At least three 2025 candidates for local office in Lehigh County will no longer appear on the primary ballots after opponents successfully challenged their candidate petitions and paperwork.
Luis Acevedo, a Democratic candidate for Allentown City Council; James Pica, Republican hopeful for Southern Lehigh School Board; and Betsey Charles, a Republican candidate for the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners, were struck from the ballot Wednesday, according to
All of the challenges relate to problems with the candidates’ statement of financial interest, a requirement for local office. The statement requires prospective candidates to disclose all sources of income, and must be filed both with the county and the municipality or school district for which the candidate is running.
Acevedo submitted his statement of financial interest one day after the March 11 deadline, thus disqualifying his candidacy, according to a challenge filed by John Santana.
LoriAnn Fehnel, who challenged Charles’ petition, wrote that Charles’ statement of financial interest was incomplete when she submitted it and one of the signatures on her candidate petition was not valid.
The challenge against Pica, filed by Kyle Gangewere, said Pica failed to file his statement of financial interest with Southern Lehigh School District, although he did file it with the Lehigh County voter registration office.
Candidates for township office or school director need 10 signatures from residents of the district who are registered with the same political party, and candidates for citywide office need 100 signatures.
Petition signatures were due March 11, and following the deadline, opponents could file challenges to the candidate petitions if signees live outside of the district or are not a member of the appropriate political party, or there are other errors with their candidate paperwork. Challenges are heard by judges from the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas.
Several more petition challenges were pending as of Thursday afternoon. Tina Koren, the Republican treasurer of Whitehall Township who is seeking another term, is challenging the petitions of her opponent, Democrat Thomas Slonaker. In the challenge, Koren wrote that Slonaker — who is president of the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners — did not file a statement of financial interest by the March 11 deadline.
However, according to court documents, Koren’s challenge to Slonaker’s petition “was not properly served after several attempts.” A hearing for that case, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been pushed to Monday.
Solomon Tembo, a prospective Republican candidate for Allentown mayor, also faces a challenge for numerous alleged problems with his candidate paperwork. According to a challenge filed by Danielle Scott, Tembo lives in Salisbury Township, not Allentown, so is not eligible to run for mayor of the city. Also, at least 100 of the 140 signatures he collected in support of his candidacy are defective — several people did not list their full names, live outside of Allentown or are not Republicans, according to the challenge. A hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
In the race for district judge for District 31-2-02 in Allentown, both incumbent Jacob Hammond and opponent Derek Kirsopp are challenging each other’s candidacy. A hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Sharon Fehlinger Ricker, a Democratic candidate for South Whitehall Township commissioner, also is facing a challenge for allegedly failing to file a timely financial interest statement with the township. A hearing for the case was held Wednesday in Lehigh County Court, but no verdict has yet been made public.
Mike Millo and David Caruth, both Republican candidates for Parkland School Board, also face challenges for allegedly failing to file statements of financial interest in time. Millo’s hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday and Caruth’s is 10 a.m. Friday.
According to two candidates in Northampton County also face petition challenges: Democrat Lance Wheeler, who is running for a seat on Easton City Council; and Orlando Ortiz, who has filed to run in the Republican primary for Forks Township Board of Supervisors. Hearings are scheduled for Friday.
The primary election in Pennsylvania will take place May 20.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.
