and Barry Check. 

Hanover Tp Supervisor (1 seat, 2 year term): Stephen Gross and Jean E Versteeg seek the Democratic nod. Barry Check and Jay Finnigan are the GOP candidates. 

Hanover Tp Auditor: Stephen Gross and Jean E Versteeg seek the Democratic nod. 

Hellertown Borough Council (3 seats): Four Democrats and one Republican are running. The sole Republican is Andrew Hughes. The four Democrats are Liz Thompson, Larry Sutton, Lynley Solt and Michael T McKenna. 

Hellertown Borough Council (1 seat, 2 year):  Four Democrats and no Republican are running. The four Democrats are Liz Thompson, Larry Sutton, Lynley Solt and Michael T McKenna. 

Lehigh Tp Supervisor (2 seats): This is Republican territory, so no Democrats are running. There are four Republican candidates - Michael Jones, Richard C Rehrig, Phillip Gogel and Cindy Miller. 

Lehigh Tp Supervisor (1 seat, 2 year): There are two Republican candidates, Janet Sheats and Patrick Vanderploeg. 

Lower Mt Bethel Supervisor (2 seats):  There are three Democratic candidates - Sandra Newman, Samantha Burns and Christopher M Cook. 

Lower Nazareth Tp Supervisor (2 seats): Three Democrats and one Republican are running. The Democrats are Robert Hoyer, Nancy Teague and Elizabeth Williamson. The Republican is Amy L Templeton. 

Lower Saucon Tp Council (3 seats): A proposed landfill expansion always makes for interesting elections, especially when the landfill pours money into the race against people like incumbent Democrat Priscilla deLeon, a long-time landfill critic. She is joined in this race by fellow Democrats and landfill critics Victoria Opthof-Cordaro and Laura Ray. Incumbent Republican Sandra Yerger, to her credit, voted No to a zoning change that makes the expansion all but a reality. She is seeking re-election, and is joined by Republicans Mark Inglis (he voted Yes), Susan Blair and Kathy Pichel-McGovern. 

Northampton Borough Council W1: Democrat Judith A Haldaman and Republican Thomas Gehringer will face each other in November. 

Northampton Borough Council W4: Republicans Anthony S Lopsonzski and Jason Donohue are running. 

N Catasauqua Boro Council (3 seats): Three Democrats (Jessica Cope, Adam R Landis and Michelle Hazzard) and two Republicans (Scott Holmes and Mark S Gioielli) are running. 

Palmer Tp. Supervisor (1 seat): Two Democrats and five Republicans are running for just one seat! Somebody's angry.  The Democrats are Charles Bellis and Baron Vanderburg. The Republicans are Andrew Rossi, Charles Diefenderfer, Kristopher Grube, Colin M Burke and Phil Taverna. 

Pen Argyl Borough Council W2: Democrat Janell Connolly and Republican Steven A Goffredo will see each other in November. 

Pen Argyl Borough Council W4: Democrat Joann Anderson and Republican Charles J Kandl, Jr will see each other in November. 

Plainfield Tp Supervisor (2 seats): Matt Glennon is the sole Democrat, and a whopping six Republicans are fighting over one seat. They are Jane Mellert, David B Johnson, Sr., Ken Field, Kenneth Fairchild, Nolan Kemmerer and Melissa Finken. 

Plainfield Tp Supervisor (1 seat, 2 year): Matt Glennon is the sole Dem. There are three Republicans - Jane Mellert, Ken Field and David B Johnson, Sr. 

Roseto Borough Council (3 seats):  Democrats Carl Renna and Joseph C Angelini will face Republicans Kenneth Tillman and Mark A Goffredo, Jr.  

Stockertown Borough Council (4 seats):  Stockertown needs an enema. Its Mayor, a convicted felon, was forced to resign. Its Council President, Amy Richard, referred to persons of color as "jungle monkeys."  Richard is seeking re-election, and is joined by fellow Republican A Joseph Gosnell. Hopefully, he disavows her blatant racism. The Democrats running are Cynthia M Hower, Rosemarie Wenzelberger and Kathleen Zdonowski. Since Wenzelberger is also running unopposed for Mayor, Richard is virtually assured of re-election unless people wake up and throw her out of office. 

Tatamy Borough Council (4 seats):  Democrats Pamela Pearson and Daniel Dewey will face Republicans Michael Lester, Joe Torrisi, Robert C Wagner and Deborah E. Frace. 

Upper Mount Bethel Tp Supervisor (2 seats):  What's going on up in the far north is bizarre. One supervisor is under investigation for ethics violation, and Twp manager Ed "Santa Claus" Nelson was just suspended a week without pay for handing out a no-bid contract to one of his pals. One of the Democratic candidates listed for Supervisor might be its suspended township manager, Ed Nelson. A nomination petition under that name has been filed. Ed Nelson is joined by fellow Democrat Jason Albert. The two Republicans running are James E Potter and Cori Eckman. 

Upper Nazareth Supervisor (two seats): William Bartlett (husband od Becky Bartlett?) is the sole Democrat running. The Republican candidates running are Scott Sylvainus, Bill Whyte and Charlene G Petrozelli. Sylvinus is running literally, too. I saw him on the Tatamy Trail on Sunday, moving pretty fast for an old fart. He tells me he stretches a lot. 

Blogger's Note: My thanks to Northampton County's elections office for its help in this unofficial report identifying the candidates.