Allentown City School District elections (2015)
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Five seats on the Allentown City School District Board of Directors were up for general election on November 3, 2015. A primary election was held on May 19, 2015.
Incumbents Ce-Ce Gerlach (D/R), Elizabeth Martinez (D), Robert Smith (D/R) and Charlie Thiel (D/R) won re-election to their seats. Newcomer Audrey Mathison (D) also won. Incumbent Scott Armstrong (R) and Mark Smith (R) were defeated in the general election.[1][2][3]
Candidates Jonah Adamcik (D/R), Carmen Cheriz (D), Frank Nickischer (D), Timothy Ramos (D/R) and Marc Telesha (D/R) were defeated in the primary elections.
Two of the twelve candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey. Check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section to see the candidates' answers.
Martinez, Mathison, Telesha and Thiel ran as a slate of candidates in the primary election. They were supported by the Citizens for a Better Allentown PAC created by Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski. Telesha did not advance to the general election. Martinez, Mathison and Thiel won in the general election despite the PAC shutting down after the FBI began investigating contributions made by local developer.[4]
About the district
The Allentown City School District is located in eastern Pennsylvania in Lehigh County. The county seat is Allentown. Lehigh County was home to 357,823 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[5] In the 2012-2013 school year, the Allentown City School District was the fifth-largest school district in Pennsylvania and served 16,966 students.[6]
Demographics
Lehigh County outperformed the rest of Pennsylvania in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 28.1 percent of county residents aged 25 and over had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 27.5 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $54,923 compared $52,548 in the state. The poverty rate for the county was 13.7 percent, compared to 13.3 percent for the state.[5]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Voter and candidate information
The Allentown City School District Board of Directors consists of nine members elected to four-year terms. Each member is elected at-large. The board is partisan and utilizes cross-filing in the elections. The primary election was held on May 19, 2015, and the general election was held on November 3, 2015. Five seats were up for election.[2]
School board candidates had to file for this election with Lehigh County Voter Registration Department by March 10, 2015. School board candidates in the state of Pennsylvania can participate in the practice of cross-filing in the primary election. Those wishing to run as an independent candidate had until August 3, 2015, to file. To vote in the primary election, residents had to register by April 20, 2015, and to vote in the general election, residents had to register by October 5, 2015.[8]
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
General election candidates
 Scott Armstrong
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 Ce-Ce Gerlach 
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 Elizabeth Martinez
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| Robert Smith
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Charlie Thiel
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| Audrey Mathison
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Mark Smith
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Candidates defeated in primaries
| Jonah Adamcik
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Carmen Cheriz
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Frank Nickischer
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| Timothy Ramos
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Marc Telesha
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Election results
| Allentown City School District, At-Large, General Election, 2015 | ||||
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican |  Ce-Ce Gerlach Incumbent |
19.9% | 7,158 | |
| Democratic/Republican | Robert Smith Incumbent |
17.5% | 6,317 | |
| Democratic/Republican | Charlie Thiel Incumbent |
16.8% | 6,037 | |
| Democratic | Elizabeth Martinez Incumbent |
13.4% | 4,846 | |
| Democratic | Audrey Mathison |
12.8% | 4,596 | |
| Republican | Mark Smith | 10.3% | 3,704 | |
| Republican | Scott Armstrong Incumbent | 9.4% | 3,383 | |
| Total Votes | 36,041 | |||
| Source: 'Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Lehigh County Chief Clerk of Registration and Elections Timothy Bento," December 17, 2015 | ||||
| Allentown City School District, At-Large Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Ce-Ce Gerlach Incumbent |
16.2% | 2,266 | |
| Democratic | Elizabeth Martinez Incumbent |
11.3% | 1,581 | |
| Democratic | Charlie Thiel Incumbent |
10.7% | 1,500 | |
| Democratic | Audrey Mathison |
9.8% | 1,366 | |
| Democratic | Robert Smith Incumbent |
9.5% | 1,335 | |
| Democratic | Mark Smith | 8.7% | 1,215 | |
