BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Northampton County Controller Tara Zrinski formally announced her run for county executive Thursday, and landed an endorsement from the incumbent executive which will help fill her campaign coffers.
Flanked on the United Steelworkers building’s modest stage by a mass of local Democrats, Zrinski laid out her framework for the race to come.
“I envision a Northampton County that functions at the highest level — a place where residents and businesses are proud to call home. A place where we not only are addressing today's challenges, but preparing for tomorrow's opportunities,” she said.
Zrinski identified a number of priorities should she become the county’s chief executive: making the county a better workplace for its employees, using AI to improve efficiency, strengthening cybersecurity, protecting the environment, and boosting affordable housing stock, among others.
“Tara [Zrinski] does check all the boxes. She's good on taxes, she's good on farmland and open space preservation, and she's good on our moral obligation: the preservation of Gracedale.”Lamont McClure
Ahead of the speech, incumbent Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure endorsed Zrinski, telling the assembled Democrats that she would take a similar approach to three of his policy priorities.
“I have been searching for a candidate to support to succeed me,” said McClure. “Tara [Zrinski] does check all the boxes. She's good on taxes, she's good on farmland and open space preservation, and she's good on our moral obligation: the preservation of Gracedale.”
McClure gave Zrinski, a member of the county council from 2017 through the end of 2023, credit for several of his administration’s key accomplishments, including a one-mill tax cut in 2022 and $25 million spent over the last seven years to preserve open space.
The endorsement comes with a cash infusion to support Zrinski’s candidacy.
McClure’s campaign committee finished 2024 with more than $166,000 on hand, campaign finance reports show. Though he also plans to donate to Democrats in other local races, McClure said, Zrinski’s campaign will receive “a significant contribution.”
Just a few weeks ago, Zrinski was planning to keep her post as county controller rather than mount her fourth run for office in five years. Though she has long planned to run for the executive job, she did not think that would happen until after a third McClure term, Zrinski said.
That changed, she said, when McClure told her he would not run for reelection.
“Lamont left his seat, and it left a void, and he approached me,” said Zrinski. “It took a lot for me to determine that this was the right option for me and this was the right time to pursue this.”
