ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown City Council held its annual organizational meeting Monday night at city hall.
The meeting featured the swearing in and seating of council members and Mayor Matt Tuerk.
Incumbents Cynthia Mota and Natalie Santos were joined by new members Jeremy Binder and Cristan Pungo in taking the oath of office. Binder and Pungo replace outgoing members Daryl Hendricks and Ed Zucal, who served three and two terms, respectively.
“Being sworn in for another term is truly an honor,” Mota said. “I do not take this responsibility lightly.”
“Thank you to the voters for taking a chance on me,” Binder said following his oath of office. “I entered into this without any name recognition or really a lot of background.”
“I can’t wait to continue to serve my community,” Santos said. “…I look forward to continue to represent.”
“Service to others is among the most impactful things that we can do as a people,” Pungo said.
In his speech, Tuerk said he “started the first day of his second term again thanking our city employees.” The mayor added that Allentown residents deserve a mayor and city council “to be on the same page every day showing up for our residents.”
City council also elected Santo Napoli as president and Mota as vice president.