Up until this point, McClure has served in county government both as a Council member and as Executive. He was initially appointed to a County Council vacancy in 2006 and thereafter won and held the seat for two terms. He was elected County Executive in 2017 and is in the final year of his second term. He previously announced he would not be seeking a third term. Now we know why.
As Executive, McClure steered the county through a pandemic and a statewide shutdown. He insisted that county offices remain open and found a way to funnel $25 million to small businesses in the county that were hanging by a thread. He's never proposed a tax increase and actually cut taxes in 2022 while simultaneously reducing the size of county government by nearly a third. He restored medical benefits to employees after they had been cut by the pervious Executive.
As a member of county council, he was at the forefront of the battle to save the county's nursing home, which he has always called "a moral obligation." As Executive, he made sure it is now also county operated instead of through a private administrator. He has also persuaded Council to start a daycare at the nursing home for the children of employees.
He has had failures, too. Most notably, there were problems in the 2019 and 2023 elections. Though the county purchased the best voting machine available - the ExpressVote XL- the vendor failed to align about a third of the machines before the 2019 election and botched the coding of the machines prior to the 2023 election. He has also had to deal with a County Council that, unlike many legislative bodies, has been flexing its biceps in a much-needed demonstration that there are actually three, and not one, branch of government. Most of them were no-shows at yesterday's announcement.
Before Mackenzie's 1% victory last year, the seat had been held by Susan Wild. Whether she herself is running is unclear, but I'm told that she has been beating the bushes to find a woman with a STEM background to take on Mackenzie. She was MIA at yesterday's announcement.
Susan Lawless, who chairs Hanover Township's Board of Supervisors and was one of the introductory speakers, cited McClure's accomplishments but said there was one overriding reason to support him. "He can win," she declared.
McClure condemned "the chaos that Trump and Elon Musk are causing in Washington, D.C. today. It's completely unnecessary." He said he was able to cut taxes and reduce the growth of county government by 31% over 7 years "without creating chaos. We don't need a bully like Elon Musk to come into the courthouse and fire people. We did this in a sensible manner. And not only did we do it in a sensible manner, we did it without cutting core services. In fact, we expanded core services."
He also discussed what he called Ryan Mackenzie's "values." "Mackenzie has shown us a little bit about what he values ... Let's take his focus on Medicare repeal. That's a value, right? Let's take his vote on Medicaid repeal. That's a value. He's showing his values. His assault on Americans' health care, he's demonstrating his values."
"What has he said to condemn the pardon of the January 6 insurrectionists?" McClure asked. "He's always lecturing me about support of law enforcement. By the way, I support law enforcement. Since I've been county executive, we have funded the police and fire and EMS to the tune of $2 million despite the fact that that is not part of our core responsibilities. So we support law enforcement, but Ryan Mackenzie did not criticize President Trump when he pardoned those insurrectionists. That demonstrates his values.
He also asked why Mackenzie has failed to criticize "Putin's aggressive invasion of Ukraine. I have not. Have you heard him say 'I stand with Ukraine' onto victory. I have not. But I stand with Ukraine onto victory. These are my core values."
McClure said he learned his values from his late father, a former director of Carbon County Housing Authority, "who lives on in my heart every day." From his father, he learned that "one of the most dignifying things in life was to be able to provide a roof over your family's head."
It's on.
92 comments:
Did McClure say anything when Joe Biden pardon his son, his brothers, and other family members along with Adam Schiff and the rest of the corrupt January 6th committee? He perfect for the democrats with election discrepancies. He has zero personality, it’s his way or the highway, ask council. Americans have spoken. They are tired of the woke left. Can McClure explain where all the American funding went for the Ukraine war? Zelinski can’t. Enough with lining the pockets of corrupt Ukraine. Trump and the republicans have done more in 6 weeks than Biden did in 4 years. Promises made, promises kept. Can’t wait for Susan Wild challenges him. Let the fun begin. Ryan’s got an easy victory for reelection.
Bernieohare to the first commenter: yes Americans have spoken and get to do so again in 2026.
