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Allentown City Council swears in new members and elects leadership
Summary
At its Jan. 5 organizational meeting, the Allentown City Council administered oaths to newly elected members, elected a council president and vice president, and heard brief remarks from the mayor and incoming members. Vote tallies were not specified in the transcript.
The Allentown City Council held its organizational meeting Jan. 5, 2026, administering oaths of office to newly elected council members and selecting the council’s president and vice president.
Linda Vega administered the oath of office to multiple incoming members, including Cynthia Mota, Jeremy Bender, Natalie Santos and Christian Pongo, each of whom repeated the pledge to support and defend the constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The oaths were recorded as taken in January 2026.
The council moved to organize for 2026 with nominations from the floor. A nomination for council president was made and, after members voiced their votes, the acting president announced the nominee’s election. "Congratulations," the acting president said after the vote. The transcript does not provide a formal roll-call tally or the full text of the motion.
Cynthia Mota was nominated and elected vice president after a separate nomination from the floor; multiple council members answered "Yes" when asked to vote. The transcript does not list a vote tally by name or count for either leadership election.
The meeting also included brief acceptance remarks from several newly sworn members who thanked voters and supporters. Jeremy Bender recounted grassroots outreach that helped his campaign; Natalie Santos described the council position as part time and expressed gratitude to those who assisted her reelection.
The meeting concluded after brief closing remarks and a short announcement that parking fees could be reimbursed through Michael Hanlon.
The council adjourned and said it would begin substantive work the following day.
