EASTON, Pa. — In a press conference from the Northampton County Courthouse Thursday, the county’s Republican party introduced its slate of candidates running for county office in 2025.
Together as a united ticket, the Republicans laid out a pitch to voters built around improving the county-owned Gracedale nursing home, managing county finances effectively and ensuring elections run smoothly.
Leading the slate is County Executive candidate Tom Giovanni. A resident of Plainfield Township, Giovanni has been a county commissioner since 2020. He is also the chairman of Nazareth Mutual Insurance and has run an IT business for more than two decades.
If elected to lead the county’s executive branch, Giovanni would focus on improving employee retention at Gracedale, boosting the home’s rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and preserving more farmland and open space, he said.
" I don't aim to make headlines or play politics."Tom Giovanni
Giovanni also attacked the current county leadership for election mishaps in 2019 and 2023, arguing that a new administration needs to revamp the county elections system. At the same time, officials need to keep property taxes in check, said Giovanni.
“I’ve been dubbed by some of the press as ‘the quiet man of County Council'. I don't aim to make headlines or play politics,” he said. “But in the face of dysfunction and mismanagement and irresponsibility that I’ve seen in recent years, it's time to get louder.”
County Council candidates
The group of five Republicans running for county council includes two incumbent members seeking reelection: John Brown and John Goffredo. Both Brown and Goffredo are finishing out their first term on the body.
Brown, who lives in Bangor, was elected mayor of the borough from 2010-2014 and served one term as the county executive, from 2014-2018.
Goffredo lives in Washington Township and works as a project manager for his family’s construction business, Nu Cor Management.
The county Republican committee also introduced three new faces looking to join the council.
The first, Juan Martinez, is an Easton resident and the owner of Don Juan Mex Grill, a restaurant with several locations in the Lehigh Valley. This will be his first run for elected office.
Party officials spoke on behalf of the other two county council candidates who could not attend Tuesday’s announcement: Daniel Campo and Sam Elias.
Elias lives in Bethlehem and works for the city’s police department, while Campo works as a pilot, said Northampton County Republican Committee Chair Glenn Geissinger.
Unless additional candidates emerge in the coming weeks, there will not be a competitive Republican primary for county executive or the five open seats on county council. Prospective candidates have until March 11 to join the primary ballot.
This year's municipal primary falls on May 20; the municipal election follows on Nov. 4.
