They've debated the issues tonight.

We'll hear from them first this affairs.

Here's this evening's moderator Genesis Ortega Aula Ebonie those to a special debate of the 2021 campaign for Allentown Mayor PBS39 and 91.3 WLVR are proud to present this forum and partnership with La Mega Radio and La Razon newspaper.

We're coming to you live from the public Media Center in Bethlehem.

We are just 12 days away from the primary election and tonight we're joined in person by all five candidates for Allentown mayor.

So why the focus on Latino affairs Gamma Allentown is the third largest city in Pennsylvania with one of the largest Latino communities in the state, according to the US Census.

53% of the city's population is Hispanic or Latino.

The Puerto Rican community is the largest group, but the population is diverse with substantial numbers of people with Mexican and Dominican roots and yes, all issues are Latino issues and vice versa.

But we're hoping this debate serves as a platform for a substantial community that oftentimes finds itself without a voice on issues that impact them every single day.

Our partners La Mega Joan Larsen assisted in the marketing and promotion of this debate.

But the organization content and questions were solely assembled by PBS39 and WLVR journalists, our partners and of course the candidates do not know what the questions will be.

So without further ado, let's introduce the candidates.

Democrat Ce-Ce Gerlach is a city councilwoman who previously served on the Allentown School Board.

Democrat Julio Guridy is the current city council president and was first elected in 2001.

Democrat Ray O'Connell is the current mayor.

He's a formal council member who was appointed interim mayor in 2018 and then elected to complete that term.

Republican Tim Ramos ran for mayor two years ago in the general election against Mayor Ray O'Connell and Democrat Matt Tuerk formerly served with the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation and the Allentown Economic Development Corporation.

A quick refresher this is a primary election.

Voters who are registered Democrats will select one of the four Democrats with us tonight, Republican voters will cast ballots too.

But Mr Emmaus is the only candidate for mayor on the Republican side.

So he has a AZ for now in November, he'll square off against whichever Democrat wins on May 18th.

OK, so we have a lot to get to and we want to move fast.

So here's how tonight's forum will go.

We'll open with a lightning round each candidate answering a single specific question just for them.

They'll have one minute to answer.

After that we move to the issues, ask a question and each of our guests will have 30 seconds to reply.

30 seconds because there's a lot to cover.

I'll entertain rebuttals after each candidate has had a chance to address each question.

Just raise your hand or signal me.

Then we get to the part where I turn it over to the candidates.

They'll have an opportunity to ask questions of each other.

And finally, about a Tatamy that will wrap it up with closing statements.

So let's get right to it.

Mr Gary Day, we randomly selected the order and you're round.

My question for you, you've been a councilman in Allentown for 20 years during that time, affordable housing has gotten farther out of reach.

City finances haven't stabilized and a pay to play scheme sent the former mayor and his associates to prison.

Why should citizens expect anything to change under your leadership as mayor when you've been here all along?

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Thank you Mr Guri.

The Mayor O'Connell you're up next.

You've come under fire for not communicating more during the pandemic or during a surge in gun violence the year before.

And went back on your word when you said you wouldn't seek a full term as mayor.

Do you see this as a communication problem?

Oh, absolutely not.

During a pandemic?

Well, like I said, my former managing director, we had a weekly meeting with bureau chiefs cabinet supervisor the whole bit.

So we were in constant communication and people said I was Milford during a pandemic.

I was far from mimeo.

I did not have to be out to shake it hand and Glen Gardner with everybody because you asked the police department, you see the fire department, you ask the paramedics.

We kept we kept going, kept going full steam ahead as far as my commitment and said in 2019 after the state of city that I would not run for reelection, my wife had cancer.

Things change in life.

She had two forms of cancer.

You know, cancer, ovarian cancer and things change.

If anyone ever told you it didn't change your mind about something, I don't think they're being very truthful.

So I decided when I went with my family and we said, look what do you want to do?

What do I want to do that when you want to do and I said I want to run one more time four year term to finish the job I started the last three years.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mayor O'Connell Ce-Ce Gerlach a question for you.

Less than a year into your first term, you threw your hat into the ring against an incumbent mayor whom you've ardently supported.

How do you answer critics who say your ambitions exceed your qualifications and you don't have the experience to manage a multimillion dollar city budget?

So I would say after ten years of governing experience passing policy both on the school board and now on city council, I am far more experienced than some of my colleagues.

Ten years of experience.

I want two different entities.

I know how to bring people together and know how to bring different types of people together, which is what I did within my first year on Allentown City Council I brought together people who usually don't sit in the same room, people who are sleeping under bridges with people who are serving soup and people who are running companies, CEOs.

