EASTON, Pa. – Members of Northampton County’s new crop of leaders are settling into their roles at the government center.
On Monday, County Executive Tara Zrinski took the oath of office, followed by the newly elected members of Northampton County Council.
“We will rise together as a county government to learn, to build, to heal and to leave this place stronger than we found it,” said Zrinski during her address before a standing-room-only crowd inside courtroom one at the county courthouse.
Magisterial district judges were also sworn in during the ceremony.
The Zrinski era begins
Zrinski, a Democrat, defeated Republican County Commissioner (members of council are called commissioners) Tom Giovanni in the general election in November. She was previously elected to county council in 2017 before she won the race for county controller in 2023.
Prior to her swearing-in ceremony on Monday afternoon, she spoke to 69 News about the road ahead. Zrinski said she has hit the ground running.
“I’ve already been talking to many of the directors here under this roof about what we can possibly do for some quick wins and things that we could change right away, and also long-term goals that we’re going to be developing,” she said.
Those goals, Zrinski said, will cover areas like economic development, housing, the environment, and sustainability.
She also said she wants Northampton County to be a “good” employer: “Moving forward, we’re hopefully going to value our employees a little better.” When 69 News asked Zrinski if that meant a possible pay bump for those employees, she responded, “Obviously, we have some fiscal challenges that we are moving into in 2026, so we really have to take a close look at the budget and how it is that we could develop better compensation plans. We’re also going to be looking at health insurance and ways that we can pare that down to increase wages without actually having to dole out more money.”
Zrinski again referenced “challenges” when asked about the next county budget. Her predecessor, Lamont McClure, previously said he was leaving the county in sound financial shape; he never raised taxes during his eight-year tenure, and cut them once, in 2022. But, as 2025 drew to a close, members of county council began to vocalize more concerns about the county’s financial future. In November, they deadlocked 4-4 on a measure to beef up the county’s financial stabilization fund.
Zrinski also expressed concern about the decision made by the McClure administration to pause contributions to county pensions. McClure previously said the pensions were overfunded. Zrinski disagreed. “I really feel like that’s going to compound next year,” she said. “So although for 2026 it might look okay, come 2027 there are going to be some major challenges.”
But, like McClure, Zrinski said she would continue to prioritize preserving open space in the county, and keeping the Gracedale nursing home under county control, although she said she would explore funding alternatives for each. For Gracedale, for example, Zrinski said she would like to bolster Friends of Gracedale, a nonprofit formed to support the facility in Upper Nazareth. “I’d like to make that something that can actually maybe feed a sustainable future for Gracedale so that it’s not always a political football. In each election it seems to come up, and I think that affects both the employees and the residents there, and I would really like to see that go away.”
Zrinski is the first woman elected to the position of Northampton County executive, a fact that “looms a little bit,” she said, “only because I know that this is an opportunity to make a statement about women in leadership and how women lead. And not only how women lead, but how the public responds to that leadership.”
She called stepping into the role one of the greatest honors of her life. “I think it’s a really interesting time that we can make some transformative decisions that will really benefit everybody,” Zrinski said.
A re-shaped Northampton County Council
Five members of Northampton County Council also took the oath of office on Monday afternoon. Only one — Lori Vargo Heffner, a Democrat — is an incumbent. Democrats David Holland, Jason Boulette, Theresa Fadem and Nadeem Qayyum are now part of the body. They join returning members Ken Kraft, Jeff Warren, and Kelly Keegan, all Democrats.
Jeff Corpora and Ron Heckman, both Democrats, did not seek re-election last year.
Tom Giovanni is now the sole Republican on the nine-member panel. John Brown and John Goffredo did not win re-election in November.
During a brief reorganization meeting after the swearing-in, Kraft was elected as county council president. “Thank you for your votes, and hopefully this year goes not as contentious as the last two,” he said, after taking the gavel.
Warren was elected vice president.
Also, council’s solicitor, Christopher Spadoni, agreed to delay his planned retirement for a bit until his successor can be found. During the meeting, Keegan nominated Lamont McClure for the role, but the nomination died when it did not get a second.
Northampton County Council will meet for its first regular meeting of 2026 on Thursday, January 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the government center in Easton.
Lehigh County
In Lehigh County, Josh Siegel has officially become the youngest county executive ever in Pennsylvania.
“I think what’s exciting is I’m finally in an executive role and I have an opportunity to set the standard and the agenda,” said the 32-year-old Siegel.
The former state representative said his aspiration in this new role is to bring the region together, raise ambitions and meet the moment he said the area is in.
“I think working families are struggling right now and what they need are leaders who are willing to be bold, ambitious, audacious and accomplishing goals and objectives that are going to make their lives easier,” said Siegel.
A special election to fill his old seat in the state assembly is set for next month.