FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Dave Martin
646-483-5898
dave.goodgovpodcast@gmail.com
Allentown, PA May 12, 2026
The Good Government Show sits down with Nick Miller — and finds a fresh voice doing serious work for the Lehigh Valley.
Nick Miller was selling produce at the Allentown Farmers Market in seventh grade. A few decades later, he returned as a Pennsylvania State Senator to deliver grant funding to renovate it. That kind of full-circle moment captures something essential about Miller — a lawmaker who grew up here, works here, and measures success by what he can actually deliver for the people who sent him to Harrisburg. Miller joined host Dave Martin on The Good Government Show for a conversation that stayed close to home: farmland preservation, clean water, keeping kids safe online, and the nuts-and-bolts work of getting things done in a divided legislature. Whatever your politics, the issues he’s working on are ones every Lehigh Valley family lives with every day.
The Valley is growing fast — and Miller knows that growth without guardrails comes at a cost. Farmland is disappearing to warehouses. Truck traffic is fouling the air. He’s helped preserve 104 acres of farmland in the district, secured $1 million to bring a long-vacant Main Street building in Northampton borough back to life with street-level retail and a dozen new apartments, and delivered grant funding to help Second Harvest Food Bank put locally grown produce in the hands of veterans and seniors who need it. He also secured funding to renovate the Allentown Farmers Market — the same market where he worked as a kid. “Growth is good,” he told host Dave Martin, “but it’s got to be smart growth.” On spending, he’s equally direct: ask him whether a government dollar is well spent and he’ll show you the project it built.
Miller has also made technology a priority — and not in an abstract, Washington-talking-points kind of way. As minority chair of the Senate Communications and Technology Committee, he’s pushing the Safe Chat Act, bipartisan legislation to protect kids from AI platforms that can manipulate vulnerable young users. The bill requires AI systems to identify themselves as non-human, mandates regular breaks, and ensures that users showing signs of distress are connected to real help. He’s also secured $250,000 to shore up cybersecurity defenses in Lehigh and Northampton counties before a ransomware attack forces the issue. And he’s championing legislation to finally give local Lehigh Valley police access to radar technology — making Pennsylvania the last state to drag its feet on something every other state figured out years ago. “Technology is moving quickly,” he said, “and we’ve got to move faster.”
Perhaps the most urgent fight on Miller’s list is one that affects firefighters and families alike — PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals found in firefighting foam that have been linked to cancer among first responders and have contaminated water supplies in parts of the region. Legislation is moving through the Senate, and Miller is pushing hard to get it done. It’s the kind of issue that doesn’t fit neatly on either side of the aisle — it’s just a problem that needs solving. That’s how Miller tends to talk about most things. “There are different perspectives,” he told Martin. “But what can we do to work together?” For Lehigh Valley listeners who are tired of politicians performing for cameras instead of showing up for their communities, this conversation is worth 30 minutes of your time. The Good Government Show is produced by the Good Government Institute. New episodes are available wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more at goodgovinstitute.org.
PULL QUOTES
“There’s a lot to talk about — bringing fresh energy and new ideas to the table in Harrisburg. That’s critical to good government.”
“Growth is good, but it’s got to be smart growth.”
“My goal is to get stuff done. To do that in divided government, you’ve got to work together.”
“There are different perspectives. But what can we do to work together?”
“It does work — state government can point to real successes that have an impact on your day-to-day life.”