| Democratic | Scott Armstrong Incumbent | 6.7% | 931 | |
| Democratic | Frank Nickischer | 6.7% | 931 | |
| Democratic | Marc Telesha | 6.5% | 909 | |
| Democratic | Carmen Cheriz | 4.8% | 666 | |
| Democratic | Timothy Ramos | 4.7% | 651 | |
| Democratic | Jonah Adamcik | 4.6% | 640 | |
| Total Votes | 13,991 | |||
| Source: Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, "Municipal Primary - May 19, 2015," accessed July 7, 2015Ballotpedia confirmed these results are official by phone. | ||||
| Allentown City School District, At-Large Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Robert Smith Incumbent |
16.2% | 956 | |
| Republican | Ce-Ce Gerlach Incumbent |
15% | 884 | |
| Republican | Scott Armstrong Incumbent |
13.9% | 819 | |
| Republican | Charlie Thiel Incumbent |
11.5% | 676 | |
| Republican | Mark Smith |
11% | 646 | |
| Republican | Audrey Mathison | 7.7% | 451 | |
| Republican | Elizabeth Martinez Incumbent | 6.7% | 397 | |
| Republican | Jonah Adamcik | 6.7% | 394 | |
| Republican | Marc Telesha | 6.7% | 393 | |
| Republican | Timothy Ramos | 4.6% | 271 | |
| Total Votes | 5,887 | |||
| Source: Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, "Municipal Primary - May 19, 2015," accessed July 7, 2015Ballotpedia confirmed these results are official by phone. | ||||
Endorsements
Martinez, Mathison, Telesha and Thiel received official endorsements from Citizens for a Better Allentown for the primary election.[4]
Gerlach, Martinez, Robert Smith, Mark Smith and Theil received official endorsements from the Lehigh County AFL-CIO.[9]
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported in the election, according to the Lehigh County Voter Registration Department.[10]
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2015
There were five seats up for election in the Allentown City School District. While the incumbents of those seats ran for re-election, a political action committee started by Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski (D) backed only two of the incumbents. The candidates supported by the PAC filed to run in the Democratic and Republican primaries but were identified by the PAC as Democrats.[4]
The PAC was shut down after the FBI began an investigation into contributions made by a local developer that were allegedly in exchange for city contracts.[11]
Issues in the election
Citizens for a Better Allentown PAC
Despite most candidates running in both parties' primaries as a result of cross-filing, partisan lines were clearly drawn in the 2015 primary election for school board. Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, along with State Reps. Michael Schlossberg (D-22) and Peter Schweyer (D-132), created a political action committee called Citizens for a Better Allentown to support candidates running for the five open school board seats and three open city council seats. The candidates supported by the PAC were Elizabeth Martinez, Audrey Mathison, Marc Telesha and Charlie Thiel. All of the candidates supported by the PAC were identified as Democrats.[4]
Incumbents Ce-Ce Gerlach, Scott Armstrong and Robert Smith were not endorsed by the PAC. Armstrong and Smith identified as Republicans, but Gerlach identified as a Democrat. All three incumbents have had disagreements with the mayor in regard to his Neighborhood Improvement Zone project, which promoted downtown revitalization through tax incentives.
Armstrong had the following response to the news that he was not being supported by the PAC:
| “ | The mayor controls the city, now he wants to control the school district? Pawlowski is supporting those people because he can get exactly what he wants from them.[12] | ” |
| —Scott Armstrong, 2015, [13] | ||
Smith told reporters that he did not take it personally, and Gerlach gave no comment regarding the situation.[13]
Three of the candidates endorsed by Citizens for a Better Allentown won nominations and advanced to the general election. Elizabeth Martinez and Audrey Mathison both won a nomination in the Democratic primary. Charlie Thiel won nominations in both primaries. Marc Telesha did not advance to the general election.
Shortly after the primary election, the FBI began an investigation into Mayor Pawlowski and his involvement with potentially unlawful city contracts. A local developer pleaded guilty in September 2015 to contributing to the mayor's PAC in exchange for contracts from the city.[11]
Since the FBI investigation began, the PAC was shut down and the candidates who were previously supported by the PAC received no more funds. A local political consultant who allegedly supplied the information to the FBI that led to the indictment of the developer shut down his office and moved out of his house the day after the FBI issued subpoenas to people within the city. As of October 2015, the mayor had not been charged with any crime.[14]
Ballotpedia survey responses
Two of the twelve candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates as of May 14, 2015. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Mark Smith and Robert Smith.
