Joshua Siegel (politician)

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Joshua Siegel
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 22nd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byPeter Schweyer (redistricting)
Member of the Allentown City Council
In office
January 6, 2020 – January 3, 2023
Personal details
Born
Joshua Siegel

November 15, 1993 (29)
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, US
Political partyDemocratic
EducationSeton Hall University (BS)

Joshua Siegel is an American politician who is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he will represent the 22nd district, which contains parts of Allentown and Salisbury Township.[1]

Early life, education, and early career[edit]

Siegel was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Seton Hall University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science degree in international relations and diplomacy.[2] Siegel moved to Allentown in 2016. He worked as a field organizer on a Pennsylvania House of Representatives election in the 183rd district. He was a candidate for mayor of Allentown in 2017.[3]

From 2017 to 2020, Siegel worked as the public information officer for Lehigh County, and since 2020 he has worked as the assistant operations manager for the county controller's Office.[2]

Allentown City Council (2020–2022)[edit]

Siegel was elected to the Allentown city council on November 5, 2019, at age 25, making him at the time the youngest member ever elected to the body.[3] Siegel was sworn in on January 6, 2020.[4] He served as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee for three years.

During Siegel's tenure on the city council, he successfully passed paid family leave for city workers, making Allentown the fifth municipality or political subdivision in Pennsylvania to offer this benefit to their city employees.[5][6] Siegel also successfully led the drive to bring the city's vehicle fleet maintenance back in house after over twenty years of privatization, citing concerns over public safety, treatment of union employees, substandard wages and lengthy times required to service critical city vehicles such as fire trucks and snowplows.[7] Siegel also championed campaign finance reform legislation that would have capped the total size of contributions made by each donor; his bill, the provisions of which he argued would have prevented the corruption scheme that resulted in the resignation and federal conviction of Allentown mayor Ed Pawlowski in 2018, was defeated by a margin of 4–3.[8][9] Siegel successfully co-sponsored a responsible contractor ordinance that would have required city public works projects to go firms with Class-A apprenticeships, asserting that it would promote workforce development and protect the use of taxpayer dollars by ensuring the use of high-quality labor and contractors.[10][11][12]

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization which overturned Roe v. Wade, Siegel fought to pass local legislation that would have protected reproductive access in Allentown, including a buffer zone around the local Planned Parenthood clinic to protect those entering from harassment or intimidation, as well as legislation aimed at crisis pregnancy centers for disseminating false or misleading information and prohibiting city resources from being used to aide out of state prosecutors pursuing those coming to Pennsylvania for reproductive care.[13][14][15]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives[edit]

Elections[edit]

2022[edit]

During the 2022 Pennsylvania redistricting process, the city of Allentown gained a third seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. On February 8, 2022, Joshua Siegel declared his candidacy for the newly created seat, numbered as the 22nd district,[16] covering most of the city of Allentown as well as some suburbs to the east and southeast.[17] Siegel's candidacy focused on addressing the crisis of affordability and rising inflation such as the rising cost of housing, education and childcare; as well as economic development and regionalism, education funding, reducing gun violence, comprehensive public safety, affordable housing, responsible development, protecting the right to organize, strengthening unions, protecting democracy, reproductive healthcare and LGBTQ rights.[18][better source needed]

On May 17, Siegel defeated Saeed Georges by a margin of 64%–36% to win the Democratic nomination for the seat.[19] In the November 8 general election Siegel defeated Robert E. Smith, a former Allentown school board member,[20] by a margin of 64%–36% to become the state representative-elect for the 22nd district.[21][22]

Committee assignments[edit]

Siegel has been appointed to service on the House Appropriations, Transportation, State Government and Housing and Community Development committees.

