Politics & Government

Mayor Candidates Do Not Respond to Patch Questions

Two candidates—one incumbent and one challenger—are vying for the Democratic nomination in the May 21 primary election. Neither answered a Patch election questionnaire emailed last week.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated. John F. Belin sent his responses to the Patch election questionnaire two days after the deadline for responding had passed. Those responses have been posted on the Emmaus Patch site as a service to our readers.

Two candidates, Incumbent Winfield Iobst and Challenger , are on the ballot for the May 21 Democratic primary for Emmaus mayor.

Patch recently sent them each a questionnaire by email so voters can get to know them better.

Find out what's happening in Emmauswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The candidates were asked to supply their answers by May 15.

As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, neither candidate responded to the questions.

Find out what's happening in Emmauswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the case of incumbent Iobst, Patch sent the questionnaire to a borough staff member because the borough website does not list an email address for the mayor. A staff member then contacted Patch to say the mayor does not have email. Patch told the staffer she could submit the answers for him, which she said she would do.

The winner of Tuesday's primary will face the lone Republican candidate Julian Stolz in the November general election. Stolz is a member of the East Penn Board of School Directors and will not be allowed to hold both offices if elected mayor. (Stolz is also running for Emmaus Borough Council).

Iobst, who has been mayor for 16 years, is a retiree who worked at Mack Trucks.

Belin is a chemical technologist who pledged to give back his salary as mayor if elected.

Both candidates did respond to a brief questionnaire from the Lehigh County League of Women Voters and their responses can be found here.

Below are the questions that Patch sent to the candidates:

Age:

Family:

Political party affiliation:

Tell us about your educational background:

Tell us about your professional/business background:

Why are you running for Emmaus Mayor?

What qualifies you to serve as Emmaus Mayor?

What do you see as the Emmaus Mayor’s primary role and responsibilities?

Tell us about three major challenges facing Emmaus Borough and how you would address them. (Please be as specific as possible):

How much are you spending to run? How is your campaign being funded?

What, if any, endorsements have you received?

Do you use social media? If so, please provide links to your Facebook and Twitter.


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