That's the type of leadership that we need and Allentown now more than ever.

And I look forward when I'm elected as mayor to continue to bring people together and pass policies to create structural, systemic change.

Thank you, Miss Scurlock.

Mr Ramos, in March, you declined to participate in a forum like this that focused on LGBTQ issues.

You told us you wouldn't attend because you don't have a primary opponent and you wanted the Democrats to have an opportunity to have their own debate.

So why are you here tonight?

Are Latino fairs more important than LGBTQ ones?

No, not at all.

I actually me and my team made the decision in 2019.

We went to every single debate.

I participated from the very beginning and on to start this campaign.

I decided that I would let the first debate go strictly to the Democrat candidates, let them have their own debate.

That was before the business matters debate had been.

We had known that it was scheduled.

So that was my decision to let them have their first debate and then we would participate if every debate after that.

Thank you, Mr Ramos.

Hi, Mr Turk.

My question for you, your three Democratic opponents have all done something you haven't won an election in Allentown.

Some would suggest that puts you at a distinct disadvantage in this race.

And a recent poll found three fourths of city residents don't know who you are.

Do you feel like your campaign has to make up a lot of ground?

No.

In fact, I think we're in a really good position.

I think actually the advantage compared to my candidates because I haven't been part of the petty bickering that a lot people in Allentown are fed up with.

And a lot of people that I've spoken with at the doors.

Yes.

Is ground to make up in name recognition.

But I would point out that same poll found that only 33% of the people in the city knew who Councilwoman Gerlach was and something like 48% of the people in the city knew who Mayor O'Connell was.

Additionally, that poll found that 67% of the city of the people in the city across the city would dissatisfied with the direction that we were headed in.

And I think that I've heard that at the hundreds of doors that I've knocked on.

And that's, I think what puts me in a distinct advantage.

I'm a distinct difference from what we've had in Allentown for many years leading our city administration.

I do have the experience working with elected officials, working with government officials in Washington in Harrisburg and here in La Lehigh Valley.

That's the experience that I'm going to bring to City Hall and start a new day and Allentown great.

And that's the end of the lightning round.

Let's move on in the next set of questions.

Everyone will get a chance to answer once you're done.

If you want to rebut or add something, you can, but only after each candidate has had a chance to address the topic.

Mr Matt Tuerk, we'll start with you.

I want to remind you that we have 30 seconds to respond.

Two out of three residents in Allentown say it's a great place to live.

That's according to a recent poll from Muhlenberg College in The Morning Call.

But nearly half said they think life is getting worse in the city and a majority worry about being a victim of crime.

What's the first thing you will do to improve the quality of life for residents Gamma The first thing that'll do to improve the quality of life for residents is begin to one thing that I've seen the mayors do in the past is actually get out of city hall, spend some time not in the fifth floor, but on the first floor of City Hall in the Atlanta Lehigh and out in the neighborhoods.

I thrive on talking to our residents.

I'm talking to my neighbors.

That's what I'll do.

I'll do mayors walks will walk, walk with department heads through our many neighborhoods.

Understand what's great about our city and understand what we can do to improve it.

Great.

Thank you, Mr Taric.

Miss Gerlach will go to you.

What will you do to improve the quality of life for residents?

Right.

So it always starts with investment in the neighborhoods, which is an investment in people.

So one of the first things I will do is fully invest in the program that we currently have in the city of Allentown to increase the amount of home ownership it takes people who traditionally don't qualify through traditional measures and helps them to be to become a homeowner within two years.

So would be the first program I focus on great.

Thank you, Miss Gerlach.

Mr Covid, I'll go to you.

The first thing I would do is in regards to quality of life, let's make sure that we have a very robust public safety, compassion and also a clean city.

One of the things that we experiences a lot of people complain about being out in Allentown they think that they won't feel safe.

I want to make sure that they feel safe.

I want to make sure that the children have better recreation.

And I want to make sure that we are building our house in Stockton, a city.

Great.

Thank you, Mr Gary Day.

Mayor O'Connell.

We'll go to you.

OK, thank you.

First and foremost, crime is down 11% city of Allentown.

Before the pandemic hit, I was doing neighborhood walks east side, north south side center city.

We will continue this neighborhood watch over to Pat Toomey.

We have to have affordable housing for citizens and Allentown our residents eventually going to homeownership.

Our housing stock is very old.

We have to make that transition from affordable housing to homeownership and also to when I think about the pandemic as far as going out to go out to all parts of neighborhood Allentown is built on neighborhoods we have to improve and communication with our neighborhoods.

Great.

Thank you, Mayor O'Connell.

