ALLENTOWN, Pa. – State Rep. Peter Schweyer declared victory Tuesday night in his bid to win election to the 134th House District—a district that changed with the statewide redrawing of legislative boundaries.
Schweyer, a Democrat, defeated Republican Brent Labenberg, president of Emmaus Borough Council.
- State Rep. Peter Schweyer currently represents the 22nd District but that is changing because of redistricting
- This is first time he faced a general election opponent since being elected to the House in 2014
- Republican challenger Brent Labenberg is president of Emmaus Borough Council
With Lehigh County reporting complete but unofficial election returns, Schweyer garnered 10,127 votes to Labenberg's 6,721.
Schweyer currently serves the 22nd House District, but reconfiguring of legislative maps is moving him to the 134th District. As a result, Schweyer will represent less of Allentown and more of the Salisbury Township and Emmaus areas.
"It was a fun race," he said after midnight. "I got a real opportunity to get to know some of my new constituents in Salisbury and Emmaus. I got to see a lot of old friends and Allentown folks who I’ve also had a chance to serve as state rep."
Schweyer congratulated Labenberg and said he was grateful for the way his opponent conducted himself in the campaign.
"He ran a nice, clean campaign," Schweyer said. "Moving forward, Harrisburg will be very, very different and I can't wait to work with governor-elect Shapiro and lieutenant governor-elect (state Rep. Austin) Davis."
He said he was excited at some of the Democratic gains across the state in the Legislature, saying that the messaging about abortion and the state of democracy was successful. Schweyer also anticipates becoming a committee chair next year due to his seniority in the House, which he says will benefit the region.
"We’ll be in a much better position to move forward on a fair funding formula for education and work on more legislation for job creation," he said. "All in all it was a tremendous night and I’m enthusiastically ready for the next session."
This was the first time Schweyer faced a general election opponent since he first won a state House seat in the 22nd District in 2014.
The candidates each had name recognition in parts of the district, which incorporates and leaves out parts of the old 22nd and 134th districts.
Schweyer was born and raised in Center City Allentown and is a former city councilman, including a stint as council president. He formerly worked at Sacred Heart Hospital as director of community and government affairs.
Labenberg has served on Emmaus Borough Council for more than 24 years. He said he is a fifth-generation Emmaus resident and is retired as a chef at the Phoebe Home. Labenberg is also is a local disc jockey, adopting the persona of DJ Dutch, and provides music for local events.
Before leaving the event for Lisa Scheller's campaign at Hotel Bethlehem, Labenberg said he enjoyed knocking doors and connecting with people throughout the district, and that he was unsure how the numbers would shift by morning.
The candidates had agreed on select key issues such as the need for public education funding, but differed on others, including abortion and the minimum wage.
Schweyer has said his priorities remain education funding and affordability of things such as child care, health care and access to quality, good paying jobs. He cited his efforts to increase funding that helped Allentown School District recoup cuts to staffing that occurred before he was elected.
Labenberg also supported increased state funding for public schools, saying it may help relieve some property tax burden and would relieve expenses for schools in areas such as special education, testing and other expensive requirements.