These damned democrats are as pesky as horse flies and are full of horse manure.
Wow! Should be interesting when a less biased source than you reports on this as you are a McClure schill. He used tax increase money form Brown plus all the federal money to fund his no tax increase budgets. As well as sweetheart deals with a union leader that halted union healthcare rates but screwed over employee wages. He even made the non-union employees help pay for the union discount. Do you people know how much of your union dues will be poured into his campaign? A lot. He even opposed a pay study.
The who's who of dem officials is a bit overstated, Keegan? He put her on county council, so she owes him. His unwellness to work with others and my way or the highway attitude will just be another bump on the log jam of congress.
He made sure only union companies can qualify county contracts. Gracedale was saved by a group of citizens as McClure was unable to sway any council votes to save it. The Home is swimming in the red and he has not made it function better. Job vacancies are epic.
So, yes it will be good to get the other side of the story" from more objective outlets. This will be wild!
These politicians need term limits and office limits
Imagine the fraud in local governments across our state also the state government of pa. We need Musk here.
No more Democrats look what they did to our country besides they want boys to play in girls' sports.
So he’s basically using all the lefty talking points that they lost the presidential election on. Seems like a solid plan. Lol.
Glad to hear this news...and to the first commenter...are you better off now than you were 6 weeks ago? Future is not looking good for the ordinary citizen for the next 4 years.
Speak to the county employees. He has no support there. He’s not even a good campaigner. Just barely won his council seat. Anyone but him.
The word salad, Kamala-light biddy who claims Mackenzie wants to repeal Medicare should a source. She can't. She's lying. Those who needlessly frighten the elderly are lower than whale sh.... Not an honest start to a campaign. But McClure is not an honest politician who cares about but himself. Lamont didn't scare the elderly. He ignored them while they died alone at Gracedale. FACT.
Will Ryan vote to continue the Biden/Pelosi bloated budget spending via another CR? If he does why did we vote for him over Wild?
Based on the last month of lunacy, the midterms will be a bloodbath and Mackenzie will be sent packing. Moderates will be the ones claiming victory in 2026, so if McClure truly wants the seat, I recommend a campaign that speaks to the sane (moderate democrats/republicans). I also suggest he make a concerted effort to lose weight because his constant sweating concerns me.
Ryan Mackenzie has been in the position a month; I haven't even seen a sign that he's saving some pet project yet. This is getting stupid, well I am announcing I am running for congress too, im sure whoever wins in 2026 will be a disappointment. Therefore, I will be running as a TeapartyProgressiverepublicrat in 2028. Send money (Lots of it!) to WWW. future website. - Cicero
God help Pennsylvania if McCluless wins. I certainly will not vote for him and I will tell all my friends not too.
I hope Wild and a young progressive enters the race. Let’s make it interesting! Bernie loves McClure but I’m not so sure he’s that popular. He’s never been tested by a good candidate. I think the Dems win big this midterm though so if it’s McClure he’s got a great shot.
How old is McClure? He’s an unhealthy dude he should be bike riding with Bernie and laying off the scotch. He goes to Washington he’ll be a 500 pound fat cat. Bernie you should run a get healthy program for all the politicians what you did for yourself was great!
McClure - I can't think of anything remotely polite or printable to type.
This clown can’t even run an election! He says he wants to help the middle class? His employees hate him!
Get rid of all politicians but who do you replace them with --more politicians NO HOPE
McClure condemned "the chaos that Trump and Elon Musk are causing in Washington, D.C.
Chaos??? Do you or him realize he is in the 20th percentile when it comes to DOGE? They have a 76% approval rating per Harvard Harris poll. This proves he is a partisan. Does he approve our tax money going to an Iraq sesame street? How about 74 million for "inclusive Justice" in Colombia? Or 79 million to "Primary Literacy" in Kenya? Or 8 million to "reduce stigma for LGBTQ people" in Lesotho. Where the hell is Lesotho? Dems are mad they got caught throwing our tax money away. Was it chaos when Biden pardoned his family? I am sure he will address all these questions
https://wsau.com/2025/02/24/new-harvard-harris-poll-nearly-80-of-respondents-support-doge-cutting-government-waste/
Ryan all the way hooray! Bye bye Lamont.