Mr Ramos, we'll do you think this is a great question because I've been leading the charge on community policing for a while over the last decade I've argued that we need to return and invest in community policing programs where are communities?

Are police are actually knowing our community becoming partners with our neighbors is what we need where we have a good relationship.

The mayor says that crime is down 11%, but people are stopping me on the street, selling me off gangs of gang violence and things that have happened are unreported and we need to be proactive in our approach to protecting our neighbors.

Mayor O'Connell, Mr Ramos mentioned you in his statement.

Would you like to rebut?

No.

OK, Merrick Garland, let's 40,000 vaccines administered by the Health Bureau have gone to Hispanics knowing that this disease disproportionately affects people of color, how can we do better?

You know, it really starts with getting out there because when we identify gaps, believe in vaccines or be they in educational attainment, that means we have to have a targeted approach.

So that literally means hitting the streets, going door by door.

Senning are staff in the health department to the community, hitting the block and speaking with people and clearing up any kind of hesitancy in InfoChoice own languages.

We have folks to speak more than 47 different languages in the city of Allentown.

Great.

Thank you, Miss Gerlach.

Mr Weatherly, we'll go to you.

Thank you.

I think we can do the same thing making sure that we also, in addition to hitting the neighborhoods, but we can also have higher people who can do more for the Hispanic community, make sure that in Spanish Ekert Mount Penn want us to Portland I thought I in the Andrew Cuomo Portland to my love Mark Knouse itam being your perception Kenhorst I to Africa without a so you don't get to.

I do not know not for my negative approval, for my positive.

Thank you Mr Gary Day Mayor O'Connell.

How can we do better as far as vaccinations.

Yes.

OK, we have a vaccination program that we rolled out to the entire community OK. And in beginning our brown and black residents are not.

I think there was so much skeptical from the medical issues they've had in years past.

But we had set up a Spanish hotline.

We have been rapping on doors a whole bit.

We right now at Acall we're vaccinating 1100 or 1,200 people a day and we are seeing more brown and black people coming in for the vaccination.

So once the word gets out, Intertrust is there.

They will get vaccinated and we will be there for them.

Great.

Thank you, Mayor.

Mr Ramos, we'll go to you.

You know, this goes back to needing strong leadership.

We don't have strong leadership.

So when you look at city hall and the community is looking at city hall, it's like an island by itself.

Our neighborhood doesn't know everybody in city hall.

The PO, as you said, showed that not even half the city knows who our mayor is.

So that's a problem.

We need a leader who's willing to get down, go down into the community, go down to the neighborhood and lead by example and be there so that when our community is looking for what to do next or the effect that we want in our community, they can see someone they trust and they know Mr Terrick will go to you.

So this is a question where it starts at the top.

We needed mayor and Allentown who has a level of cultural competency that isn't on display among any of my other opponents in this race.

That's not just a mayor who speaks Spanish Yardley finally Mar-a-Lago.

OK, Boyertown Latino.

And if I knock on the central patrol, I do speak Spanish, but I also have that bicultural.

I've lived and worked in Panama and Nicaragua.

I know what it's like to be an immigrant in those places.

And what the relationship that people have with public medicine, we need that level of cultural competency, competency and Allentown at the top and all through the administration Mayor O'Connell I saw you raise your hand.

I have a rebuttal for Mr Ramos.

Mr Ramos, the question was about vaccinating brown and black residents instead of Hellertown.

You went back to the same repetition of, you know, the leaders not dare to lead and don't there we've been in Pat Toomey pandemic for 14 months.

We're still in a pandemic.

So we're visible.

We're visible.

But you can't be out there doing things and I would have been I would have been a super spreader if I went out there and every part of the community and I want to do that.

I'll go to Mr Ramos, then Mr Turk, then Mr McGreavy and Ms Gerlach again.

I myself as somebody who's been involved for many, many years, obviously I know you, Mr Mayor.

And I know everybody minus Matt Tuerk who I've known for many years.

And I myself only witnessed at least four times in last year that you basically popped your head out.

It was in my opinion, irresponsible.

We needed someone to be more proactive and to be out front and it's not about putting an S on your chest, but it's about being present and being present with as many answers.

I possibly can Matt Tuerk.

Well, what I'd point out is that there's a lot of other ways to reach our community than just being out on the streets.

Yes, it's an incredibly effective way and I think it can be done safely in the current.

But you can reach our residents through new technology and it's not even that new you can reach through Facebook Live.

I think some of the other candidates here, including myself, have demonstrated an ability to communicate with people.

But you need to be able to do that not just using technology but also being able to do it in multiple languages.

As we pointed out, 55% of our population, 53% is Latino.

Many of those speak Spanish.

