GOP Challengers in Lower Mac BOC Race Reflect on Primary Win

Ron Beitler and Brian Higgins ran companion campaigns in the GOP primary for Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners, unseating incumbents Roger Reis and Ron Eichenberg in a hotly contested race.

Beitler, in an email statement to Lower Macungie Patch, said that the Beitler-Higgins win speaks to the level of frustration among the residents of Lower Macungie Township.

“First, politically the win shows folks are fed up with political campaigns based on special interest donations fueling endless ROBO calls and mailers,” Beitler wrote. “I tried to run a campaign centered on writing about issues in detail then taking that message to residents by hitting doors.

“Turnout was definitely disappointing. I know people who stayed away from the polls in Lower Mac specifically because of frustration with endless ROBO's and mailers,” he added. 

The key issue in the election, Beitler said, was land use and development in the township.

“Parts of the Jaindl project will be coming through the land development phase for years,” he explained. “Promises were made by the board and by Mr. Jaindl to handle it in a certain fashion. I hope to be a conduit for the community to scrutinize the plans and hold the developer to his word.

“I have opposed this zoning change every step of the way and through every means available. Yesterday, the election was about consequences. Two incumbents lost their positions because of land development decisions they made,” he wrote. 

Higgins said that he believes that he and Beitler will also have won Democratic nominations for Lower Mac BOC when write-in ballots are tallied, and that this speaks volumes about what's been happening in Lower Macungie politics.

"Local government is about people and not about parties, and I am proud to be a member of the Republican Party and thankful for the people in the Democratic Party for wanting to see me serve them as well.

"This is a show of bipartisanship that I would hope to see across the country, but at least we have it in Lower Macungie Township," Higgins said.