Politicians aren't inherently bad ... it's a profession ... must judge the individual and whether or not they have skills to bring to the job.
Your comments are a treasure trove of misinformation. Neither Doge, Trump, nor McClure have a high approval ratings! They're all completely unlikable narcissists who don't belong to either party unless the party is the party of borderline-personality-disordered individuals (the BPD party)
"a young progressive" ...How about Natalie Santos?
Ryan... your republican talking points get old. Pro tip don't have your spy wear sunglasses when he comes into an event. Big give away.
Better than the GOP bending the knee and kissing the Trump ring. Or Elon... who is the real president?
John Brown... aren't you up a little late this evening?
Yeah like career politician Ryan McKenzie! Oh and his mother for that matter too.
He won a council seat that has been sliced and diced for years. The fact that he won purple districts makes him perfect for the PA-7. Try and educate yourself a little bit.
Lamont should submit a bullet point list of five things he did this week. Getting out of bed, picking one's nose, taking a dump and wiping, shining Ryan Mackenzie's shoes, and sticking pins in a chubby Susan Wild voodoo doll do not count. I eagerly await Lamont's list.
I'm sure he will need the votes of you and your two friends in the bunker with you.
McKenzie's list:
1. Worried about McClure
2. Wrote a speech about McClure and asked daddy speaker to let me read it on the house floor.
3. Dreamed about where I fit in the Trump Dictatorship
4. Made a list of how I am going to spend my DOGE dividened
5. Sat at my desk, brought my staff in, and said, "Look I am a real congressman, kinda, now how does Trump want me to vote?"
Young progressive = I am gonna raise a lot of money, piss it away and lose by double digits. Next!
Yeah he’s a walking heart attack. One good thing Trump has done is pushed the Democrat party back to the center. No more lunacy like calling moms “inseminated persons.” If they want to win moderates have to take back the D party!
Lamont giving nazi salute? Welcome to federal politics.
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2025/02/northampton-county-executive-announces-hes-running-for-congress.html
Will Lamont be parking in a handicap space at the Capitol for days on end? He certainly can't walk the hill in Easton, as John Stoffa did.
This is so true. And Lamont will beat this boot licking P.o.S. Handily and we can send him back to the nazi camp he came from
Lol pro law enforcement. How long did the sheriff's go without a contract?? How short is the jail right now... just the two law enforcement departments he's in charge of. Maybe if the jail was 70 officers short not 60 it would be a problem. ICE had to wait outside again because of him.
Why doesn't the jail get people, the pay.why does the county have hiring problems the pay. McClure made his numbers off the back of the union employees at the county not giving them their steps. Just like his girl Keagan said the steps are guarantee not negotiated. His boys told her to shut up. And she did. There goes her votes from the unions.
He is for the working man. Hey working man out in his district come talk to the actually working people in the county. We will tell how he helps the working man. Tell you to bend over.
This county employee will do everything for the truth to be told and for him to lose this election. Hopefully someone runs against him so he can lose in a primary.
That’s one of the issues MAGA uses to captivate the small-brain voters.
You, for example.
And the voters will speak again. Let's see what they say the next time. Good luck Democrats!
Promises kept?
End the war in 24 hours … cut prices on Day One … your Lord Orange promised things anybody with a brain knew he couldn’t do but you still worship him.
I'm sure you're exaggerating how many friends you have.
This guy is gonna be a great congressman! By the time his term concludes, the Navy is going to name a ship after him! Bethlehem Township will rename a
street in his honor! There will be a national day of celebration! La-Mont! La-Mont! La-Mont! La-Mont!
LOL weakest argument ever. See what is happening to our country now? Notice all prices climbing? Notice crime rates are rising? Notice stock markets falling due to Trump’s antics and threats? Probably not, Fox News doesn’t show the truth. If you google those you’ll find the truth. I miss the last four years!