We have to be able to speak to our people in English and in Spanish.

Mr Gary Day Joe Dominion Weatherly.

We need somebody who can speak Spanish, who can talk to them.

And not only speaking Spanish but also in a cultural way, knowing how to say what to say and how to get to the people.

I did that by using Facebook Live.

I did a couple of them, a couple of Facebook.

They just where I spoke about what we needed to do at the beginning, what we need to do when we get it.

And I'll continue to do that all along.

And I'm sorry to say we all do respect La Mega.

What am I had during that time, Miss Gerlach?

Yes, we are a working class city, which is why we need a working class mayor, someone who shares those values, those principles as a majority of folks and Allentown.

And when I say get out onto the street, I also mean partner with organized nations and houses of worship where they have leaders.

They're the true community leaders that are respected and they're credible messengers.

And that's why we need someone who's been around for a while and who's been out in the community, who people trust so that I'll be able to actually go there and immediately form those relationships.

We have to move on.

Mr Woody, Allentown saw numerous protests last year after the police killing of George Floyd.

What changes have been made for Latinos and people of color to inspire trust and confidence in their police department?

It was very unfortunate that happened.

And I feel for for the victims that are locked up and unfortunately hurt by some police officers through all the years in regards to Latinos, we are sometimes also experiencing the same thing for a offroad Latino myself and for my family, I feel the same way.

However, we do have some programs we working with ArtsQuest College to establish a program and to fit Allentown into Allentown police department.

We're looking at other programs outside of the city as well.

Mr O'Connell.

Yeah, it all it all boils down to trust.

Our police chief is an outstanding police officer or a police administration outstanding.

Our police department are doing a fine job.

It's a tough city.

It's a rough city.

But you have to go out there and our chief is in the community policing.

He was in Central City working as a captain.

It all comes down to if the people in the community have confidence in the police department and they trust you, we can do great things moving forward.

And when you look at it, the resources that we hooked up with shoot across college to do this data study and the whole bit, that's where it's going to start and going to show exactly where it needs to take.

Matt Tuerk Ramos Emmaus.

You know, I grew up in Center City and I know what it's like to encounter police who are overzealous, who don't respect our community.

So that's why for years I promoted the idea of returning back to community policing and fully funding an initiative to support that where we build those relationships again.

But we also need to reform our training of police.

And what I mean by that is not in their ability to police, but in their ability to respond and how their attitude is if we expect 18-year-olds to go to war and not be overzealous, we need to do the same for our police here at home.

Mr Turk.

So unlike some of the other candidates tonight I attended the Citizen's Police Academy that Ashland Allentown police department holds every year.

It's an eight week course where you meet for three hours a night for two nights a week.

And I was lucky enough to be partnered or sat side by side with somebody who was very involved with the Black Lives Matter and protests over the past summer.

We had an opportunity to talk to Allentown police department about the improvements they've made and they seek to make.

And what we can see is a bright future, but they need the support and they need the leadership of a strong mayor who has an understanding of life in Allentown and of what the police department goes through.

Miss Gerlach is absolutely time for us to reimagine public safety.

@We must focus on the actual structural systemic issues that lead to crime, that lead to gun violence.

We cannot continue to expect our police officers to do everything to be social workers, to be crisis workers, mental health workers.

I led the effort during the summer for police reform.

I'm leading the effort now to bring in crisis workers and intervention workers who can actually address issues of homelessness and drug and alcohol challenges, as well as mental health crises.

Mr Gary Day, you raised your hand.

I think we're all leading the way.

I don't think it's only one person.

I think we are working on Bethlehem making sure that we have better housing, we have better police officers.

And you know, to say that it's only one person, it's a policy.

But I can tell you this one of the person that I've been working on has been working with the police and making sure they have community policing has been on the one who actually been talking about making sure that our police neighborhood four years we've been working on that and we are making strides that I think police reform is definitely necessary, but we need to be able to do it in different languages and I'm the person to do it.

I think doing it for years.

I think we need a better definition of what police reform is.

I think we need a definition from some of the opponents of what they mean when they said fund the police.

I think we need our opponents to define what they mean when they say reimagines policing.

The reality is that Allentown police department has already begun the process of continuous improvement of doing better to preserve public safety.

They've invested in more mental health workers, mental health professionals within the police department.

They've invested in de-escalation.

We need to continue to support that investment to make sure that they can preserve public safety.

Allentown Mr Caramel's, you know, the police have begun to take those steps and make those changes because the chief of police grew up three blocks from where I did.

He grew up in the same environment and understands that what works will work and that's what our community needs.

