Ray O'Connell

Ray O'Connell
Ray O'Connell
	O'Connell in October 2019
42nd Mayor of Allentown
	In office; March 29, 2018 – January 3, 2022
Preceded by	Roger MacLean (acting)
Succeeded by	Matthew Tuerk
Personal details
Born	Raymond D. O'Connell; December 10, 1949
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Beth
Children	2
Alma mater	Kutztown University; Lehigh University

Ray O'Connell is an American politician who served as the 42nd Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He assumed the office on March 29, 2018 following the resignation of former mayor Ed Pawlowski.

O'Connell was selected to serve as mayor by the Allentown City Council in a 4-to-3 vote.[1]

Biography

Prior to taking office as mayor, O'Connell was an educator and the executive director of secondary education for the Allentown School District and served as president of the Allentown City Council from 2015 until 2018.[2]

O'Connell previously ran for mayor in 2017 in both the Democratic primary and as a write-in candidate in the general election, losing to incumbent mayor Pawlowski in both.[3] O'Connell ran for election to finish Pawlowski’s mayoral term in 2019, and won the Democratic primary for the special election on May 21.[4] He won the election to complete the term by a 2-to-1 margin in the general election on November 5, 2019.[5]

In 2019, he announced that he would not seek re-election in 2021,[6] but announced a bid for re-election in 2020.[7]

O'Connell lost his re-election primary to former economic development official Matthew Tuerk.[8]

References

Kise, Jacob (March 30, 2018). "Ray O'Connell named interim mayor". WFMZ.com. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
"The Mayor". www.allentownpa.gov. March 29, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
Opilo, Emily (March 29, 2018). "Meet Allentown's new mayor, Ray O'Connell". The Morning Call. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
Bresswein, Kurt (May 21, 2019). "Allentown mayor bests Democratic challengers to set up election battle". Lehigh Valley Live.
"Lehigh County Results". WFMZ.com. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
Wagaman, Andrew (November 6, 2019). "Allentown delivers Ray O'Connell two more years in mayor's office". The Morning Call. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
Wagaman, Andrew (December 11, 2020). "It's official: Allentown Mayor Ray O'Connell will seek four more years in office". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
Wagaman, Andrew (May 7, 2021). "How Matt Tuerk won the competitive Allentown Democratic mayoral primary". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 13, 2021.

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[1] Kise, Jacob (March 30, 2018). "Ray O'Connell named interim mayor". WFMZ.com. Retrieved March 30, 2018.

[2] "The Mayor". www.allentownpa.gov. March 29, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2019.

[3] Opilo, Emily (March 29, 2018). "Meet Allentown's new mayor, Ray O'Connell". The Morning Call. Retrieved March 30, 2018.

[4] Bresswein, Kurt (May 21, 2019). "Allentown mayor bests Democratic challengers to set up election battle". Lehigh Valley Live.

[5] "Lehigh County Results". WFMZ.com. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.

[6] Wagaman, Andrew (November 6, 2019). "Allentown delivers Ray O'Connell two more years in mayor's office". The Morning Call. Retrieved November 6, 2019.

[7] Wagaman, Andrew (December 11, 2020). "It's official: Allentown Mayor Ray O'Connell will seek four more years in office". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 18, 2020.

[8] Wagaman, Andrew (May 7, 2021). "How Matt Tuerk won the competitive Allentown Democratic mayoral primary". The Morning Call. Retrieved October 13, 2021.