So, my first competitor for the next election has appeared. No, I have not stopped and in fact will continue to run, as I believe I am the best person to represent the entire PA-07th congressional district and not just half of it. . And not someone who still believes in fairy tales like the defective by design ES&S Expressvote XL. Or believing in proprietary, black box tech by accepting the results of a flawed election instead of calling for a new one. Hand marked paper ballots are the way forward.
Can't believe any Union would back McClure after the way he treats his own (county) employees
Biden completely destroyed this nation on every issue possible and the stupid democrats think trump can change all Biden issues in 4 weeks Don't worry dems it will all change for the good Even if you want boys in girl locker rooms
9:24 wrong Politicians are bad people period They do nothing right and many times they are corrupt and use the system for their benefit. Our system brings these people out.
The lefty people who write into this blog are assholes it is easy to see why the left is dying right in front of our eyes.
The ruthless meat ax approach of Musk and Trump are starting to affect people who voted for Trump and are now regretting it. It won’t be long until some of the Trump sycophants who write on this blog are affected. I don’t think there are billionaires who follow this blog. 2026 will be a turnaround year for the Democratic Party.
You me as t yo say the Right is dying didn’t you?
Hmm … record high stock markets … record low unemployment … I didn’t need saving.
If you need the government to save you, you’re a loser.
I prefer clay tablets.
We are going to get 2 years of BO butt kissing his man crush
I couldn't vote for either candidate. I wrote-in Yosemite Sam. In fairness. polls indicate he's more popular now than he was before inauguration and those of us who must pay bills and balance budgets love it. What is a meat ax? I've heard of a meat clever. Trump owns you. He picks the right side of 80-20 issues and forces you to defend wars and waste and grooming kids in schools. That's what McClure supports. You're a cat chasing a laser pointer. It's delicious to watch. Here kitty kitty. Want a treat?
Too bad the federal people are losing their so called jobs
be prepared to have mccluess use his federal office against you if you ever disagreed with him on anything or he didn't get his way ... he and the orange man have a lot in common
He has a terrible personality, an average, at best Executive, but don't worry, Bernie will be providing cover for him till election day.
Get off MSDNC/ CNN and you might have a clue what's going on- no wonder the liberal media is imploding before our eyes. For starters: Cease fire in Gaza, Hostages released, trade agreements re-negotiated, minerals agreement with Ukraine, World leaders are finally respecting us again, and he's only been in office 6 weeks. Dems always revert to "Orange Man Bad" and wonder why they're getting their asses kicked!
Trump addresses real issue. MCclure makes decisions based on political affiliation and not talent
I hope Trump continues to shove it up the ass of farmers.In the past the farmers were practically standing in line to lick Trumps boots. Now the farmers are crying the blues. What goes around comes around.
He really shouldn’t run but he will matter what.
As a former County Employee it appears he treats them very well. I haven’t seen pay freezes or benefits cut. It has not always been that way.
The party with an official antisemitic arm is still calling others "nazi?" Not all Democrats are antisemitic. But nearly all antisemites are Democrats. Calm down. Dems haven't been this upset since Lincoln took away their slaves.
He needs to feed his narcissistic ego
Me thinks you had a stroke while typing that babble. Hope you're okay.
He should definitely run. He can win. Judging by MacKenzies recent actions he knows it to.
You miss all time high inflation, open borders, illegals murdering, raping and robbing Americans. Using our tax dollars to give them free housing, medical care education while Americans suffering. Man playing in women’s sports. War on Ukraine and Israel. The list goes on. And you miss that? You’re a sick individual.
McClure has not the physical strength or common sense appeal
to win. He’s bullcrapped his way so far. Who announces this early unless he needs money? Jim Irwin endorsed him? Oh my.
Hell yeah! Way better off. Illegals being deported, borders closed, no man on women’s sports, drill baby drill, EV mandates dead, on our way to being energy independent, hostages being freed, weaponized DOJ gone. So much in only 6 weeks. Wow! In Four years America will be the greatest. Dementia Joe can retire in a nursing home and corrupt democrats heading to jail. Yeah, so much better off.
