Read on for the juiciest bits. Julian Guridy won the vote 17 -1-1, whereas I did not get a vote. So I was told that during his interview today, Julian was talking about his dad’s accomplishments. And during the nomination process, where the candidates were all seated together yet separate from the Precinct Committee Person, Julio’s name (Julian’s locally famous dad) was mentioned accidentally twice, both times almost instantly corrected to Julian. The nepotism optics look very bad, especially since Julio and I have been friends for over 43 years now.
Below are the questions I found on a sheet of paper the candidates were supposed to receive, but I did not, though I was asked these questions.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself. Why did you decide to enter the race? What does it mean to be a democrat in good standing?
- Describe for us what a PA District 22 looks like? What do you think the issues are placing District 22?
- What are your weaknesses and vulnerabilities in this campaign?
- What will your campaign look like? How do you plan on winning this race? What are your campaign strategies and fundraising look like?
During my own interview, when I was asked “What does it mean to be a Democrat”? I responded I was still pissed at the national Dems before starting to describe some of my local activist affairs. In hindsight, I should have mentioned how I ran Bernie’s campaign in 2016 and 2020. Also, in hindsight, I should have told the gathering the story about how I led people against Julio, and the rest of city council at the time were supporting the mayor’s idea of an incinerator on Klines Island called Delta Thermo that would have polluted all of East Allentown and downwind with toxic waste.
I was asked what weaknesses I perceive in my own candidacy and I told them that I’m approaching the one year anniversary of my losing my left foot, which has been a major issue with my life overall since last January. Another questioner described me as nonchalant? That same person described her dealings with the local Democrats as “Traditional”. Part of my answer was that if I were permitted to serve I would not be wearing a hoodie everyday. I was wearing one today to keep warm while I waited outside.
Another question from the audience involves that I mentioned about the bad things the Democratic party did and how I would go about bringing the party back together. At the time, I stated I already practice some form of self-censorship, that I am cognizant of any future impact of what I post publicly. My better response now is that there should be no dishonesty within the party and that we need to work these issues out now so that we may get together against the Republican machines when the time is right. And, they are watching.
One of the biggest issues about this whole experience is the fact that the so-called missing pcp’s issue should have been corrected much earlier than this and not allowed to lapse. I was told previously that some of the pcp’s that were named were not responsive and were in fact dropped because of non-participation but I didn’t press for details. There were a total of 20 pcp’s present. Two of the candidates were in fact pcp’s, both Julian Guridy and Erlinda Aguilar and were present for all interviews, as well as Joshua Siegel. A fifth candidate dropped out because of the perceived bias like “removing precinct committee persons and holding closed meetings.”.
But wait, there’s more.
Most members of my Facebook groups know I am a hardliner when it comes to membership questions and rules. I am not so sure Julian is the best pick., this pic is from last December 6th. In the Facebook group “Allentown PA community” ,with the admin assist feature turned on, it will delete a membership request in 1 hour if the rules are not agreed to and the questions go unanswered. If he answered the questions and agreed to the rules, he could have joined the fray. He has issues with rules and questions. And the nepotism optics makes Allentown look as bad as when Fed Ed ruled city hall with an iron fist.
Overall, I am glad I went through the experience, even though I did not expect to be selected, as I wanted to see the local political machine in motion, and I did. And there is just so much wrong that I had to start a petition to call out awareness. But the problems are also baked in and ignored. So yeah, long story short selecting Julian was the worst possible idea Lehigh County Democrats could have done. The optics of nepotism are all over this. And last, as I look out on the dreaded book of face at some of the members who are praising Julian and I’m thinking ” the machine has spoken”. Now, it’s my turn. This, among many other reasons is why the Democratic party must evolve beyond party machines. It’s what George would have wanted.
UPDATE:
The process was not in accordance to the bylaws and is therefore invalid so we ask the State Committee override the recommendation in Lehigh County to select a placeholder to fulfill the rest of the term. Monday, the official decision will be made by the executive committee of the PA Democratic party on whom it will select to fill Joshua Siegel’s position. . Below, please find a list of relevant emails you can send to voice your concerns about this:
SECOND UPDATE:
| PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 10, 2026 Allentown, PA – On Saturday, in collaboration with local Lehigh County leaders, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party Executive Committee officially selected Ana Tiburcio as the Democratic candidate for the special election on February 24th in House District 22. This special election is a result of the retirement of Josh Siegel who was recently elected as Lehigh County Executive. Tiburcio was nominated after Julian Guridy announced his need to withdraw from the election due to personal reasons on Friday, January 9th. “While this was unexpected, I am looking forward to this new opportunity to serve my community,” said Tiburcio. “Since I was first elected to the Allentown School Board, I have worked as hard as I can to make the lives of Allentown’s families better. I look forward to listening to the residents of this district in Allentown and Salisbury to hear their concerns and ideas on how to make our community even stronger.” Tiburcio is a dedicated public servant and community leader who has spent over a decade working to empower the families of Allentown. As an elected member of the Allentown School Board, Ana is a strong voice for educational excellence, focusing her efforts on increasing parent and teacher engagement and ensuring that all students have what they need to be successful. She holds several key leadership positions including Chair of the Education Committee on School Board and Vice Chair of the Allentown Public Library Board. Ana specifically mentioned the new Allentown Middle School being built on the East Side of Allentown as a key achievement. Ana will take that “getting things done” approach to the State Capital while being a bridge to everyone in the community so that everyone has a seat at the table. Ana is committed to:
“Better jobs, better schools, lower costs, and opportunity for everyone will be what guides my decisions in Harrisburg,” Tiburcio concluded. PA HDCC Leadership issued the following statement: “The PA HDCC is fully committed to supporting Ana – we appreciate this is an unexpected situation and appreciate Ana and local and state party leaders for stepping up. We look forward to protecting our humble Democratic Majority on February 24th.” |
Below are some links with more information:
https://www.mcall.com/2026/01/10/allentown-state-house-special-election-democrats/