Legislative Leadership[edit]

Housing Attainability and Development[edit]

Siegel has been an outspoken advocate for making housing more attainable for seniors and middle-class families and helping reduce the cost of housing across the State of Pennsylvania. He has introduced legislation around zoning reform to make it easier to build missing middle housing such as duplexes, triplexes and quads allowing density to be occur within existing developments in order to promote land preservation, walkability and smart growth which he argues will save taxpayer dollars, create more desirable communities and improve access to employment, healthcare and recreation that all generations demand.[23][24][25][26][27][28] Siegel is a member of the PA Housing Choices Coalition made up of a variety of housing advocates who argue that restrictive zoning and land-use planning have constrained supply of housing which is driving up prices and imperil the freedom of Pennsylvanians to live in the communities where they want to live and deprive them of access to opportunity.[29][30]

Siegel has also advocated for changing building codes to make it easier to build larger apartments that can accommodate families through legalizing point access corridors or single stair-case legislation which allow condominiums and apartments to be built around a central stairwell and elevator shaft in order to conserve space and improve the quality of units. The legislation is modeled after traditional building standards in Western Europe and Seattle. HB 1988 authored by Siegel would create a technical advisory committee[31] to create best practices and create guidelines around point access corridors to help municipalities determine if they wanted to legalize it at the local level and ensure that the buildings had strong safety standards.[32]

Redevelopment of Shopping Malls and Shopping Plazas[edit]

Siegel has promoted the redevelopment of blighted shopping malls and shopping plazas as well those experiencing a high level of vacancy. Siegel authored and passed through the Pennsylvania House, HB 1799 which provides local taxing jurisdictions with the ability to offer tax abatements in exchange for the mixed-use redevelopment of shopping malls and shopping plazas. The bill allows municipalities to request policy priorities such as energy efficient buildings, attainable housing, green space and walking trails in exchange for the tax abatements promoting both economic development and core municipal goals.[33][34][35][36]

Conversion of Office Space into Housing[edit]

Siegel has advocated for making it simpler for municipalities and developers to convert vacant or high vacancy office space to housing through expediting the local zoning process to ensure new housing is brought into communities quickly. Siegel has argued that there has been a significant decline in demand for office space and the rise of remote work means that downtowns and communities need to create more opportunities for people to live in them and focus less on traditional commercial office development.[37][38][39]

Protecting Abortion Access[edit]

Siegel has been labeled as a pro-choice champion, the highest possible ranking available by PA Choice tracker.[40] As a legislator Siegel has championed and supported legislation to protect access to abortion and expand and promote access to reproductive rights around the Commonwealth. He is a co-sponsor of legislation that would remove restrictive regulations known as TRAP laws or targeted regulations on abortion providers that were implemented with the intention of forcing clinics to close and thereby reducing access to abortion through overly burdensome and unnecessary regulations. These regulations were frequently used by anti-choice governors and legislators to undermine access to reproductive care.[41][42]

Siegel voted in favor of shield law legislation that would protect women seeking reproductive care in Pennsylvania from out of state prosecutors. The legislation would prohibit Commonwealth resources from being used to assist in helping facilitate prosecution of women in Pennsylvania traveling from other states where abortion access has been criminalized.[43][44]Advocates of the legislation argued that Pennsylvania had become a sanctuary for those seeking access to abortion and both doctors and patients shouldn't have to fear prosecution for providing critical medical care or be bound by dangerous out of state laws.[45]


Electoral history[edit]

