- Republican candidates for Bethlehem City Council criticized the city's decision to let the parking authority raze the Walnut Street Parking Garage before plans for a replacement were presented
- The public pushed back after a Bethlehem Area School Board candidate brought up critical race theory
- The Northampton County judicial candidates discussed injustices and how they can be addressed
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — City residents got a chance to hear some local political candidates expound on their platforms and question them about their campaigns during a two-hour forum held by the Bethlehem NAACP on Thursday.
About 30 people attended the candidate forum at Northampton Community College's Fowler Family Southside Center.
The event was not specifically a debate, chapter President Esther Lee said, but a chance for candidates to interact with the public and talk about the issues near and dear to the community.
The city council forum touched on this week's vote to let Bethlehem Parking Authority raze the Walnut Street Garage; demolition is slated for January.
Democrats Michael Colón, the only incumbent seeking re-election, and Colleen Laird contended the board made the appropriate decision. The almost 50-year-old garage is deteriorating and becoming a hazard, they said.
The question before the council was whether it was appropriate to tear down the building even though it's in a historic district. Given its poor condition, there's little question it needs to go, they said.
"We also have a responsibility to look at a dangerous building and take it down before something goes horribly wrong," Laird said.
Republicans Devin Brunges, Jim Follweiler and Thomas Ginther countered that council ought to have tabled the matter until the authority released its plans for how it will replace the building.
"The problem is everyone was pointing out all the reasons why this would be a fiasco in the making, but nobody seemed to care."Bethlehem City Council candidate Thomas Ginther
The garage is critical to businesses along Main Street, and the community made clear during Tuesday's hearing it did not want the demolition to move forward until there was a clearer picture of how the authority will replace it and what the overall cost will be.
"The problem is everyone was pointing out all the reasons why this would be a fiasco in the making, but nobody seemed to care," Ginther said, vowing he would personally get back to anyone who approached city council with a problem.
Bryan Callahan, a Democrat and former city councilman looking to rejoin the dais, was not in attendance. Voters are tasked with putting three candidates in office.
Crowd challenges candidate on CRT
While Bethlehem Area School Board candidates were asked about funding challenges and their pet issues, much of their forum centered around diversity, equity and inclusion, an organizational concept that promotes fair treatment and full participation for people of all backgrounds.
Republican Cindy O'Brien, who is running for an at-large seat and the District III seat, said many people don't trust these programs, as they allegedly act as a vehicle to promote critical race theory.
O'Brien stopped short of saying the district was promoting critical race theory, but said many in the community are concerned about it.
Her answers didn't sit well with many in the audience, some of whom challenged her during a question-and-answer session. One young woman asked her to define CRT.
"Critical race theory, it's the idea that race is an issue with almost anything," O'Brien said.
"That is not critical race theory," the young woman said.
"I didn't bring the definition with me, OK?" said O'Brien, who has been endorsed by Moms For Liberty. She went on to say CRT posits America is a white supremacist nation and that the theory may be Marxist in nature.
Critical race theory states that racism is embedded in American laws, institutions and regulations, which leads to racial inequality.
Incumbent Emily Root Schenkel, who won the Democratic and Republican nominations for an at-large seat, said CRT is a college-level course and is not taught in the district.
She and incumbent Kim Shively, the Democrat running for the District III seat, said people are frequently skeptical of DEI as a concept.
But Shively said they come around when they learn it's about speaking to students at their level and teaching them the life lessons that extend beyond the classroom — why they need to be respectful, why the need to show up and why it's important that they do their work.
"All of a sudden, people say, 'Well, yeah, absolutely. I think we need all of those things,'" Schenkel said.
At-large candidates Karen Beck Pooley and M. Rayah Levy and District II candidate Michael Recchiuti did not attend the forum. Voters will pick three at-large candidates and one candidate for each district.
The forum also gave Northampton County District Attorney candidate Stephen Baratta, who is running unopposed, and Northampton County Council candidate William Rowe, a Republican, a few minutes to speak with the crowd.
Rowe is running against Democrat Ken Kraft for the District 1 seat. Kraft did not attend.
Dealing with injustice from the bench
Northampton County judicial candidates Nancy Aaroe and Brian Panella tackled questions about how they'd keep in touch with the community over the office's 10-year term and how they're qualified to preside over civil and criminal matters.
Their first question challenged them to identify causes of inequality within the justice system and how they can be addressed.
Panella, 32, a Democrat, cited statistics showing how Black Pennsylvanians are disproportionally incarcerated. At the state level, they make up about 12% of the overall population but 45% of state prison inmates.
Northampton County isn't much better, he said; Blacks account for about 29% of the local population but about 35% of those in the Northampton County Prison.
It's not enough for judges to apply the law evenly and uphold standards in court, he said. If elected, he vowed to stay active outside the courtroom and work to educate and strengthen the community.
"I am going to be there for the long run," Panella said. "I am not just trying to retire on the bench."
Aaroe, a Republican who's practiced law for 32 years, honed in on bail.
It's intended to ensure that people show up to court to face serious charges, but she said it places a heavier burden on the poor and disadvantaged. When these people can't pay up, they're stuck behind bars.
"To me, that's an injustice," Aaroe said. "There are pretrial services that take a more wholistic look at the system and make sure we are taking into consideration not just money, but that we monitor them in other ways."
Election Day is Nov. 7. Mail-in ballots are now available in Northampton County and should be available in Lehigh County in the near future.
