Slow Down in Allentown, PA

00:00:00:04 – 00:00:03:38
David Martin
This is the good government show.

00:00:03:42 – 00:00:13:04
Matt Tuerk
Trying to get a better handle on things that we can do to address homelessness in a changing federal environment.

00:00:13:08 – 00:00:21:20
Matt Tuerk
We make smart investments that help advance the needs of the residents of our city.

00:00:21:25 – 00:00:29:51
Matt Tuerk
If we can slow things down, we can help people feel safe walking on the streets in Allentown.

00:00:29:55 – 00:00:39:50
Matt Tuerk
We have about 1500 units of housing that are under construction right now in the city of Allentown, and another 2000 in the pipeline.

00:00:39:55 – 00:00:46:52
Matt Tuerk
I make a strong point of being as welcoming as possible and encouraging everybody else to be welcoming.

00:00:46:57 – 00:00:52:56
Matt Tuerk
We have to give people an opportunity to trust us.

00:00:53:01 – 00:01:02:34
Matt Tuerk
Mayors are the front line of the protection of our democracy by maintaining the trust of the people.

00:01:02:39 – 00:01:23:38
David Martin
Slow down. That’s the message from the mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania. For the mayor, it’s about pedestrian safety, slower traffic, better for folks out walking downtown or anywhere in Allentown. Welcome to the Good government show. I’m Dave Martin. First, help us share the message of good government by liking us and sharing us where we are in social media. Make sure of us and share our show everywhere.

00:01:23:38 – 00:01:40:59
David Martin
We all need to talk about good government. I got to catch up again with the Mayor of Allentown, Matt Turek, this summer at the Conference of Mayors in Long Beach. As always, a lot to talk about in the third biggest city in Pennsylvania, behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Growth and manageable growth is on the top of the mayor’s list of priorities.

00:01:41:01 – 00:02:04:18
David Martin
We also talked about how cancer screenings for firefighters is helping retain firefighters and other public servants. He also talked about how moving the police department out of an abandoned diner improves policing. Meritorious. Also explains how running a marathon in Spain helps the people of Allentown. Really? That’s all. Coming up next right here on the Good Government Show.

00:02:04:23 – 00:02:34:24
David Martin
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David Martin
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00:02:57:51 – 00:03:04:41
David Martin
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00:03:04:46 – 00:03:23:02
David Martin
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00:03:23:07 – 00:03:30:16
David Martin
Welcome to The Good Government Show. I’m happy to have back with me Matt Turek, our friend from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Matt, good to see you again. How are you doing?

00:03:30:21 – 00:03:31:37
Matt Tuerk
Yes, I’m doing great.

00:03:31:42 – 00:03:33:08
Matt Tuerk
Yeah. You too.

00:03:33:13 – 00:03:39:30
David Martin
All right. Lots going on in Allentown. Lots to talk about. Yeah, we’re here at the Conference of Mayors. What have you learned.

00:03:39:30 – 00:03:47:12
Matt Tuerk
So far? I’ve got a thorough education in what’s going on in the world of data center regulation. I’ve spent a good amount.

00:03:47:24 – 00:03:48:24
David Martin
Of talk about data centers.

00:03:48:24 – 00:03:50:19
Matt Tuerk
This week. Yeah, it’s the.

00:03:50:19 – 00:04:11:59
Matt Tuerk
Topic of the moment. It’s definitely on everybody’s minds. But the things that are always on our minds as mayors or things like safety, public safety. So I’ve had an opportunity to talk with the new director of the ATF and push them a little bit on some of the regulations or the changes that he’s proposing to regulations about gun sales.

00:04:12:01 – 00:04:33:42
Matt Tuerk
Talked about housing, as we always do, trying to get a better handle on things that we can do to address homelessness and a changing federal environment. And economic mobility has come up, as it always does. And I had an opportunity to to share some of what we’re doing around the Allentown Works, which is a big economic development administration.

00:04:33:47 – 00:04:34:45
David Martin
Look, you just covered a lot.

00:04:34:45 – 00:04:37:50
Matt Tuerk
Of girls covered. You’ve covered a lot.

00:04:37:52 – 00:04:43:47
David Martin
Yes. Well, let’s start with public safety. You’ve got a new public safety building going up in Allentown. Yeah. How’s that going?