Allentown mayoral election, 2017[46][47]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic primary election
Democratic Ed Pawlowski (incumbent) 1,702 28.20%
Democratic Ray O'Connell 1,377 22.82%
Democratic Charles F. Thiel 1,333 22.09%
Democratic Siobhan Bennett 719 11.91%
Democratic David Jones 575 9.53%
Democratic Joshua Siegel 295 4.89%
Democratic Nathan L. Woodring 34 0.56%
Total votes 6,035 100.00%
General election
Democratic Ed Pawlowski (incumbent) 4,833 39.12%
Republican Nat Hyman 4,569 36.99%
Write-in 2,250 18.21%
Independent John Richard Ingram 498 4.03%
Independent Solomon Tembo 203 1.64%
Total votes 12,353 100.00%
Democratic hold
Allentown City Council election, 2019[48][49]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic primary election
Democratic Cecilia Gerlach 3,310 27.65%
Democratic Candida Affa (incumbent) 2,192 18.31%
Democratic Joshua Siegel 1,985 16.58%
Democratic Courtney Robinson (incumbent) 1,897 15.84%
Democratic Luis E. Acevedo 1,381 11.53%
Democratic John Rosario 1,208 10.09%
Total votes 11,973 100.00%
General election
Democratic Cecilia Gerlach 8,171 29.74%
Democratic Joshua Siegel 7,347 26.74%
Democratic Candida Affa (incumbent) 7,230 26.32%
Republican Joe Hoffman 4,725 17.20%
Total votes 27,473 100.00%
Democratic hold
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 22nd district, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic primary election
Democratic Joshua Siegel 1,712 64.00%
Democratic Saeed Georges 963 36.00%
Total votes 2,675 100.00%
General election
Democratic Joshua Siegel 6,442 63.76%
Republican Robert Smith, Jr. 3,662 36.24%
Total votes 10,104 100.00%
Democratic hold

