ALLENTOWN, Pa. — When Democrats like Lehigh County Executive Joshua Siegel were elected into office across the country last November, people took note.
The 2025 general election saw victories by now-New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Democrats flipped two seats on Georgia’s statewide Public Service Commission and the party outperformed in many state and local elections.
Josh Siegel won in one of those local elections. He clinched the right to lead Lehigh County with more than 60% of the vote, while previous elections for executive in the last two decades have been much closer.
The county sits in a Congressional district that has flip-flopped between both parties in recent years, and is one of many competitive areas in the presidential swing state of Pennsylvania.
It’s one of many places across the country where Democratic candidates promised voters they would govern differently than Republicans have in Washington, so voters are showing up to hold them to it, like they did in late February for Siegel’s first State of Lehigh County address. It was standing room only at Coca-Cola Park — home of the local minor league baseball team, Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
“This really is a packed house,” Siegel said. “It may not be baseball season here at IronPig Stadium, but we really filled the freaking parking lot!”
At a time when there’s much to say about the ways state and federal government does not work for people, Siegel’s looking to make changes that do work at the municipal level.
“Certainly, there hasn’t been an administration in Lehigh County like this really, like, ever,” he told NPR. “I certainly have a more expansive view of what county government or local government needs to do in this moment.”
Since President Trump’s return to office, there’s been a pendulum swing away from the Republican Party and voters unhappy with the new status quo, which has led to a new crop of candidates like Siegel happy to change things.
“People don’t necessarily still like the Democratic Party, it’s just that the alternative is so much worse,” he said. “We need a Democratic Party that wins by design, not by default. And I think we’re in a dynamic right now where we win by default.”
Siegel boasts being the youngest county executive ever elected in Pennsylvania and his specific vision for Lehigh County is ambitious, like calling for a one percent local option sales tax to fund things like housing and mental health programs and public transportation.
But his 45-minute state of the county address was equally a declaration of sorts about something bigger than the budget.
“Democracy is messy and disagreement is good,” Siegel intoned. “We cannot avoid difficult issues or difficult votes for the sake of comfort. We will not limit ourselves only to the lanes we’ve previously traveled. Our great system is ailing.”
Many of the salient changes and challenges found in this current political environment are on display in Lehigh County.
The decline of the steel industry gave way to a boom of manufacturing, technology and logistics companies that have flocked to the region midway between Philadelphia and New York City.
A growing economy has led to a growing, diversifying population, including a surge of millennials and Latino residents. Still, there are growing pains.
“Lehigh Valley is very, very Pennsylvania Dutch, and they’re very, very set in their ways,” local resident Howard Lieberman said after Siegel’s speech. “While there’s a younger generation coming up that has some ideas, like Josh is, changing the older generation is still going to be difficult.”
“Government has always been reactive – he’s talking about a proactive government,” Lierberman added. “I think the concept is right. I think the people sitting in this room are in favor of getting involved.”
But the same malaise folks have felt towards the government in Washington hasn’t magically disappeared just because Siegel and other newly elected Democrats have taken over running things in communities across the country.
There are still concerns about housing affordability and the cost of living, as well as how governments raise and spend tax revenue.
Lieberman says Siegel brings a sense of urgency that matches the urgency that voters say those issues require.
“What’s happening in the state and the federal level have an impact, but it’s not an impact tomorrow,” he said. “And no matter what happens there, it’s not going to impact me for months down the road. What he does here can be a tomorrow thing.”
After the final set of handshakes and congratulatory remarks from attendees leaving his address, Siegel acknowledged there are many “tomorrow things” on his plate.
But he’s also thinking about the future, and what it means to fail.
“Failure to me is not delivering on the way we talk about politics, the way we talk about solutions, not changing the culture and the discourse around what’s possible,” Siegel said. “People want that sense of urgency. I think the house is on fire. And so they’re looking for an equal reaction and equal sense of ‘Yeah, the house is on fire!'”