I disagree with Mr Garrity that he supported community policing because for ten years or more I was championing that issue and he and the mayor both told me no multiple times throughout a ten year period we're going to keep talking about policing, but I'll allow Mayor O'Connell and then Miss Gerlach to add follow up statements, community policing, a large scope of community policing.

Every police officer should be doing community policing, all 222 of them.

We have started a program with community intervention specialists.

We had one I put $100,000 in budget to hire a second.

We're looking for the county to bring Eddie Moran.

So we have a corespndent model officer will go out with somebody, a community intervention specialist, and we want five with five platoons.

We want one community intervention specialist with police don't miss Gerlach's drug addiction are not crimes.d- We do not currently have equal response Moderna we have an after response model where after the person has entered the criminal justice system, that's that is when they are connected to the community resources.

By then it's too late.

Furthermore, Cedar Crest, that's a three year contract.

We don't have three years Bucks County they develop their charisma model within six months.

I want to follow up with that.

Back to you, Mr Gorilla.

At $40 million, the police department accounts for one third of all city spending.

money with some of it be better spent to battle drug addiction, mental health and homelessness?

I think we have now about $50 million that is coming to us from the federal government, the CARES Act.

And we are going to do invest some of that money.

If I my opportunity to invest some of that money into providing those services to all residents and to support the police so they don't have to do everything, but they get support from the community as well.

That's a police reform it's all about and nothing.

Let's defund the police.

I'm saying let's work with the police and augment the services that they are providing.

And by the way, I was the first one to actually attend the civilian police academy about 20 years.

Go and thank you, Mayor O'Connell.

How do you feel about defending the police?

I would not defend the police.

We look at the different parameters in their budget and if we have to shift the money around for professional training, development, things like that, we would do that.

But here's the bottom line is the police department as well as the department should have Allentown 222 people in the police department.

We also have to put public safety number one when somebody picks up a phone and you're in trouble or they're in danger or something's happening in your neighborhood, they call 911 and we dispatch a police officer to that.

Mr Ramos, your thoughts?

I disagree with funding the police.

I again go back to training and how they respond.

And I also think that what we need to do is hire from within, hired local to do that.

I've talked about for many years an explorer's program where we started in the school district, train up our young people, do a kind of ROTC program and then we would see a natural transition and our police, instead of being people from other communities, other cities, townships, they'll be from right here.

They would know the issues and they have relationships that are already built.

Mr TURC defunding the police, categorical Gamma No, I think the idea of holding our police accountable to our community is a great idea.

I think that we should diversify our force.

I think we should invest in training.

I think we can find training funding from other sources, but that requires a mayor.

It's getting out there and working in Harrisburg and in Washington to make sure that we have the resources that we need to support the men and women of the APD in improving and in doing better.

That's where I stand on defending the place.

It's an absolute no, I think it's a terrible idea.

Miss Gerlach, we absolutely must reallocate funding when we can invest in actually preventing crime, when we can actually send credible messengers into communities to prevent crime from happening, to de-escalate conflict before there's a body on the ground and also invest in crisis workers, social workers to actually address the structural issues and the social issues that people are going through.

This the proven model that's been used throughout the country and Kahootz, out in Eugene, Oregon, police were needed less than 1% of the time when the crisis team was present.

Mayor O'Connell rebuttal would be we are diversifying our police department over the last 11 to 15 people we hired.

We're hiring.

We hired three Hispanic Latino officers last night.

A couple of weeks ago, a city councilman.

We hired four women.

I ran a campaign in 2017.

Grow your own Mr Ramos.

Exactly right.

You need to grow your own.

We have to start early on in middle school and high school, get him into career if it's criminal justice, give him the support to get into that officer Gilberton Upper Saucon or do a ride along.

I am committed to diversifying to police departments Mohnton with Allentown people.

Mr Herk, I think it's important for for the viewers out there to understand that it's not just me saying we shouldn't defend the police.

It's all of the people of Allentown.

I've knocked on doors across the city, hundreds of doors and they do not want to see a defunding of police.

They count on the police department.

They want the police department to do better across the city, but they do not want to see a reduction in force.

They want to make sure that when they have an issue that an officer shows up and they won't have a good relationship with those officers.

And that's where those continue investments in community policing will pay off Miss Gerlach and then Mr Gary Day, according to the recent poll that you referenced earlier, Mr Turk, 65% of Allentown residents would like to see the public safety reimagined and actually have investment in things like affordable housing.

Social workers, crisis workers, the citizens of Allentown want to reimagine public safety and want to reallocate funds.

That's what the polls suggested.

Mr Gary Day, I think one of one of the issues making sure that we have police officers that are not speak Spanish, that I looked like Hispanic population in the city, which is at least 53% Latino and last night we had an opportunity to hire three Hispanics and one of my opponents here who was in city council voted against him.