00:04:43:54 – 00:05:04:44
Matt Tuerk
So we did a groundbreaking a few weeks ago. We’re still getting geared up for construction. The initiative, like what we want to accomplish is to bring all of our police operations under a single roof, make sure that there’s a continuity of continuity of operations, and that our chief has a chance to check in with the patrol officers every day.

00:05:04:46 – 00:05:10:14
David Martin
And you’re spending a lot of money on this. How are you? How are you spending it? How are you spending the people’s money? Wisely, I guess, is the question.

00:05:10:17 – 00:05:13:41
Matt Tuerk
Yeah. I mean, this is the previous.

00:05:13:41 – 00:05:18:14
Matt Tuerk
Muster center for our police. Was a retired diner, basically from.

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Matt Tuerk
The 30s.

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Matt Tuerk
That didn’t respect the work that.

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Matt Tuerk
Our.

00:05:21:21 – 00:05:44:39
Matt Tuerk
Frontline public safety employees do every day. So we needed to make sure that there is a facility that both protected their safety and health, and also is a place where we can recruit future police officers. So we make smart investments that help advance the needs of the residents of our city. And we do capital projects that nobody was willing to take on for a really long time.

00:05:44:51 – 00:05:48:50
Matt Tuerk
And then we thoroughly and diligently manage those projects.

00:05:48:51 – 00:05:51:53
David Martin
You’ve managed to in your city. Crime has fallen.

00:05:51:55 – 00:05:53:05
Matt Tuerk
Yeah, significantly.

00:05:53:07 – 00:05:55:06
David Martin
How do you what do you attribute that to?

00:05:55:11 – 00:05:58:19
Matt Tuerk
Anytime that crime drops, there’s there’s a thousand.

00:05:58:21 – 00:06:02:43
David Martin
Multiple factors. Sure it is. It’s not all just the work of one brilliant mayor.

00:06:02:47 – 00:06:30:53
Matt Tuerk
Or not all the work of a dedicated and strong police department. It’s a lot of different investments. So it’s a function of doing better in terms of the economy in Allentown, it’s making sure that our police are appropriately staffed and that they have the tools that they need in terms of technology to lower crime, and that they’re trained properly to allow them to do things that get out into the community and to engage people and help them with decision making.

00:06:30:53 – 00:06:37:43
Matt Tuerk
All of this stuff rolls up together in Allentown and across the country to to help us drive crime down to its lowest level in decades.

00:06:37:45 – 00:06:39:05
David Martin
Are you hiring more officers?

00:06:39:07 – 00:06:58:03
Matt Tuerk
I’d love to. That’s the big challenge we are. You know, across the country, we’re faced with a bit of a crisis. Might be too strong a word, but it is not easy to get people to commit to public safety careers, particularly when a federal administration is using all enforcement to.

00:06:58:08 – 00:06:59:37
David Martin
Do things that are outside of their purpose.

00:06:59:42 – 00:07:18:45
Matt Tuerk
A little bit outside of their purview. And how’s that for help? And it really, I think, erodes the reputation of of all enforcement. There’s an opportunity for police officers and people who are involved to build strong bonds in a community and help everybody to get better. And I think that’s the story that we want to tell about police service.

00:07:18:48 – 00:07:27:15
David Martin
One of the things you said you wanted to do in this term, your second term as mayor, was focus on pedestrian safety. What’s the problem and what’s the solution?

00:07:27:19 – 00:07:34:39
Matt Tuerk
So there are a host of problems, but the biggest problem is that people are just driving too fast. There are.

00:07:34:44 – 00:07:35:42
David Martin
You get another speeding ticket.

00:07:35:42 – 00:07:41:49
Matt Tuerk
Mr. Mayor, I you know, I got a speeding ticket when I was 18 years old and Colorado in 1993.

00:07:41:57 – 00:07:44:44
David Martin
What did we talk about that the last time you were on that? You got a ticket? You got pulled over.

00:07:44:44 – 00:07:55:29
Matt Tuerk
I know I’m a guy who gets parking tickets. Okay? Actually, my kids got parking tickets, and then I pay them, and I make sure that everybody sees how we pay them. But there was no speeding.

00:07:55:31 – 00:07:57:02
David Martin
Tickets anyway. Speeding? You so was a problem.

00:07:57:04 – 00:08:13:51
Matt Tuerk
My kids actually wish I would drive a little faster. Sometimes I like to drive slow and I like everybody to drive, so I like Allentown and be the slowest city in America. If we can slow things down, we can help people feel safe walking on the streets in Allentown. And if we can help people feel safe.

