As Pennsylvania state legislators were sworn into office on Tuesday, there were a couple new faces representing the Lehigh Valley. WDIY’s Sarit Laschinsky has more.
Three new lawmakers are now representing the Lehigh Valley in the Pennsylvania State House and State Senate.
State Sen. Nick Miller, a Democrat, was sworn into office to represent the 14th District, a new addition to the Valley which covers parts of both Lehigh and Northampton counties.
Miller is a small business owner and a former member of the Allentown School Board. At 28 years old, he is also the youngest member to serve in the state Senate.
Joining Miller is new Republican State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, who beat longtime incumbent Pat Browne in the primary race for the newly-redrawn 16th District, which covers most of Lehigh and parts of Bucks County.
An airline pilot, Coleman previously served on the Parkland School Board.
Meanwhile, in the state House, Democratic State Rep. Josh Siegel was sworn in to represent the new 22nd Legislative District, covering parts of Allentown and Salisbury Township.
The 29-year-old Siegel was a member of Allentown City Council and also worked in the Lehigh County Controller’s office.
A number of reelected Lehigh Valley lawmakers were also sworn in on Tuesday. Among Democrats this included State Sen. Lisa Boscola and State Reps. Jeanne McNeill, Michael Schlossberg, Peter Schwyer – now representing the new 134th District - Robert Freeman and Steve Samuelson.
Returning Republican legislators include State Reps. Zach Mako, Ann Flood, Joe Emrick, Milou Mackenzie and Ryan Mackenzie, the latter two being the first mother-son duo to serve in the Legislature.
(Original air-date: 1/4/23)
