ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown City Councilman Ed Zucal threw himself into the city's mayoral race Tuesday night, promising to curb crime.
“Our city is going backward from where it was just even 10 years ago,” Zucal said to a few dozen supporters in a campaign kickoff speech at Fairgrounds Hotel.
He called public safety one of residents’ main concerns.
“People just do not feel safe,” said Zucal, a former city police officer.
“That will change under my administration — that you can take to the bank,” he said, laying out his plan to revive “true neighborhood community policing.”
Zucal said he would push the Allentown Police Department to put officers in storefronts and first-floor units.
Mayor Matt Tuerk in his re-election-bid announcement Thursday said crime is down 3% and shots-fired reports are down 14%, citing city statistics.
Zucal said he welcomes the mayor's focus on public safety and challenged Tuerk's numbers.
“This year, homicides are down but shootings are sky-high,” Zucal said.
“I don't think crime is down,” he added.
Running to 'restore faith,' make a difference
The councilman on several occasions Tuesday directly challenged Tuerk's leadership.
“There just is no public safety plan under this administration,” Zucal said.
He also called out the mayor for being out of the U.S. during key moments.
Zucal recounted the September 2022 fatal shooting of 15-year-old Allen High student Treshawn J. Tracy before hitting out at Tuerk.
“Where was our mayor? Out of the country playing diplomat instead of doing the job he was elected to do?” Zucal said. “When a tornado hit the Midway Manor community, Mayor Tuerk again wasn't here. He was on another foreign trip.
"The Allentown taxpayers voted for him to be here, not there.”
Zucal said he's running to “restore faith” in the mayor's office after more than a year of conflict between council and Tuerk.
The councilman led the body’s calls for an investigation into claims of racism and workplace discrimination by and against city employees.
He also pushed for council to sue Tuerk over the City Hall investigation and a no-confidence vote against the mayor after his firing of a human resources worker.
Zucal pledged to be a mayor for all Allentown residents “no matter who you are.”
“Let's make no mistake, I'm not running for mayor because I need a job,” Zucal said, though his term on council ends in early 2026.
“I'm running because I want to make a difference for everyone who calls Allentown their home.”