00:08:13:51 – 00:08:16:25
David Martin
There is a nice downtown and there is good walking downtown.

00:08:16:35 – 00:08:35:36
Matt Tuerk
There’s good walking all over the city. We have to make sure that people feel safe to to walk, so if we can slow things down, there’s a host of different things that we can do around design. So installing speed cushions, something as simple as paint on the streets can help slow things down. But then we also need friends in the police department to help us with enforcement.

00:08:35:45 – 00:08:41:02
Matt Tuerk
Make sure that we’re catching people who are running red lights, blowing stop signs, driving too fast, and.

00:08:41:02 – 00:08:41:50
David Martin
Speed cameras.

00:08:41:50 – 00:09:09:55
Matt Tuerk
We don’t have the opportunity to do that in Pennsylvania. So we’re we’re not permitted by the Pennsylvania state legislature to use radar. We’re not allowed to use automated, regulated enforcement. It’s a real handicap to our law enforcement professionals who just want to make sure that Allentown can be safe. But the other big piece of it is, is awareness and making sure that people are educated about traffic laws and just how dangerous it is to drive fast.

00:09:09:55 – 00:09:18:00
David Martin
I ride a bike and I and I have no confidence in that. That yellow line on the street, does it matter? Does it make a difference? That line?

00:09:18:02 – 00:09:20:11
Matt Tuerk
It does have an impact on people.

00:09:20:16 – 00:09:23:11
David Martin
Not if you’re doing deliveries because they just park in the bike lane.

00:09:23:14 – 00:09:33:16
Matt Tuerk
I think what happens is that the an orderly street, right. So if there is some order on the street, it helps encourage better behavior behind the wheel.

00:09:33:18 – 00:09:33:42
David Martin
Okay.

00:09:33:51 – 00:09:44:58
Matt Tuerk
So it all adds up. Right? So you have to have that yellow line. But you also need strong enforcement. You need to make sure that if you violate the regulations on the street that you’re you’re caught.

00:09:44:58 – 00:09:49:03
David Martin
For it. Recently you announced cancer screenings for firefighters. Yeah. What was behind that?

00:09:49:05 – 00:10:08:47
Matt Tuerk
So our part of our responsibility, beyond being a city government that’s responsive to the needs of our residents, we also have to make sure that we’re providing the best possible workplace for our employees. So we want to make sure that our first responders are taken care of as much as possible, and that includes being the healthy place for them to work.

00:10:08:47 – 00:10:31:43
Matt Tuerk
So firefighters are exposed to a host of different chemicals in their work, both through their Turnhout year and through some of the foams that they had been using that included the forever chemical PFAS. And those are they put our firefighters in a dangerous position. We’re going to make sure that we’re screening early and often for cancers, a host of different cancers.

00:10:31:43 – 00:10:47:16
Matt Tuerk
So just make sure that went into our our contract with our firefighters, have a great partnership with one of our local health, health care health networks to do screening for our fighter fighters and make sure that we’re catching those cancers. Those detectable cancers are really and treating them.

00:10:47:16 – 00:10:53:35
David Martin
And I would imagine this makes the job more attractive and more inclined for these guys to stick around and have a long career.

00:10:53:47 – 00:11:05:58
Matt Tuerk
We had we’re here at the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the president of if Kelly was here and I was telling him that Allentown has become the most desirable fire department to work for in eastern Pennsylvania.

00:11:06:00 – 00:11:06:48
David Martin
So said the bear.

00:11:06:51 – 00:11:10:05
Matt Tuerk
I’m proud of it. Well, I mean, it’s, you know, people people want to come work.

00:11:10:05 – 00:11:11:46
David Martin
For us. You’re the third largest city in Pennsylvania.

00:11:11:48 – 00:11:16:00
Matt Tuerk
That’s correct. Yeah, yeah. So the most exciting Philadelphia.

00:11:16:05 – 00:11:18:14
David Martin
Okay, so to Alaska, Pittsburgh and Allentown.

00:11:18:14 – 00:11:41:32
Matt Tuerk
That’s great. But and it’s the gap between or between Pittsburgh and Allentown is not as big as you think it is. There’s 130,000 people in Allentown. I think there’s about 300,000 in Pittsburgh. Okay. The next story, just city after us, is I think it’s ready for Erie, which are both under 100,000. So we’re we’re the third largest by a by a significant district.

