Due to resignation Representatives Joshua Siegel (D-Lehigh) i Dan Miller (D-Allegheny), Speaker of the House of Representatives Joanna McClinton signed election orders calling for special elections to be held in the 22nd and 42nd parliamentary districts on Tuesday, (*24*) 24.
Last month, Siegel won election to the Lehigh County executive seat and Miller won the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas judgeship.
Under the House Rules, the Speaker must issue the letter within 10 days of the vacancy.
Siegel becomes the county’s youngest-ever chief executive. He told City & State that the motivation to run for this position was the consequences of the 2024 elections: the withering credibility of institutions, democracy and parties. Siegel, 31 set yourself lofty goals during your campaign to address challenges that county government has not traditionally attempted to address. He made it a top priority to address the regional housing shortage, while proposing that the county consider reducing property taxes and implementing a 1% sales tax.
Miller has represented the 42nd District since 2013. The 54-year-old had it previously said that he had considered running for judge before he was elected to the House of Representatives. House colleagues and social services advocates have not been shy about saying so Miller achieved a lot in his time in the state legislature. They say he will leave a legacy of support for disability and mental health issues, perhaps most highlighted during the annual summit attended by lawmakers and policy experts.
The 22nd and 42nd districts are in Democratic strongholds. Nearly 53 percent of residents of Lehigh County’s 22nd District, which includes the state’s third-largest city in Allentown, are registered Democrats, compared with 21 percent of Republicans.
The numbers are similar in the 42nd, which includes Baldwin, Mount Lebanon, Upper St. Clair, where Democrats have a 53-30% voter registration advantage.
