(From Roger MacLean's Campaign) ALLENTOWN, PA — Former Allentown Police Chief and City Council President Roger MacLean, a lifelong Allentown resident and dedicated public servant, announced his candidacy for Lehigh County Executive, seeking the Republican nomination.
"Serving Allentown has provided me with a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities within our county," said MacLean. "As Lehigh County Executive, I will leverage this experience to ensure effective governance and uphold the values that make our community strong." MacLean served 39 years with the Allentown Police Department, where he rose through the ranks from cadet to chief, managing a staff of over 200 officers and a $30 million budget. Following his retirement from the police force, he worked for the District Attorney’s Office at the James B. Martin Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center for ten years and served four years on Allentown City Council, including two as President. A proven fiscal conservative, MacLean has consistently fought to protect taxpayers. As a City Council member, he voted against a 26% tax increase and opposed the establishment of a stormwater fee.
MacLean is a staunch advocate for farmland preservation, recognizing the critical role agriculture plays in the county’s heritage and economy. He is committed to protecting farmland from overdevelopment and opposes the proliferation of unnecessary warehouses, noting the large, vacant facilities already sitting unused. Instead, MacLean supports thoughtful, strategic development aligned with the county’s long-term needs. “Lehigh County is at a pivotal moment,” MacLean added. “We must balance growth with preserving our community’s character and values. I’ve done that throughout my career, and I’ll continue that mission as County Executive.”
MacLean holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from DeSales University. A proud grandfather of two, with a third grandchild on the way, he attends Bethany United Methodist Church in Wescosville and remains deeply connected to the community.
"I am seeking the Republican nomination because I believe in time-tested conservative principles: responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars, personal accountability, and common-sense solutions that foster growth while preserving our community’s unique character," said MacLean. "I’m ready to lead with integrity, transparency, and a deep respect for the values that unite and strengthen Lehigh County."
Roger MacLean’s decades of public service, deep understanding of governance, and unwavering commitment to fiscal responsibility make him uniquely qualified to serve as Lehigh County Executive. He invites the community to join his campaign to build a stronger, more prosperous county for generations to come.
Blogger's Note: MacLean joins Justin Simmons and Mike Welsh in seeking the Republican nod for Lehigh County Exec. The winner of that race will face Democrat Josh Siegel in November.
28 comments:
McLean seems like a nice guy, but I'm more likely to vote for Mike Welsh in the primary, a guy with actual managerial and executive experience.
Well, based on yesterday’s post I suppose that both Simmons AND Welsh need to drop out now.
Love how everyone is running on McClure’s Playbook ? 🤣
I do believe simmons should rethink this. Save himself a lot of embarrassment.
Roger was a Democrat for the last 20 years on City Council. Now he is running as a Republican. He is an opportunist and, as he showed on city council, he will stab anyone in the back to get what he wants
Roger, great guy, bad candidate, many years a registered Democrat, served on the rubber stamp council when Palowski was mayor, and now with the police sex scandal hitting the press his timing couldn't be worse. Again, I don't know a person who doesn't like him, but good guys can take a beating in politics if they have a past that can be used against them in the worst light.
With all due respect, what embarrassment? The guy didn’t take any of the perks, voted more conservative than probably any LV elected official, and simply wants to prevent the county from having Josh Siegel as exec.
I honestly think the biggest reason Simmons gets shit is because he didn’t take the perks. It makes all the political hacks look bad.
I'd vote for my dog before I'd vote for Siegel.
Yeah, because running the largest police force in the Valley doesn’t give you anywhere near the same managerial experience that being a partner in a small insurance firm does.
Let’s get real!
anonymous 8:37 Yeah, Justin didn't take the perks and many of us respected him for that and worked the polls for him in the day. Sadly there is a lot about Justin that the public doesn't know but you can bet Siegel does. He will sit on it until the general if Justin is his opponent. Then it will be game over for Simmons and any hope of preventing Siegal from leading Lehigh County to left wing ruin.
A “proven fiscal conservative” with a public pension or two. Probably two, city and county.
We all know
Say what you want about Roger, he can't win the primary. He's been a registered Democrat for years and is backed by the same two people that backed our DA Ganvin Holihan the former Dem that switched to R to run for that office. Sheriff Joe Hanna and former DA Jim Martin were backing that guy now. Suckers! He was nothing but a Trojan horse for the left and has endorsed the far left punk Siegel. Now they put forward another D as an R? Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
Why? Because he’s divorced? The current President is divorced as was Ronald Reagan. Because Simmons is with a man now? Hello. It’s 2025. Get over it. Simmons was more ethical as a legislator than any of the local clowns. I don’t care about his personal life.
8:17 - Nice guy, bad candidate is how I’d describe Mike Welsh.
I remember Scott Armstrong fighting for the taxpayers while HE was on the ASD school board. But I remember Mike Welsh working to get along with the democrats on the board.
Where did that get us? Major tax hikes each year.
Maybe you can find out how he got his cushy home in Trexler Park for a dime?
Clear Justins strategy is to scream "Roger was a Democrat!!" Not sure thats effective anymore. Trump himself changed affiliation 5x over 30 years most recently from D to R a year before announcing for President. Do people care about this? The party is a populist movement now. The GOAL is to get people to become Republicans and it's happening at a rapid pace. How's this bad? Should be celebrated. For anyone to run in the city it's a pragmatic choice to run as a D. People get that.
Anybody but Siegel. Very simple.
Excuse me! Your memory is not correct. We accomplished a lot together and as I remember, we had identical voting records. I am 100% behind Mike. Very glad he's running.
Roger is a 72 year old man that looks like he came out of the walking dead. Give me a break.
That’s funny any but Siegel but let’s vote for the former police chief that had the highest crime rating in the City of Allentown.
Proof???
Phew. I'm glad it's not John McClane.
Maybe now that MacLean has switched parties his buddies Zucal and Hendrix will switch to? MacLean is a good guy the other two are closet R’s that don’t have any democratic values.
You mean you are against government officials that actually held their promise to voters by voting as he said he would. Are you against the fact that in his official acts as a sitting state representative he followed all the ethics rules? This mud slinging campaign by team Mackenzie is disgusting. Put yourself out there and run for the right reasons as he does. Simmons runs for the taxpayer not the establishment.
Scott - you’re behind Mike because your kid works for Ryan Mackenzie and Dean Browning tells you what to do. Don’t kid yourself. Keep piling up those wins Scott!
A lot about Justin? All personal. Isn’t Roger twice divorced with 6 kids? Not to mention all the pensions he has and would be getting another one as County Exec.
Obviously you haven’t been around for a while. Justin challenged his OWN party and defeated incumbent Karen Beyer in the Republican primary of 2010 and also forced Charlie Dent into retirement in 2017.
Many republicans are the problem too and I think Justin recognizes that.
That being said, Roger being an elected Democrat will kill him in the Republican primary. Different audience. It’s just not going to work.
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