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sweeney, Brittany (May 18, 2022). "Josh Siegel triumphs in Democratic primary for newly formed Allentown Pa. House seat". WLVR. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "The Allentown City Council Members". Allentown, Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Wagaman, Andrew (November 5, 2019). "Two fresh faces to join Allentown City Council following Democratic sweep". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Rultenberg, Josh (January 6, 2020). "Allentown mayor O'Connell, two new council members sworn in". WFMZ. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  5. ^ Weber, Lindsay (February 4, 2022). "Some Allentown employees will now have six weeks of paid family leave". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "Paid family/parental leave policies for municipal employees" (PDF). National Partnership for Women & Families. March 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  7. ^ Weber, Lindsay (November 4, 2022). "After year of conflict, Allentown hopes it has a solution to maintenance problems in city vehicles". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  8. ^ Weber, Lindsay (November 18, 2021). "In close vote, Allentown rejects campaign finance limits for city candidates". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Althouse, Steve (November 17, 2021). "Allentown votes down campaign finance reform bill". WFMZ. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Reinhard, Katherine (March 6, 2022). "In Allentown, controversial law requiring contractor apprenticeships on city projects hits snag". Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  11. ^ Weber, Lindsay (February 17, 2022). "Under new Allentown rule, some contractors would no longer qualify to work on city construction projects". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  12. ^ Althouse, Steve (February 16, 2022). "Allentown passes 'responsible contractor ordinance'". WFMZ. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  13. ^ "Councilman Josh Siegel plans to make Allentown a safe-haven for women's reproductive rights". WFMZ. August 24, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  14. ^ Weber, Lindsay (August 25, 2022). "Allentown abortion ordinances draw big crowd at raucous committee meeting; council members' tempers flare". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  15. ^ Farris, Jaccii (August 3, 2022). "Allentown councilman introduces abortion-related ordinances; not all council members are on board". WFMZ. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  16. ^ "Allentown city councilman announces candidacy for Pennsylvania's 22nd House district". WFMZ. February 8, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  17. ^ Nunez, Alan (July 13, 2022). "Joshua Siegel is young, but has all the experience in his run to represent PA District 22 in Harrisburg". Al Día. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  18. ^ Siegel, Joshua (February 8, 2022). "Issues". Vote Josh Siegel. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "Joshua Siegel takes lead in Democratic nominating contest in race for Pa. House district covering parts of Allentown, Salisbury Twp". WFMZ. May 17, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  20. ^ Golter, Graysen (October 6, 2022). "Josh Siegel, Bob Smith want to be Allentown's 3rd representative in Pa. House. Where they stand on affordable housing, abortion, election integrity, and more". The Morning Call. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  21. ^ "Siegel wins open seat as 22nd District state rep". WFMZ. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  22. ^ Reinhard, Katherine (November 10, 2022). "For three open seats in Legislature, Lehigh Valley picks two Democrats, one Republican". Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  23. ^ Siegel, Joshua (January 18, 2024). "Your View from state Rep. Josh Siegel: Lehigh Valley housing crisis is a challenge … and an opportunity". The Morning Call. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  24. ^ Cole, John. "Pa. House committee unanimously advances housing access bills". Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  25. ^ Dickey, Kat (January 31, 2024). "Making affordable housing more available in the Lehigh Valley is aim of area state representatives' bills". Lehigh Valley News. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  26. ^ Hennen, Anthony (February 10, 2024). "Zoning reform may come to support 'gentle density'". Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  27. ^ Jones, Evan (January 7, 2024). "What to do with empty retail space? A Lehigh Valley representative has an idea". The Morning Call. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  28. ^ Jones, Evan (January 8, 2024). "Can PA solve the affordable housing crisis? A Lehigh Valley representative wants to look at what other states are doing". The Morning Call. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  29. ^ Hennen, Anthony (February 7, 2024). "State zoning reform may come to support 'gentle density'". The Center Square. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  30. ^ Hennen, Anthony (March 21, 2024). "'This is what America was built on:' more housing, less red tape". The Center Square. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  31. ^ "Bill Information - House Bill 1988; Regular Session 2023-2024". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  32. ^ Liguori, Priscilla (January 23, 2024). "3 Pa. bills aim to bolster housing supply". WFMZ.com. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  33. ^ Square, Anthony Hennen | The Center (April 17, 2024). "Pennsylvania House approves malls-to-apartments tax abatement". The Center Square. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  34. ^ Hall, Peter (March 20, 2024). "Pa. House panel passes bills to spur redevelopment of struggling malls and Main Streets • Pennsylvania Capital-Star". Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  35. ^ "Pennsylvania House approves malls-to-apartments tax abatement". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  36. ^ Square, Anthony Hennen | The Center (April 17, 2024). "Pennsylvania House approves malls-to-apartments tax abatement". The Center Square. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  37. ^ "What to do with empty retail space? A Lehigh Valley representative has an idea". The Morning Call. January 7, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  38. ^ "Making affordable housing more available in the Lehigh Valley is aim of area state representatives' bills". LehighValleyNews.com. January 31, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  39. ^ Liguori, Priscilla (January 23, 2024). "3 Pa. bills aim to bolster housing supply". WFMZ.com. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  40. ^ "Joshua Siegel is Pro-Choice - Pennsylvania Choice Tracker". Choice Tracker. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  41. ^ Ni, Sameeksha Panda, Jasmine. "Penn alum, Pa. state Rep. Tarik Khan proposes legislation to expand abortion access". www.thedp.com. Retrieved May 16, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  42. ^ Mukpo, Ashoka (March 3, 2020). "TRAP Laws are the Threat to Abortion Rights You Don't Know About | ACLU". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  43. ^ "Pennsylvania House passes "shield law" to protect providers and those out of state seeking abortions - CBS Pittsburgh". www.cbsnews.com. November 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  44. ^ "House Roll Calls - 2023 RCS# 753". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  45. ^ "Pennsylvania House passes "shield law" to protect providers and those out of state seeking abortions - CBS Pittsburgh". www.cbsnews.com. November 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  46. ^ "Allentown municipal primary election results, 2017". Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. May 16, 2017. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  47. ^ "Allentown municipal general election results, 2017". Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. November 7, 2017. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  48. ^ "Allentown municipal primary election results, 2019". Lehigh County. May 21, 2019. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  49. ^ "Allentown municipal general election results, 2019". Lehigh County. November 5, 2019. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2022.

External links[edit]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded by
Peter Schweyer
(redistricting)
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 22nd district

taking office January 3, 2023
Incumbent