And I just can't understand why if we have we're looking to hire more people from within, more Hispanics and they vote against it.

We do have a lot more to talk about.

But Mr Turk, I'll give you ten seconds if you'd like to respond.

Just as I pointed out earlier, we need clear definitions.

What people mean when they say reimagine.

We need clear definitions about what people say when they mean when they say abolish the police, which I've heard before and we've heard much worse at protests.

Mr Ray O'Connell Allentown has a diverse population.

Yet this diversity isn't always reflected on the city's boards and commissions or its workforce.

Why is that?

Do you have any plan to ensure that the voices of Latinos are represented in your cabinet and across city government Gamma Oh, absolutely.

You're wrong.

My Cabinet has two black, one in HR one is CDC.

I hired the first I appointed the first Latino fire chief in the history of the city of Allentown.

Our workforce overall we went from a 12% in 2018 a minority population in City Hall to at this point 17% when we have openings on boards, direct commission, EEOC, any commission, any board, any authority.

I try to recruit all minorities in those boards.

We've done a good job and an excellent job.

Let me clarify, is the fire chief sitting with you when you make those decisions Gamma As far as what is as far as any decisions that affect the residents of Allentown when we talk about your cabinet right.

Of course.

Yes, of course.

Is I talk to the fire chief three times a day and a police chief probably six times a day that with me it's called a team.

Mr Emmaus.

You know, I think that many of our elected officials have taken a position that those in the city of Allentown are just not good enough to be represented in those positions.

Of power.

If I'm elected, you would have the first Latino and Allentown history to stand there to be in the at the table making decisions.

And I would definitely I've already been looking at people for the last two years that I would put in positions of power to help make decisions so that we have leadership that represents the community.

Mr TURC.

So I think that Mayor O'Connell cabinet is strong, but it can get better where I think we do have a fall and this is something that I've looked at since early in my thinking about running for mayor is that we are woefully inadequate when it comes to diversity on our authorities, boards and commissions and it's beyond ethnic diversity.

It's beyond gender diversity.

It's geographic.

There's a tremendous concentration in certain parts of the city.

We need to cover the whole city and that goes toward we need a pipeline.

It's not just how do I scramble to fill a position when it becomes open, but it's continuing to invest in relationships with our neighborhoods to make sure that residents have an opportunity to be part of those authorities, boards and commissions.

Miss Gerlach, I'm currently working with the solicitor on Gordon.

It's called Employee Allentown.

What this ordinance will do is will give preferential treatment to Allentown residents were equally qualified as an out of city resident.

It will also ensure that contractors who own businesses and they are a marginal communities will have a certain percentage of contracts with the city.

We know we know those of us who look around know that the city can definitely improve, improve its diversity among its city staff.

But again, that's not is going to happen with hoping and dreaming.

You need policy to do that.

Mr Gary Day.

I open the doors for Hispanics and for people of color to be elected into the city back in 2001.

When I became a city councilman and they'll never being anybody who was not a white person elected in the city.

And I think I would when I'm in Pen Argyl Major, I'll be there doing the same thing in our workforce.

I would diversify our workforce and I would like to make it as hard as I can to make sure that they reflect the people who live in the city.

I would include everybody, blacks, young, Hispanic, white, but it will be diversified and inclusive.

Mayor O'Connell, I'll let you provide a statement at the statement.

What I would be make is that authorities, boards and commissions, it's all volunteer volunteerism is down all over not only Allentown the city, the state, the whole bit.

We make a conscious effort, a very conscious effort to reach out to different organizations, say we have an opening when the Ratboy we have an opening on the Human Relations Commission and we get responses.

In fact, there's a youth commission that hopefully will start up one of these days and we have some recruiting for some people for the youth commission at this time.

Now, Mr Herk said your cabinet could be stronger.

Do you feel that way?

As opposed to diversity?

Yes, I'm always open.

We look to get the most qualified, most well-respected, most perfect fit for Allentown.

I would say three out of ten cabinet members or black or brown.

I think that's a pretty good percentage right now.

And I brought them on board.

I brought them on board.

Mr Turk, at some point I'd love for Mayor O'Connell to clarify when hopefully soon means for that youth commission.

But I'd also return to this point related to authority boards and commissions.

I want Allentown residents to understand how critically important these boards commissions are because they make the decisions that affect all of our lives.

And with the short pipeline that we have, I've worked with I've talked with folks that promise neighborhoods Lehigh Valley who have a class that is designed to get our residents to understand the opportunities on this authorities, boards and commissions.

