Lehigh Valley’s newest state lawmakers sworn in at Pa. Capitol
Three Lehigh County residents — Jarrett Coleman, Nick Miller and Josh Siegel — took oaths of office as first-time lawmakers amid fanfare and before loved ones in the state Capitol in Harrisburg on Tuesday.
The three said they were humbled and excited to work out of an ornate and historic building recognized around the state.
“Just the majesty of this place is overwhelming,” Siegel said.
In the Senate chamber shortly after noon, Republican senators took their oaths first, administered by state Supreme Court Justice Sallie Updyke Mundy. Among them was Coleman, the 33-year-old airline pilot and former Parkland School Board member who defeated longtime Sen. Pat Browne in the May Republican primary.
Among those watching Coleman were his wife, Katie, their two young children and his grandfather.
Below the soaring ceiling of the chamber and standing in a line of senators with their left hands on Bibles, Coleman and the others raised their right hands and took their oath. A short time later, Miller — an Allentown Democrat who turned 28 on Dec. 1 and is the youngest state senator in more than 135 years — joined a group sworn in by Miller’s mother, Lehigh County Judge Michele Varricchio.
MIller had a bouquet of flowers on his desk, and among the first handshakes he received was from veteran Democratic Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County.
Among Republicans who took the oath was Sen. Rosemary Brown of Monroe County. While newly elected to that job, Brown was a veteran of 12 years in the House of Representatives.
At roughly the same time in the House chamber, Siegel, a Democrat, was sworn in to his seat representing the eastern end of Allentown and part of Salisbury Township. The 29-year-old Siegel previously worked as a top staffer in the Lehigh County controller’s office, ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2017 and then won a seat on Allentown City Council in 2019.
“This is really humbling, to be honest,” Siegel said.
He added, “My goal in the House is to try and be a consensus-builder.”
Coleman’s newly redrawn 16th Senate District includes parts of Lehigh and Bucks counties. His mission, he said, is “to return government to working for the people and to empower Pennsylvanians by giving them a seat at the table.”
Miller has run his own real estate business and about a year ago climbed to the 19,341-foot summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa as part of a fundraising effort to buy exercise equipment for Allentown schools.
His 14th Senate District is new in the Lehigh Valley and includes parts of Lehigh and Northampton counties. Miller said he has put together a strong staff and plans to focus on education, helping small businesses and a housing-repair initiative, among other things.
Other, veteran Lehigh Valley lawmakers sworn in Tuesday included Republican Reps. Ryan Mackenzie of Lower Macungie Township, Milou Mackenzie of Lower Saucon Township, Zachary Mako of Lehigh Township, Ann Flood of Moore Township and Joe Emrick of Upper Nazareth Township, and Democratic Reps. Mike Schlossberg of South Whitehall Township, Peter Schweyer of Allentown, Jeanne McNeill of Whitehall Township, Steve Samuelson of Bethlehem and Robert Freeman of Easton.
Boscola, of Bethlehem Township, was sworn in to a seventh four-year term in the Senate.
Both the House and Senate have the highest number of female lawmakers in their histories.
The 16 women in the Senate include eight Democrats and eight Republicans. The 63 women in the House include 35 Democrats and 28 Republicans.