Matt Tuerk sent a mailer claiming that there was no tax increase under his administration. His opponent, Ed Zucal, took him to task for that distortion.
"Most people received a mailer from Matt Tuerk claiming to have not raised taxes during his first term as Mayor. What he forgot to tell you is he wanted to raise taxes 5.4% in 2023. Remember when he threatened to take away Lights in the Parkway if he didn't get his way. Council shot his 5.4% down. Then he came back with a 2% raise. Council shot that down to. So the real truth is Mayor Tuerk would have raised your taxes. If you also remember Council had a vote of "No Confidence" as a direct result of this caous. Thank Council for no tax increases not Matt Tuerk."
As we approach Tuesday's election, my support goes to Ed Zucal. I believe that an emphasis on public safety and quality of life issues will benefit all our citizens, more than raising flags and having festivals.
ADDENDUM: Zucal press release Friday Evening Mayor Matt sends in the Machine
ALLENTOWN —
In the final days of Allentown’s mayoral primary, the Ed Zucal campaign is
responding to a wave of anonymous attack ads with a warning: voters are witnessing a
coordinated, last-ditch effort by entrenched political insiders to prop up Mayor Matt Tuerk and
silence opposition.
As reported by the Morning Call, the ads in question are funded by shadowy PACs, including the
Civic Growth Initiative, a group tied to former mayoral candidate Charlie Thiel—a longtime ally
of the political class surrounding Mayor Tuerk. The group has ads attacking Zucal and other
candidates while boosting allies of the current administration.
“Despite trying to hide his involvement, it’s clear that Tuerk is behind these shady efforts,
” said
Zucal.
“The individual who has attached his name to this effort —Ray Lahoud— has also
donated thousands of dollars to Tuerk. He wants voters distracted from the outsiders and
special interests that are bankrolling his campaign.
”
“Voters will see through Matt’s dirty tricks and dark money. On May 20th, they will vote for truth
and transparency.
I remember it but I guess he's hoping voters forgot.
ReplyDeleteEveryday Tuerk is doing something more questionable. Funny I hear he is contacting Republicans now, trying to get them to write him in. Bro, you bashed Zucal as being Maga but now your trying to get Republican votes. I think you might see an upset on Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteIts funny, how much Tuerk tries to hide the truth. Why not just be honest? Cause he cant!! Ed says straight up what he's going to do. Said he's firing Chump Roca. You might not like that, which i don't understand why you wouldn't, but I respect his no nonsense approach. When a guy is complaining about party sides and the other says, "I'm for everyone and it doesn't matter what side your on" seems pretty easy who to vote for.
ReplyDeleteWith the 40million dollar police station proposal and another 30million for a fire station, um. TUERK IS 💯 GOING TO RAISE TAXES. His buddy Chief Roca wants this fantasy police station at the dumbest location cost wise in the city. Tax payers are going to way overpay for Roca's greed vs a cheaper location. What are they going to name it. The Allentown wish they had a real chief Police Department
ReplyDelete$40 million for a police station? The community better get out and speak against that stupidity.
DeleteTuerk cannot continue to do the damage to the city that he has started. The Morning Call uncovered dirty politics in Allentown and I have a suspicion that Tuerk and his minions are behind all of it.
ReplyDeleteIt is suspicious how Binder is friends with Thiel, Thiel and Tuerk are friends and have worked to promote each other. Thiel was an important member and contributor of Tuerk’s run in 2021. Seems to me like Tuerk is exactly what people have been saying all along. A narcissistic liar and fraud.
He lost my vote just in this last week as I was one the fence. His actions at Lehigh County and the nasty turn his campaign has taken have me out. His campaign manager or whoever has guided him have failed him. Binder and Pungo don’t have my vote either. Birds of a feather…
What dirty politics?
DeleteThe morning call didn't uncover anything. A citizen did, and the morning call wrote about it.
DeleteI’m a democrat and I haven’t forgotten Tuerk’s tax hike proposal. He also saddled taxpayers with a huge trash fee hike for fewer pickups.
ReplyDeleteI’ll be voting for Zucal.
My hope is that Zucal wins the democrat primary and gets enough write in votes to win the republican nomination as well. The city needs to rid itself of Tuerk as soon as possible. He’s just not competent.
Allentown residents can’t enjoy any quality of life because of Tuerk’s policies, and Allentown taxpayers certainly can’t afford to pay for them.
Quality of life issues are most important. All the rest is unnecessary fluff, mostly made possible by State or Federal grants. Our nation is quickly going bankrupt.The bond rating just lowered today, etc. Politicians are simply spending too much of our tax dollars!
ReplyDeleteConcentrate on making people’s daily, everyday lives more orderly and peaceful. Living in a respectful neighborhood environment is what almost everyone wants, regardless of their race or gender.
