Ce-Ce Gerlach launches campaign for Pa. House seat in Allentown

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown City Council member Ce-Ce Gerlach is formally launching her campaign Thursday for Pennsylvania’s 22nd House District, a seat currently held by Rep. Josh Siegel.

Siegel, a Democrat, has announced he will run for Lehigh County executive in 2025, leaving the state House seat open.

Gerlach will hold a community announcement event at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at IBEW Local 375, 101 S. 7th St., Allentown. Residents are encouraged to attend.

Running under the slogan “One of Us. For All of Us,” Gerlach said her campaign will focus on housing, education and equity.

“I’m running to make sure the voices of working families, students and underrepresented communities are heard in Harrisburg,” she said in a statement.

Gerlach was first elected to City Council in 2019. Before that, she served eight years on the Allentown School Board. She has also been active in grassroots organizing, leading efforts on housing justice and criminal justice reform, and founded a community response team to support people in mental health crisis.

Earlier this year, Gerlach co-sponsored Bill 4, a measure that codified Allentown’s practice of not using city resources to enforce federal immigration laws and providing city services regardless of immigration status.

Her record has not been without controversy. In 2022, Gerlach entered a first-time offenders program after being charged with endangering the welfare of a child while working as a caseworker for Valley Youth House. She completed 24 months of probation under the program.

Gerlach has also clashed with city officials over the planned clearing of a homeless encampment near Jordan Creek. She criticized the decision, citing her own past experience of homelessness.

“The eviction will be a destruction to residents’ lives, to their mental health, to their recovery,” she said.

In 2024, Gerlach sponsored a proposed Homeless Bill of Rights, but the measure did not gain support from City Council.

The 22nd District covers parts of Allentown and the Lehigh Valley. The election will be in 2026.