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Republican Robert Smith Jr., left, and Democrat Ce-Ce Gerlach are running for state representative from the 22nd District. \/ Photos by Donna Fisher<\/p>\nRepublican Robert Smith Jr., left, and Democrat Ce-Ce Gerlach are running for state representative from the 22nd District. \/ Photos by Donna Fisher<\/p>\n
In a race marked by moving parts, Democrat Ce-Ce Gerlach will face Republican Robert Smith Jr. on Nov. 3 in the 22nd House District. The seat is now occupied by a Democrat who lost to Gerlach in the May primary election but defeated Smith in a special election in February.<\/p>\n
Gerlach is an Allentown City Council member who was elected in 2019 and reelected in 2023. She served two terms on the Allentown School Board when Smith was also on the board.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am running for state representative because people are choosing between gas and groceries, while billionaires and huge corporations rake in record profits,\u201d she said. \u201cAs a local legislator in my sixth year on Allentown City Council, I get stuff done and I\u2019m not afraid to take on the powerful to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith works as a program specialist at New Vitae Wellness and Recovery in Limeport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am running to fight for the future of all of our families. Enhance education for our children and grandchildren; property tax reform for our seniors and working families, support our veterans with brain injuries and intellectual disabilities. This is the public service job I want to serve for the people of the 22nd District. It is not a stepping stone or [that I] need a job. I want to serve the people,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Smith is making his fourth bid for the seat. He polled 36% of the vote in losing to Democrat Josh Siegel in 2022 when the district was reconfigured to account for population changes and had no incumbent.<\/p>\n
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
Last year, Siegel was elected Lehigh County executive and resigned from the state House, setting up a special election to fill the remainder of his term. That election was held in February, when Smith lost to Democrat Ana Tiburcio, who received 67% of the vote. <\/p>\n
Smith was unopposed in the May 19 Republican primary, and Gerlach upended incumbent Tiburcio\u2019s bid for a full two-year term by capturing 57% of the vote in the Democratic contest. In that race, Tiburcio had the support of the party establishment where Gerlach won the backing of progressive groups such as Lehigh County Democratic Socialists of America. Gerlach was also backed by Siegel.<\/p>\n
After the primary, Gerlach\u2019s campaign committee had $12,906 leftover, according to her latest campaign finance report for the period ending June 8. By comparison, Smith had $2,262.<\/p>\n
The 22nd District has 17,865 Democrats, 6,764 Republicans and 8,712 other voters, most of whom are independents, according to the latests voter registration numbers from the Pennsylvania Department of State.<\/p>\n
The district includes all of East Allentown, parts of Center City Allentown and three wards in eastern Salisbury Township: Allentown Wards 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Districts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6), 9, 10, 11 (District 2), 14 and 15; and Salisbury Township Wards 1, 2 and 3-2.<\/p>\n
State representatives serve two-year terms and receive a base salary of $113,000. The House has 103 Democrats and 100 Republicans.<\/p>\n
Background<\/p>\n
Ce-Ce Gerlach A year ago, Gerlach commented publicly for the first time about being charged with failure to report for a 2020 incident involving a runaway teen she found at a homeless camp but didn\u2019t tell required authorities about it. In a YouTube post<\/a>, she said she was two weeks into a job at Valley Youth House and didn\u2019t know if any beds were available for the teen. Her record was expunged after she completed the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time offenders.<\/p>\n While on council, Gerlach introduced successful legislation that ranged from codifying pro-immigrant policies to making it illegal to declaw cats. An advocate for the homeless, something she said she experienced earlier in her life, Gerlach introduced an ordinance this year that would list procedures the city must follow when it clears homeless people from an encampment.<\/p>\n She voluntarily withdrew that ordinance and instead voted for a moratorium to allow the city to create policies that both council and city officials could agree on.<\/p>\n Her beliefs have drawn criticism from fellow council members. When Gerlach and Siegel served on city council together, they were present at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020, which prompted three council members to propose censuring them but the resolution was withdrawn. Siegel and Gerlach defended their presence at the protest, saying they did nothing improper.<\/p>\n Robert Smith Jr. Smith served on the Allentown School Board for 16 years beginning in 2003 and was selected school board president five times.<\/p>\n He ran for a two-year and a four-year term on the school board in November 2025, 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).<\/p>\n Smith is active in the Republican Party and was an alternate delegate for Pennsylvania for the 2024 Republican National Convention where Donald Trump won the nomination.<\/p>\n Why are you running? Smith: \u201dI have the experience and record of service to represent the entire district, not just one political party or a partisan agenda. I\u2019m a maverick. I answer to the people, not party bosses. I will listen to every constituent, regardless of party affiliation and work to address the issues that matter to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n Top issues Supports taxing billionaires \u201ctheir fair share,\u201d adding that teachers, police and construction workers shouldn\u2019t pay the same tax rate as them. Says small businesses are the backbone of the economy and many struggle just to stay open while \u201chuge [billion] dollar corporations use loopholes to pay zero in PA corporate income tax.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith: \u201cI will work to promote responsible state spending, reduce unnecessary regulations for small businesses and support policies that help keep Pennsylvania affordable for working families, seniors and homeowners. For healthcare and veterans, I will advocate for veterans and all first responders by supporting adequate resources, reducing unnecessary barriers and improving access to essential services. I will support strong public schools, accountability and educational options that allow families choose the setting that best meets their children\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/p>\n Minimum wage Smith: Supports a gradual increase while recognizing the impact that rapid increases can have on small businesses and employers. \u201cPennsylvania workers deserve the opportunity to earn a wage that keeps pace with the rising cost of living.\u201d<\/p>\n Healthcare Smith: \u201cI would support greater transparency in healthcare pricing, efforts to reduce unnecessary costs and policies that encourage competitions and keep insurance premiums costs under control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerlach, 40, of Allentown, is from West Virginia where she and her mother lived in public housing. She earned a degree in elementary education in 2008 from Cedar Crest College. Gerlach works for the Pennsylvania Justice Alliance<\/a> as a facilitator. In 2021, she ran unsuccessfully for mayor in the Democratic primary.<\/p>\n
Smith, 64, of Allentown, was born in Queens, N.Y. He attended Middlesex County College in New Jersey and New York University. He and his wife Eva moved to the East Side of Allentown in 1992 with their three children.<\/p>\n
Gerlach: \u201cI am a champion for the working and middle class – the underdog and anyone who regardless of political party feels that these current systems are not working for us. \u2026 I am running for state representative to make life better for you, put more money in your pocket and create a more equitable society where everyone has opportunity and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerlach: \u201cLife shouldn\u2019t be this hard. I will work to pass policies that make life more affordable for folks in the 22nd District. Housing is a human right. I will introduce legislation to stabilize the rents, fund home repairs and require workforce\/affordable housing to be built.\u201d Wants to ban grocery price rigging. \u201cWe are being squeezed for every last dollar by corporations who harvest our data to find out what the maximum price we will pay for an item.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerlach: Supports gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Notes that the actual living wage for people to survive in the Lehigh Valley is $23 an hour.<\/a> <\/p>\n
Gerlach: Supports Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s proposal for a $50 million program that would help subsidize premiums for low- and middle-income people who lost coverage when COVID-era subsidies for Affordable Care Act premiums were eliminated by Congress. \u201cWe also need to address the underlying costs of healthcare such as prescription costs and the insurance bureaucracy.\u201d<\/p>\n