00:11:41:32 – 00:12:03:40
Matt Tuerk
And, and and importantly, Allentown is one of just two big cities in the Commonwealth that hasn’t hit its peak population yet. Places like Scranton had their peak in 1930 there. They’re all doing better now, but places like Philly and Pittsburgh were at their peak in the 50s and 60s. We have grown year after year. We’ve, you know, 2020 was bigger than 2010.

00:12:03:42 – 00:12:07:30
Matt Tuerk
2010 was bigger in 2020 30. We’re going to continue to grow.

00:12:07:37 – 00:12:21:34
David Martin
So driving driving through Lehigh Valley, yeah, it is a certainly in a growth mode. You know my my friends who live there say oh yes that used to be farmland. Now they’re going to put in, you know, an apartment complex, a housing condo complex.

00:12:21:37 – 00:12:36:02
Matt Tuerk
For $3.5 billion drug manufacturing facility that Lily company has committed to just outside of the city of Allentown. That’ll create 850 jobs. And Allentown residents are going to be ready for that because of investments that we make in our workforce.

00:12:36:05 – 00:12:38:33
David Martin
So the Lehigh Valley is definitely on the way up by far.

00:12:38:36 – 00:12:40:26
Matt Tuerk
By are the growth engine of Pennsylvania.

00:12:40:28 – 00:12:50:40
David Martin
One of the things you talked about, about doing in your in this term was updating the zoning codes. How is it going? Because that’s not easy. Because no one wants no one likes change. Right. Mr. mayor.

00:12:50:44 – 00:13:09:41
Matt Tuerk
I don’t know if a nobody likes change. I think that there if you could work with people to. So they could be the authors of the change. I think they can get get behind it. So we committed to changing our zoning map and our zoning code a few years ago. I would advise city leaders to not do both at the same time.

00:13:09:48 – 00:13:30:56
Matt Tuerk
It makes it a little harder, but we worked closely with people who are who are building and with developers to make sure that our news or zoning code amendment would accomplish our municipal objectives, lowering the cost of housing by building more housing and having mixed neighborhoods, but in a way that that developers could, could wrap their heads around.

00:13:30:56 – 00:13:52:50
Matt Tuerk
So we got our city council to adopt that. Seven nothing at the end of 2025. We’ve implemented at the beginning of 2026, and now we’re kind of living we’re doing the early life with our news and code. It’s been good feedback so far. We continue to see we have about 1500 units of housing that are under construction right now in the city of Allentown, and another 2000 in the pipeline.

00:13:52:50 – 00:13:58:14
Matt Tuerk
So there’s a healthy pipeline for for housing in Allentown and our zoning codes of facilitating that.

00:13:58:14 – 00:14:09:13
David Martin
There’s a couple of things I read about I hope you can talk about. You had a couple of grants, ones for an eight family unit, ones for a 20 family unit through the Allentown housing. How are these going? And are you are you seeing more of these?

00:14:09:16 – 00:14:30:17
Matt Tuerk
So those are just announced as are done in partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and with a local cdfi called Fernanda. Those are yet to begin, but those are part of that, that pipeline, the construction is good. We have a 38 unit under construction with a cortex, which is a for profit, low income housing developer.

00:14:30:19 – 00:14:43:30
Matt Tuerk
That’s right. In Center City. There’s hundreds of units under construction right now on our waterfront that are a mix of market rate and and affordable. There’s a lot of construction activity in Allentown, a lot of housing being built.

00:14:43:38 – 00:14:51:11
David Martin
How do you manage that growth correctly, though, for for the older citizens and the people who want to move there? Because that’s two kind of different groups, right?

00:14:51:16 – 00:15:13:02
Matt Tuerk
Yeah. You it is a challenge. The I think part of it is, is making sure that the residents who have been in Allentown for a long time feel like they’re part of this feature of the city. And knowing that the the residents are going to be coming in, the new folks that we can welcome, I make a strong point of being as welcoming as possible and encouraging everybody else.

00:15:13:05 – 00:15:39:03
Matt Tuerk
Be welcoming. So everybody who buys a new home in Allentown, single family home, I go knock on their door and just give them my card. I introduce them, you know, there’s only six, 750 home sales. So I give them the official welcome from the mayor to the city of Allentown. Congratulations on buying a new home. And then I asked their neighbors to also make them feel like their their home on the block and making sure that the residents are part of that.