Top priorities
When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, Robert Smith stated:
| “ | Decrease the drop out rate. Every student counts, and sometimes its tests, trouble at home, we need to do everything possible to make sure every student gets a diploma. Students may not want to go to college, but they need that diploma even if they decide college is not for them, they may go right into work force in a technical carrier which is outstanding too. I have been on board 12 years, most experienced candidate in race, the next board will also have to do a super attendant search, and replace top three leadership positions.[12] | ” |
| —Robert Smith (2015)[15] | ||
When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, Mark Smith stated:
| “ | Community relations and the insulation of the teacher/student relationship[12] | ” |
| —Mark Smith (2015)[16] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidates were asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays the candidates' rankings from most to least important:
| Issue | Robert Smith's ranking | Mark Smith's ranking | ||
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| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||||
| Closing the achievement gap | ||||
| Expanding arts education | ||||
| Expanding career-technical education | ||||
| Expanding school choice options | ||||
| Improving college readiness | ||||
| Improving education for special needs students | ||||
Positions on the issues
The candidates were asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. Links to the candidates' responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Allentown City School District election in 2015:[8]
| Deadline | Event |
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| March 10, 2015 | Partisan candidate filing deadline |
| March 11, 2015 - August 3, 2015 |
Independent candidate filing period |
| March 25, 2015 | Withdrawal deadline for primary election |
| April 20, 2015 | Voter registration deadline for primary election |
| May 8, 2015 | Pre-primary election campaign finance deadline |
| May 12, 2015 | Last day to file for absentee ballot for primary election |
| May 15, 2015 | Absentee ballot deadline for primary election |
| May 19, 2015 | Primary election day |
| June 18, 2015 | Post-primary election campaign finance deadline |
| August 10, 2015 | Withdrawal deadline for general election |
| October 5, 2015 | Last day to register to vote in general election |
| October 23, 2015 | Pre-general election campaign finance deadline for general election |
| October 27, 2015 | Voter registration deadline for general election |
| October 30, 2015 | Absentee ballot deadline for general election |
| November 3, 2015 | General Election Day |
| December 3, 2015 | Post-general election campaign finance deadline for general election |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2015
This election shared the ballot with primary and general elections for the county offices of commissioner, controller, clerk of judicial records, coroner, sheriff and district attorney. City offices on the ballot included supervisor, treasurer, auditor, commissioner, council member, controller, constable and tax collector. There was also a magisterial district judge position on the ballot.[2]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Allentown City School District' Pennsylvania. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Allentown City School District | Pennsylvania | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Allentown City School District, "Allentown City School District Board of Directors," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, "Unofficial List of Candidates, Municipal Election, November 3, 2015," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, "Election Results," accessed November 4, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Citizens for a Better Allentown, "Candidates," accessed April 6, 2015 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "pac" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 United States Census Bureau, "Lehigh County," accessed September 21, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Allentown Community School District," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, "Election Results," accessed August 6, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pennsylvania Department of State, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Lehigh Valley Labor Council, "PA AFL-CIO Endorsed Candidates for 2015," accessed October 30, 2015
- ↑ Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Morning Call, "Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski implicated in FBI probe," September 10, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Morning Call, "Pawlowski, other top Allentown Dems form PAC to fund local candidates," January 28, 2015
- ↑ The Morning Call, "Under FBI's cloud, Allentown election season is subdued," October 29, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Robert Smith's responses," May 13, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Mark Smith's responses," May 13, 2015
| 2015 Allentown City School District Elections | |
| Lehigh County, Pennsylvania | |
| Election date: | Primary election: May 19, 2015 General election: November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Scott Armstrong (D/R) • Incumbent, Ce-Ce Gerlach (D/R) • Incumbent, Elizabeth Martinez (D/R) • Incumbent, Robert Smith (D/R) • Incumbent, Charlie Thiel (D/R) • Jonah Adamcik (D/R) • Carmen Cheriz (D) • Audrey Mathison (D/R) • Frank Nickischer (D) • Timothy Ramos (D/R) • Mark Smith (D/R) • Marc Telesha (D/R) |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
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