A nomination to the Allentown Planning Commission was tabled by City Council last week, as members were concerned about potential conflicts of interest.
Hunter Daly will have to wait to see if his appointment is accepted after the council voted unanimously to have the State Ethics Commission conduct an impartial review. He was selected by Mayor Matt Tuerk to fill the seat that was vacated when member Jeff Glazier, who also served as city controller, died in May.
Daly has been a project manager and engineer for PPL Electric Utilities since April 2024. That part of his resume raised red flags for council members, who noted that city planners have to review projects, such as data centers, which will need to buy power from PPL.
“PPL stands to benefit from the construction of data centers,” Councilperson Ce-Ce Gerlach asked. “You will be deciding on data centers. Do you feel like there is a conflict there?”
Another matter is Daly’s domestic relationship with Michaela Boyer, who serves as manager of civic innovation in Tuerk’s office.
A spokesperson for Tuerk did not reply to The Morning Call.
After Managing Director Frank Kane gave an explanation of how Daly was picked over five other candidates, and Daly introduced himself, Council Vice President Cynthia Mota gave her concerns about the process.
“The whole purpose is to protect the city from nepotism and from favoritism,” Mota said. “Nepotism is the practice of giving advantages to close personal associates because of the relationship rather than the merit. In the context of this planning commission appointment, I do have concerns about whether this has been favoritism and if they have influenced the appointment process.”
Kane told council that Daly does not have a personal relationship with Tuerk.
“If you’re going to be fair, you’re going to judge the candidates on their merits,” Kane said. “There is no preferential treatment. It’s a volunteer board. It’s the mayor’s appointment.”
In an email to The Morning Call, Daly said he welcomes the ethics committee investigation.
“Public confidence in the integrity of our government is important, and I welcome an independent review of the circumstances surrounding my nomination,” he said. “I applied through the same publicly available process as any other Allentown resident and at no point sought preferential treatment or special consideration. The decision to nominate me was Mayor Tuerk’s, with whom I have no personal relationship.
“I’m confident in how I’ve conducted myself throughout this process and am happy to cooperate with any appropriate review. I believe my qualifications and experience speak for themselves, and my interest in serving this community remains sincere.”
Daly, a 2021 graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey whose resume includes time as a senior project engineer at Lutron Electronics in Coopersburg, said he was attracted to the position because “civic engagement has been important to me since I was old enough to vote.”
“I believe we all have a responsibility, to the extent we’re able, to stay informed and participate in our government,” Daly said in the email. “I’ve served as the elected Majority Inspector of Elections in Allentown’s 5th Ward for approximately a year, taking time away from work and other obligations to help administer our elections.
“When I learned of an opening on the Planning Commission in May, I saw an opportunity to expand my involvement in local government while putting my engineering and project-management experience to use for the community. I applied through the City’s publicly available application process.”
Kane was asked to go through the qualifications of the other five candidates.
He said the applications that were received through the city portal included retail managers, a Salesforce employee, and another engineer, but defended Daly’s engineering background as highly qualified for the board.
Daly said he consulted with PPL’s disclosure and review process and received approval from the company’s Compliance & Ethics Department.
“As part of that process, I am required to recuse myself from matters involving PPL and its affiliate companies or matters that could present a conflict of interest related to my employment with PPL,” he said. “I am fully prepared to do so, including abstaining from discussion and voting, and will refrain from voting if there is any uncertainty about a potential conflict.”
Daly said he realized that his ties may raise questions about his nomination.
“I understood that my relationship with a member of the Mayor’s staff could raise questions, and I took that seriously throughout the application process,” he said. “My decision to apply was entirely my own, and I never sought to use my relationship to influence the appointment. We’ve never attempted to conceal our relationship, nor have we felt the need to publicly advertise our personal lives.”
“I understand why questions are being asked and am comfortable addressing them openly and honestly.”
Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.