I think it's a great place to go to work the pipeline and add people to our decision making process across the city.

We have to move on.

But one last word from Mayor O'Connell.

I want you to clarify when am I going to start the Youth Commission?

You said hopefully soon.

City Council initiative.

Mr Gary Day the council initiative, sir.

I turn the question on Mr Gary Day you can answer that we had a number of people who actually applied to the commission before during the pandemic and they told me that they had sent it to the mayor's office.

And I when I asked the mayor, he said he only had three or four, now up to seven.

So we're becoming ArtsQuest La Mega brings in to city council.

I mean, we can start with 77.

Just bring Mulvaney the city council.

That's why we ask and we can pass Palmerton we can confirm in a city council, but you have to bring him over Ce-Ce Gerlach.

I'm not sure what's taking so long when as soon as I got on Allentown City Council within two months I was able to form the commission on Homelessness because I knew the people, I knew the people under the bridges.

I knew the people who were working for nonprofits and I knew the people running the non-profits.

So I look forward to Mr Garrity when he's able to also recruit people to fill his commission.

It's not the same.

It's not the same for when you have when you're working with youth, you've got to be careful who you bring in because all these laws and all these sexual abuse and all kinds of things are gone.

So you've got to make sure you have the right people there.

That's very important.

We do have to move on.

So let's talk about affordable housing in some Allentown neighborhoods, people spend more than 30% of their income on housing the city's new apartment buildings are out of reach for low to middle income workers.

How would you provide more affordable housing, Mr Emmaus?

You know, again, you've got to start with the issues our elected officials have created in artificial market, especially with what's going on in the downtown, which has caused the increase of housing.

Also tax increases, service and fee increases on both the school board and the city.

That is what's driving up costs.

We also have a what you know, it's basic economics and basic supply and demand.

We have a lot of people moving in, not a lot people selling their homes at this moment.

So what we need to do is create an environment where underutilized properties are being made available so that they can be developed from moderately priced housing.

Mr Terk.

So affordable housing is a problem that is important not just here in Allentown but across the Lehigh Valley.

During the years that I spent the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, we worked to develop regional solutions to regional problems.

This is a key regional issue and this is a place where the city of Allentown has to have regional partnerships to address these issues.

The increasing the supply of housing has to be done not just here in Allentown but across the Lehigh Valley to lower the burden on our residents building in Hanover Township Building and Bethlehem.

That's good for Allentown Miss Garlock.

This trickle down theory of develpment just simply does not work.

The data is clear.

What we need again are structural changes.

We can't just all continue to say that we want affordable housing but not provide clear methods on how we will achieve that.

I have to clear methods proven throughout this country, inclusionary zoning and community benefits.

They will mitigate the effects of gentrification that Mr Ramos has mentioned.

Mr Giuliani, you know, got a develop the committee and I recommended for inclusionary zoning and none of the developers wanted inclusionary zoning because it's very apparent to them.

So we need to make sure that unfortunately, because of the raised material right now is very difficult to make a profit or for the housing.

So I will go back to look at the properties that we already have that I blighted and rehab those properties and then selling at a lower cost and to those potential homeowners that never had a home before, Mayor O'Connell or Houssam Stockers really old.

We got a $5.6 million grant for abatement.

We're working on that right now.

We did 52 homes last year and hopefully addition we can do over 100 homes.

But what we have to do, we have to take those blighted properties.

OK, go in and rehab those blighted properties and turn those around to our residents of the city.

Allentown homeownership.

Homeownership is the ultimate goal of any city.

Thank you.

We have a lot of topics to cover.

But Mr Ramos, I'll let you have the last word.

You know, I hear is Deer Lake talk about inclusionary zoning.

We talked about this in the 2019 campaign.

It doesn't work.

There's only two places in the country that has worked and those counties are in the richest areas of our country.

And what often happens is what you have is planners plan their plans fail and then someone else thinks they can plan again with the same old ideas.

You know, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

We can't bring that Allentown cause a further ghettoization of our community putting our residents at risk because it's just going to continue to drive up costs.

Mr Kirk, a recent report says the Allentown school district faces a $55 million deficit over the next five years.

If taxes don't go up, does the city have any role to play here?

And what should it be Gamma The city has a lot of roles to play in being a partner to the school district.

I've said often that you have to have a top to top relationship, a regular open dialog between the school district superintendent and Allentown mayor.

There needs to be a regular or strong partnership between Allentown school district and the city of Allentown to ensure that the school district can accomplish its goals.

And the Allentown city of Allentown has a responsibility to make sure the kids are coming from safe, clean and healthy neighborhoods and getting the school ready to learn.