And then you woke up and realized he’s a loser.
Record high inflation. Record illegal immigration. Worst foreign policy president in history. His team committed treason by hiding his dementia.
Dude the guy has been president for 3 weeks this is Biden’s America for at least a year. Shit Obama was in his fifth year and he was still crying George Bush George Bush.
Democrat here - Lamont and Tara will never get my vote. They don't care about workers, the environment, or anything other than their own elections. These aren't thoughtful leaders interested in the well-being of our county or country - they only want power for themselves and they aren't even good at hiding it. I hope a decent Dem actually runs
Well that makes his sudden idea of putting a county staffed early voting center directly within Lehigh University transparent. He's trying to squeeze out some extra democrat votes next year. Somehow I doubt this program expands into the Slate Belt by 2026 if Tara wins.
So, the BS story about not running to executive b for a third time respects the will of the people is a true bs story, that you gleefully wrote for your boy. He is often referred to as out minor league Trump. Same personality and actions. Hopefully Wild runs as, other Than a few dem bot women in the county most will not support him. He has never run against a strong candidate, ever. He punked out when Cusick ran in his 'district, and his two executive wins were over two of the biggest boobs in the county. Now he thinks he is going to get a pass like you always gave him. In the big leagues? Not a chance. His riding th fence is over. Progressives and liberals will be heart broken. He will get plastered and the truth about this administration and McClure will be told.
Of course Jim endorsed him, along with almost every other labor leader in the Valley.
I guess this is the new norm but constant campaigning really is abhorrent. Wild and Mackenzie spent about $37M combined in their campaigns and it's safe to assume both these Mac Daddies will spend well over $40M for the privilege of grunting "yup" to the party line while collecting the $174K annual salary. The people and PACs pumping all this money in to these campaigns are just disgusting pigs. Use that money to better society, not appoint an automation who just bobs his head to the will of the party.
Anonymous 1:33..
Trade agreements were not renegotiated. And you do realize the last trade agreement with US and Canada/Mexico was done by Sir Orange? Tariffs were put in place that’s not renegotiating trades agreements. Canada accounts for less than 1% of illegals and fentanyl to come into our country yet tariffs on them?
Peace in Gaza? lol that was due to meetings and such by the previous administration not Sir Orange. As many red hat wearing, misinformed peasants you have your facts all wrong. Maybe you should stop watching Fox and whatever social media Trump uses! Oh and the world laughs at us, you may think it’s cool but no other D or R caused this much concern with allies. He’s an embarrassment and so are you for your lies!
McClure never ran against a quality opponent, so this will be interesting.
10:08 Ryan is an improvement over Wild, that's for sure. McClueless is an embarrassment, just like Zrinski.
1:33 Lies? I'm a registered independent, who didn't vote for "Orange Man." You and the rest of your ilk always revert to gutter sniping- no wonder your party is lost and will never win another election being on the wrong side of 80/20 issues!
Get this man a suit that fits and a shirt that he can button at the neck and knot a tie. Good God, he is running for Congress. He did run in 2013 in a dem primary for executive and came in last. So, if you want to help the man, be realistic.
3:31 am who else ran in 2013 for Lehigh County Commissioner and lost? Instead of posting late at night maybe get a goodnight sleep and bake a cake when you wake up.
Real issues like “The Gulf of Northampton.”
i hear the epstein and diddy families are backing lamonts campaign....
Dems push the socialist party line that was just rejected by the majority in the last election . Out with McClure and every Democrat in the Lehigh Valley . MacKenzie is no prize but at least he supports conservative values . Maybe another republican can step up and primary MacKenzie ? We want common sense leadership . McClure and the Dems cannot provide that .
so Harvard/Harris polls are fake news? I purposely use democrat leaning links so when dems say that's misinformaiton I am using their outlets to make them look like fools. Can't get for left than Harvard
Wow that is a dumb comment
He stands about as much chance of beating McKenzie as Harris did beating Trump.
What a buffoon!
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