As Pennsylvania’s primary election looms on Tuesday, several outside groups funded by unknown donors are attempting to sway voters in a key Allentown state House race with major implications for the Democratic party in Harrisburg.
Both ads are funded by anonymous groups and point to issues with the candidates’ legal records.
Democratic state Rep. Ana Tiburcio — seeking to hold onto her seat in the 22nd District that she won in a special election in February — faces a primary challenge from Ce-Ce Gerlach, an Allentown City Council member and former school board member.
More than 50% of registered voters in District 22, which includes Center City and East Allentown and a portion of Salisbury Township, are Democrats, so whoever wins the May 19 primary will be heavily favored to win in the general election. Robert Smith Jr., who lost to Tiburcio in the Feb. 24 special election, is running unopposed in the Republican primary, so he’s expected to face the Democratic primary winner in November.
All of the state House seats are up for election in November. Democrats are hoping to expand their razor-thin margin, while Republicans only need to pick up a few seats to take control of the chamber.
Here are the ads, the groups funding them, and a fact check on the claims that attack the candidates.
How 2026 primary election for Allentown Pa. House seat is exposing a rift in Democratic Party
Flyer brings up old case against Gerlach
Gerlach has picked up widespread support among left-leaning groups, including the Working Families Party and Democratic Socialists of America, as well as Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel, who represented the 22nd District until his resignation in December.
Gerlach has a progressive policy platform including advocating for a statewide law that would allow cities to enact rent control, banning companies from using algorithms to set grocery prices, expanding and fully funding the statewide whole home repair program and increasing taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents.
A recent flyer, which some Allentown residents reported receiving in their mailboxes last week, has attacked Gerlach for a criminal charge, which has since been expunged from her record, that she faced while employed at the nonprofit Valley Youth House in 2021.
In large font, the mailer claims “We can’t trust Ce-Ce Gerlach.” Citing news articles, the mailer warns readers that Gerlach “took a runaway child to a homeless encampment,” and that the child was solicited for sex and witnessed violence while there. It adds that Gerlach “Doesn’t deserve our vote.”
An anti Ce-Ce Gerlach mailer funded by the Civic Growth Initiative. (Photo Courtesy of Ben Stemrich)
In 2021, Gerlach was charged and entered a first-time offenders program for allegedly failing to report child abuse while employed at Valley Youth House, in relation to the incident described in the mailer.
She has denied wrongdoing and said she was following procedures put in place by her employer. As part of a first-time offenders program, her record has since been expunged, and she addressed the incident in a video posted to her official YouTube page.
The ad is funded by the “Civic Growth Initiative,” a 501(c)4 nonprofit — what’s sometimes referred to as a “dark money group” because such groups can spend money on influencing elections but are not required to disclose their donors. The group’s director is Charlie Thiel, a former Allentown School Board member. He did not return a phone call requesting comment from The Morning Call.
As a social welfare organization, 501(c)4 organizations like the Civic Growth Initiative are permitted to spend money on electioneering but it cannot be the “primary focus” of the organization, according to IRS guidelines. Thiel, in a publicly viewable IRS form, writes that the Civic Growth Initiative spends about 20% of its resources “to support candidates who align with our mission of community empowerment, economic development and civic engagement.”
However, political spending appears to be the group’s most visible form of activism.
The group also sent out mailers in 2025 in support of Allentown City Council candidates Jeremy Binder, managing director of consulting business Concentric Solutions, and Cristian Pungo, a construction engineer for Alvin H. Butz Construction, as well as a digital ad and mailer criticizing Natalie Santos, a progressive City Council member, for her support of an unsuccessful proposal that would have created a $4 million program to send social workers instead of police to mental health-oriented police calls.
Both Pungo and Binder said they did not know about or authorize the mailers ahead of time. All three candidates were successful in their campaigns.
According to records filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State, the Civic Growth Initiative has spent $15,802 on digital ads and mailers opposing Gerlach’s campaign and $825 on digital ads supporting Tiburcio. The group has also spent over $19,000 on mailers and digital ads supporting Democrat Bradley Merkl-Gump, who is running in the 16th state Senate district primary against Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley.
In an interview with The Morning Call, Gerlach denounced the “dark money” group attacking her campaign.
“It’s very disappointing that there are folks out there that have an opportunity to spend money on spreading positive messages and informational messages about the candidates of their choosing, and instead they are using those funds to smear to attack and hide their donors,” she said.
Website attacks Tiburcio on tax filing lawsuit
Tiburcio, also a former Allentown School Board member, has support from the state and county Democratic Party in her re-election campaign, as well as other prominent elected officials including Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk and state Sen. Nick Miller, D-Lehigh.
She has centered her campaign around bringing more state resources to Allentown, and since being elected, has introduced bills intended to support the craft beer industry and bolster hiring for teachers.
The Morning Call has viewed an automated text message sent out to Democratic voters in the district, claiming that Tiburcio “lost her client’s $9,805 tax refund — then refused to pay it back.” It goes on to say Tiburcio has “proven she can’t be trusted with your money” and “when your mail-in ballot arrives today, vote NO on Ana Tiburcio.” At least two people confirmed they received the text.
The text directs recipients to a dead link, “therealanna.com.” However, correcting the spelling of Tiburcio’s first name by removing one “N” leads to a website which contains the same claims.
The website does not include any information about who is behind it. The text sent out to voters says “paid for by KRP,” which The Morning Call was unable to identify. No group by that named has filed paperwork with the Department of State or Federal Election Commission.
According to the Pennsylvania election code, election ads must include disclosures about who finances the ad. If election ads do not disclose who is behind it, the Department of State can take action in response to a complaint.
“The Pennsylvania Department of State (DOS) reviews complaints alleging campaign finance violations and refers any apparent violations to the appropriate law enforcement authority,” said Department of State spokesperson Geoff Morrow in a written statement.
Campaign finance complaints can be filed via email at RA-stcampaignfinance@pa.gov, Morrow said.
Court records show a civil lawsuit filed against Tiburcio in 2021, in which a former tax preparation client accused her of accidentally depositing a $16,000 tax refund and stimulus checks into the account of someone else of the same last name. At the time, Tiburcio worked for Jey Tax Services.
Court records show that Tiburcio appealed the court’s $10,805 judgment against her and the company, but that the parties settled the case with all costs paid in 2021.
Tiburcio confirmed the mistake, and told The Morning Call in March that the error occurred because she had two clients with the same name. Tiburcio said she corrected the mistake, paid the client the money she was owed and settled the legal case.
Tiburcio fended off similar accusations shortly after the Feb. 24 special election.
Smith, the Republican candidate who lost to Tiburcio in the February special election, shared a Facebook post that mentioned various crimes including tax fraud and child truancy. The post does not mention Tiburcio by name, but The Morning Call confirmed with the original author that it’s about her.
Smith shared the post with the caption, “We can still fix this horrible mistake in November.”
The Morning Call found no evidence that Tiburcio has been charged with tax fraud.
She faced truancy charges in 2016 due to her children missing substantial amounts of school. According to court documents, she pleaded guilty to a charge of violation of compulsory attendance.
In a March interview, Tiburcio said her family went through a difficult period after the arrest of her oldest son, which is why they missed several days of school around that time. The difficult experience is part of what prompted her to run for Allentown School Board in 2023, she said.
Tiburcio did not respond to a phone call requesting additional comment for this story. State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, an ally of Tiburcio’s, criticized the ad’s funders for failing to disclose who they are.
“It speaks volumes to the veracity to the attack whatever group is behind can’t even disclose who they are, it’s a minimum a low bar and they failed to meet it,” Schlossberg said.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.