But one of the biggest things that we can do is be an ally in Washington and in Harrisburg to make the ASD has the resources that it needs.

Miss Gerlach.

So last night on City Council I led the way.

I'm the one that brought the resolution forth to council to advocate to the governor to implement the fair funding formula.

Right now, only 11% of the money actually goes through the formula, which is a disserves to the Allentown school district.

Now these partnerships that we talk about, they must be strategic.

They must there must be shared vision, shared goals and of course shared responsibility.

Mr Gary Day, I'm saying that I would be meeting with the superintendent of the new superintendent of the school district Allentown at least once a month.

And part of the reason is so we can get those people, especially those who spending 70% of the or the population on the school district, Hispanic and make sure that they get a good education.

They are trained properly so they can get sustainable jobs in our city.

And we'd like to bring more high tech companies so they can provide higher wages for those students as well.

Mayor O'Connell, it's been said many times, are very true.

The city is only as strong as a school district and the school district is only as strong as the city.

I had a very good relationship with.

Mr Parker was very, very I was not happy to see Mr Parker leave.

He was a very progressive superintendent.

What it has to be done is equal funding for Allentown Covid or Allentown Kutztown stationhouse from the city of Harrisburg and the state about nine to 10,000 per student in suburbs.

It's anywhere from 14 to $17,000 per student.

We have to level the playing field for Allentown kids.

It's not their Mr Caramel's.

You know, I said that I would immediately create the Mayor's Council on Education where we would join city administrators, school administrators, parents, teachers, business leaders and professionals in the area.

We would work together to come up with solutions to work with the school district because there are people who are just not willing to move into the city because of the school district or wanting to leave and the school district, if you look at how it's set up, it's in such a bad way.

It's affecting young people in a negative way and even with the tax increases at the school district, how can we expect our parents to be involved in the lives of their children when they're working more and more and more just to pay taxes?

We have to move on.

But I'll give Mr Turk and Miss Gerlach the final word.

So just very quickly, I've heard from so many residents are frustrated with their status.

So San Quentin infrastructure is to at and the street of our residents are frustrated with the conditin of the district.

They're frustrated that the city isn't doing a better job helping the school district out and providing youth opportunities.

And one of the things that our older residents are frustrated with is the increase in taxes both from the city and from the school district.

We can work to grow our tax base to ease the burden on our authorities.

Thank you, Mr Tamaqua.

Ce-Ce Gerlach as the only one that's running that has served in the governing role on both entities, both the city and the school district.

I understand the very policy level.

What can be done, what can't be done in terms of working with the school district.

And again, when we say work with the school district, we need to have a specific examples.

For example, our students, they went virtual, but yet there was not a municipal level, a citywide internet.

So these are tangible solutions.

I will.

Thank you, Miss Gerlach.

OK, it's time to move on.

I've asked a lot of questions and now the candidates get a shot before the debate, the candidates drew names.

Now they get a chance to ask that person a question each candidate will have up to a minute to respond.

We're going to start to my left with Miss Gerlach, who did you draw and what's your question?

So I have Mayor Ray O'Connell and Mr Ray O'Connell, my question for you is what specific policy or policies have you implemented to bring forth a more inclusive and equitable development?

We have what we called a city council when I was in city council for eight years and Mayor for three years.

I've brought in many policies for Tower City Council City Council.

I brought legislation to me and we are working on things that include affordable housing, develop the whole community, the whole the whole nine yards definitely have brought forth.

And when I was a President Erdogan, I would have probably monthly meetings with all developers in the city and we would talk about development in the north side, the south side, your side.

We have developed the inner city really well.

Now we have to reach out and develop South side, east side, north side.

So we are meeting we met with three developers this week down in Waterfront.

We're Pocono waterfront with the general properties.

We're also working with the Manhattan Building Company.

The Gary Day is very aware and we met the other day with some people that want to come into the South Side and do some affordable housing.

Thank thank you, Mr Gary Day.

Your turn.

I bet Mr Ramos'.

Oh, ArtsQuest in Spanish, but I'm not North Catasauqua Norristown Wernersville everybody English, so I'm going to ask them in English so I knowing all the all the increase in material for developing housing right now in regards to wood and everything else that has to do with housing development, you keep saying that we're going to rent.

I mean we're going to lower rent in our city.

How are we going to lower rent?

Can you explain how are we going to lower the rent to our cities citizens?

What you what we have to do is we need to make it easier and less expensive for developers to come in to build moderately priced housing, to create an opportunity for them to provide more housing for our community.

It's supply and demand.

I just said you change policy change law and ordinances by getting in and changing the ordinance.

The prices on the other houses are the prices.

I mean, when yo