Clean-up our streets, parks, sidewalks. Enforce traffic rules. Mow the darn public spaces. Address unruly people and neglectful landlords. Give us the secure feeling of regularly seeing police on our block. Increase lighting on our streets. Work toward more home ownership, NOT more rentals.
REDUCE our taxes and fees! Skip all the trendy woke bull sh!t of the day and stick to the basics.
sidewalks are the responsibility of homeowners in Allentown
DeleteI don't get inspired to vote for a canidate that says "I didn't raise your taxes" A canidate that campaigns on a platform of "I'm going to arrest more criminals" is also not very inspiring or a positive message either.
ReplyDeleteHearing "I didn't raise your taxes" is not a positive achievement. Saying "I made your city more efficient by doing this and that" is a much more positive message to vote FOR someone.
"I'm an ex-cop and I'm going to stop the double parking and I'm going to break up the gangs and crack down hard on all the shootings and drug dealing" doesn't exactly put Allentown in a good light either, but I suppose is marginally a better message than "I didn't raise your taxes". Perhaps promising to make Allentown sidewalks safe to walk on again without taking your life in your hands is a better message ?
What positive achievements has either of these canidates accomplished? Has Turek brought or enticed economic development? New employers brining good jobs to Allentown? What has Zucal done on city council to make Allentown a better place to live?
Something more like "I want to restore the hanging garden lamp posts" and "I'm going to improve the streets by paving them, getting rid of the potholes and only allowing paralell parking on one side of the street so people have room to drive on them safely are also positive things people want to hear and vote for?
Or just simple things like picking up the trash and cutting the grass in the parkway?
Honestly, I wouldn't vote for either of them.
Brent@1:30: When Tuerk was first elected, he made fact finding trips to both the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Although both groups feel great affinity for their respective islands, they came to Allentown for both safety and greater prosperity...thats the facts, and his trips were pure political pandering. And Tuerk has never stopped pandering. My vote will go to Zucal and public safety.
DeleteI received a number of short, snide remarks about both Zucal and Tuerk. I don't host such comments on any topic.
ReplyDeleteIt’s still the same message from me. If you are unsatisfied with what you have been seeing from your government and want to see change, the solution can only come in one form.
ReplyDeleteYour next vote MUST be to vote for DIFFERENT PEOPLE to manage things in a different way.
Hopefully, the new managers will perform more to your liking.
Check out Bernie ohare column from last week describing ray lahoud as a fair minded non partisan activist who uses his own money to support other fair-minded and sensible candidates. No wonder he isn't backing Zucal and he is speaking out against santos, stemrich and palmer.
ReplyDeleteanon@2:00PM: Where do I begin? An anonymous commenter (YOU). distorts the intentions of a anonymous attack piece backer into something honorable?. There is nothing "fair minded or non-partisan" about such shenanigans.
ReplyDeleteIn the future, comments like anon 2:00, which require so much unpacking, will not appear.
As a former City Employee and City resident I encourage voters to think about the future of Allentown. Matt Tuerk is a hateful, nasty, gaslighting politician. Matt and his band of misfits have the workforce walking on eggshells. If you’re not drinking their Kool-Aid your not part of the agenda. Matt and his entire Cabinet need to be removed. Do we really want 4 more years of the Tuerk Agenda. Now is the time that you can stop the spiraling destruction of Allentown. Allentown needs a new leader. Vote Ed Zucal.
ReplyDeleteI echo this post. Matt has done nothing for employees but create a toxic work environment with horrible leaders who do whatever he asks to keep their 6 figure jobs. He is not a leader and definitely not a city manager.
DeleteAsk yourself … what has Matt Tuerk done in 4 years? Short of making the rich richer and improving those areas of Allentown important to him (bike paths and sidewalks) he has not had a single success. He doesn’t serve Allentown, he serves himself and his donors like Thiel, Binder, JB Reilly (via the former), and the Butz company.
Vote Zucal on Tuesday May 20. Send this narcissistic deviant back to Colorado with the message his politics and leadership were not needed here.
Has anyone noticed turek tore down the bus stop it canopy at 15th and walnut were was was able to sleep out of the rain? I had try3d to sleep in his foyer this week only to end up at jail for a short stay.
ReplyDeleteThe new Allentown police dashboard hosting approximately ONE YEAR of data despite it being labeled an 18-month project is perhaps the most disingenuous and egregious examples of the four-year tenure of Matthew Tuerk. That department pays a full time data analyst within its "data and technology team." What was this analyst doing for the last 18 months? He or she can't provide relevant information for officers to take to community presentations. He or she apparently did little to nothing to get this new dashboard up and running. If I were mayor, the only two words I'd have for that analyst: you're fired.
ReplyDeletedid you feel so good as you clicked publish on this post? god you people are insufferable. did you ever hear of the phrase “garbage in, garbage out”? no, of course not because you’ve never actually worked with data. the police hate doing paperwork. chief and the analyst have made sure that reporting standards have risen in the last 18 months.
Delete