{"id":119871,"date":"2026-02-21T13:34:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T13:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/119871\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T13:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T13:34:07","slug":"special-election-in-lehigh-valley-for-pa-house-seat-is-days-away-a-look-at-the-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/119871\/","title":{"rendered":"Special election in Lehigh Valley for Pa. House seat is days away. A look at the candidates."},"content":{"rendered":"

Armchair Lehigh Valley content is published on lehighvalleylive.com<\/a> as part of a partnership with the website, which aims to give voters nonpartisan factual information. Armchair Lehigh Valley is run by publisher Katherine Reinhard and editor Robert H. Orenstein. For more information, or to subscribe, visit armchairlehighvalley.substack.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two candidates are on the ballot for the Feb. 24 special election<\/a> to fill a state House seat that opened when Democrat Joshua Siegel resigned after being elected as Lehigh County executive in November.<\/p>\n

Democrat Ana Tiburcio and Republican Robert E. Smith Jr. were chosen by their respective parties to run for the seat in the 22nd House District for a term that ends Nov. 30. A separate election, featuring the May 19 primary and the Nov. 5 general election, will be held for 2027-28 term.<\/p>\n

The 22nd District includes all of East Allentown, parts of Center City Allentown and three wards in eastern Salisbury Township.<\/p>\n

Both candidates have experience on the Allentown School Board. Tiburcio is a current member of the school board, having been elected in 2023 as the top vote getter. Smith served on the Allentown School Board for 16 years beginning in 2003 and was selected to be the school board president five times.<\/p>\n

Smith said he has lived on Allentown\u2019s east side for decades. He is a program specialist at New Vitae Wellness and Recovery in Limeport.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, our families are being squeezed by record inflation, rising energy costs and concerns over public safety,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI\u2019m not a career politician. I\u2019m a health care professional and a public servant who knows how to work with both sides to get results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tiburcio, who is a graduate of Dieruff High School, said she has lived in Allentown for 27 years. She owns A&M Tax & Services and is a program coordinator for the Fine Feather Foundation, according to her LinkedIn account.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been living in district 22 and my issues are affordability, fair education, and affordable housing,\u201d Tiburcio said. \u201cI\u2019m here to fight for our families and to be the voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The race is considered pivotal to both parties for control of the state House.<\/p>\n

Currently, Democrats hold a 100-98 advantage, with five vacancies to be filled by special elections, including the 22nd. To maintain a majority, Democrats must win two of the five.<\/p>\n

The 22nd has 31,669 registered voters, according to the most recent state data.<\/p>\n

Democrats lead registration with 16,812 voters or 53% of the voters.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a 17 percentage-point drop from 2022 when nearly 70% of the voters were Democrats. Republicans have 6,654 voters or 21% of the voters.<\/p>\n

Voters registered as unaffiliated (independent) outnumber Republicans with 7,176 voters or 22.6% of the voters. Another 1,057 voters or 3% belong to other parties.<\/p>\n

The 22nd, which has about 62,000 residents, is the poorest House district in the Lehigh Valley with 23.2% living below the poverty line. About 62% of the residents are Hispanic.<\/p>\n

Smith is making his third bid for the seat. He lost to Siegel in 2022 when the district was reconfigured to account for population changes and had no incumbent. In 2024, Smith mounted an unsuccessful write-in campaign in the GOP primary to get on the November ballot, leaving Siegel unopposed for reelection that November.<\/p>\n

He ran for a two-year and four-year term on the school board in November, but did not secure either seat. Past efforts include running for county controller, Allentown mayor and Allentown council (he lost but was later appointed to a seat). Smith was an alternate delegate for Pennsylvania for the 2024 Republican National Convention where Donald Trump won the nomination.<\/p>\n

This is Tiburcio\u2019s first bid for office. She was a last-minute pick by her party after its first choice, Julian Guridy, an aide for state Sen. Nick Miller, bowed out when he learned he did not meet the state\u2019s four-year state residency requirement for running for the post.<\/p>\n

Tiburcio volunteers for Allentown Works, a federally funded program that supports job training and opportunities, and Love Your Block, a grant-funded neighborhood revitalization program.<\/p>\n

Here is what the candidates had to say during a Feb. 12 debate<\/a> hosted by Lehigh Valley Public Media. (Both candidates were not always asked the same questions.):<\/p>\n

On why she\u2019s running Tiburcio: She said she took 24 hours to think about running after Democratic Party leaders approached her about the special election. She said she is a mother and she knows the struggles involved with getting the city projects that the residents need. Tiburcio said she has a son who is incarcerated, so she understands that prisons need the resources to aid with education, job training, and mental health that will give people a second chance when they reenter society.<\/p>\n

Smith on the same question: He said he sees himself as a maverick who will not be intimidated by either party. He said he will represent everyone from the Lehigh Valley regardless of party affiliation. He said he sees a country that is divided along party lines but many of the people he speaks with are independent voters or unaffiliated with any party.<\/p>\n

Said he thinks that he can win over these voters as well as Democrats. \u201cThis is the perfect storm for somebody that could unite the district. I think I can win and I think I\u2019ll be able to work with my colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Smith\u2019s political identity and support for President Trump and Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano\u2019s unsuccessful bid for governor in 2022.Smith: Said he has been a Republican since 1980 when Ronald Reagan was elected president. \u201cI\u2019m a conservative, but I\u2019m also a moderate on social issues. I\u2019m a fiscal conservative. I\u2019m religious. My wife and I are Roman Catholic. We believe in conservative values with family people, and I believe that those candidates were the best people for the right moment, in the right time in our country\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tiburcio on Allentown School Board achievements: She said she has been involved in extensive community engagement in her time on the school board. The school district is building a new Family & Community Resource Center on Union Street where free resources like teaching English as second language classes will be available. The district has also connected with the Lehigh Valley Health Network and CareerLink Lehigh Valley to provide resources for district students, she said.<\/p>\n

Smith on the same question: He said, when he was on the school board, he fought for charter school reimbursement. He supports school choice, but the school district can get a significant amount of money if it could get reimbursed for a percentage that it spends on charter schools, he said.<\/p>\n

Tiburcio on support for Shapiro\u2019s proposal to float a $1 billion bond for affordable housing and infrastructure: Said she doesn\u2019t have the answers to the affordable housing shortage but is involved in plans to address it. \u201cWe see the need and we\u2019re here for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith on the same question: Said he would like to see what the interest rate on such a loan would be. \u201cI\u2019m not saying we don\u2019t borrow it all, but first it has to be at the right time. Interest rates, everything has to be taken into consideration.\u201d <\/p>\n

Said housing is planned for the 195-acre site of the former Allentown State Hospital in East Allentown. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be creating our own homes without a loan. I think that\u2019s the way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith on what the state could do to improve Allentown School District state test scores, which are in the bottom 20%: \u201cLet the teachers teach.\u201d Said dictated curriculum leaves no room for creativity in the classroom.<\/p>\n

Tiburcio on the same question: Said student performance has grown compared to previous years. \u201cI think right now we are in the process of getting better each day.\u201d She said the district is engaging parents and the community.<\/p>\n

Other issues<\/p>\n

On Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour: Both support the idea.<\/p>\n

On election integrity: The candidates were asked about Trump\u2019s stated interest in nationalizing elections and taking away state control. Tiburcio said she could not support any attempts to nationalize elections. Smith said: \u201cI don\u2019t like losing local control. Elections should not be nationalized.\u201d<\/p>\n

On increasing money for public transit: In the 22nd House District, more people rely on public transit than anywhere else in the region. LANTA recently raised fares and reduced the number of routes. In his budget, Shapiro wants to transfer 1.75% more from sales and use tax revenue to the Pennsylvania Transportation Trust Fund with an aim of preventing service cuts and fare hikes.<\/p>\n

Tiburcio said people should not expect fewer public transit resources. Said she would have to get more information on the issue.<\/p>\n

Smith said the state should be using money from the gas tax to fund public transit. Gas tax money is mostly used for highway and bridge projects. He said he would fight to give Philadelphia less for public transit and Allentown more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Armchair Lehigh Valley content is published on lehighvalleylive.com as part of a partnership with the website, which aims…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119872,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-119871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}