00:15:39:03 – 00:15:44:36
Matt Tuerk
Welcome. That’s an important piece of of kind of bringing everybody together and growing city to focus on future.

00:15:44:39 – 00:15:58:14
David Martin
There’s something called the Allentown Toy Manufacturing Building. I understand that there’s some, some controversy in getting this changed from a vacant building to apartments. What’s the progress and other as the Allentown Redevelopment Authority doing other things.

00:15:58:21 – 00:16:27:05
Matt Tuerk
Redevelopment Authority, I think, is reviewing proposals now for the redevelopment of that particular building. The Redevelopment Authority is staffed by a city administration. So we have taken over an organization that was really struggling to do its core mission, which is acquiring and getting property into the hands of developers that can accomplish some of our municipal objectives, whether it’s around mixed income neighborhoods or affordable housing.

00:16:27:05 – 00:16:46:38
Matt Tuerk
So the Redevelopment Authority is getting its feet under it. There’s good leadership both at the board level and our staff is just phenomenal. There’s still a lot more to do. Allentown is not like I think some people think about Allentown as an older city, and they might think that it’s got a lot of vacant properties and abandoned neighborhoods.

00:16:46:38 – 00:17:06:17
Matt Tuerk
That’s not Allentown. Allentown is an older city. 40% of our housing was built before 1940, so some need to invest and upgrade existing housing and existing buildings. But we’re not we’re not an empty city. We don’t have a ton of vacant properties. So our redevelopment authority has a small number of properties to work with. But there’s there’s a lot of work to do.

00:17:06:20 – 00:17:13:12
David Martin
So I saw you on social media in Madrid, Spain, running a marathon. First of all, how’d you do? How was your time?

00:17:13:12 – 00:17:16:17
Matt Tuerk
I didn’t do as well as I normally do in the marathon, I was.

00:17:16:21 – 00:17:17:48
David Martin
How many marathons have you done?

00:17:17:52 – 00:17:19:04
Matt Tuerk
20. I think that makes.

00:17:19:07 – 00:17:19:38
David Martin
Oh, my.

00:17:19:40 – 00:17:20:14
Matt Tuerk
Yeah.

00:17:20:16 – 00:17:20:45
David Martin
Wow.

00:17:20:47 – 00:17:24:14
Matt Tuerk
Yeah, I got and I did my ten miles today before sitting down and talking.

00:17:24:14 – 00:17:27:11
David Martin
So you did your ten miles. You’re a better man than I. Well.

00:17:27:18 – 00:17:50:36
Matt Tuerk
It was great. It was a great race. And it was it was before. So I went to Madrid for Bloomberg City Lab. So Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in about 100 mayors across the world. They bring them in to sit in the mayor’s innovation studio, trade ideas, learn from each other about how to come up with creative solutions, the challenges that we face back at home.

00:17:50:36 – 00:18:15:02
Matt Tuerk
And then we continue to engage with city design experts and architects and thought leaders and good government experts on how we might improve what we do at home. So I did the marathon. I did, then I rolled right into City Lab, okay? And I was I had some tired legs, but I was energized by the conversation and the things that we learned and was able to bring back to town.

00:18:15:03 – 00:18:25:08
David Martin
Why is it important for the mayor of Allentown to go to Madrid, Spain, to come to Long Beach to a conference? You know, what do the people of Allentown get from, you know, your money.

00:18:25:10 – 00:18:26:32
Matt Tuerk
They get when.

00:18:26:34 – 00:18:27:07
David Martin
Their money?

00:18:27:10 – 00:19:08:24
Matt Tuerk
Well, so something like Bloomberg City Lab that’s supported by a philanthropic organization. So taxpayers are getting the what they get from my time and not their money because it’s not taxpayer funded. They get exposure to some of the world, like literally some of the best thinkers in the world about solving urban problems. So having an opportunity for a Bloomberg City lab to sit with Mary Hidalgo of Paris, who totally transformed Paris and made it a bicycle friendly city, getting a chance to talk with some amazing mayors, and from African countries from places like Lisbon, Portugal and Madrid, Spain and Mannheim, Germany.

00:19:08:27 – 00:19:34:23
Matt Tuerk
About solving the challenges that are common across the globe, but also spending a ton of time in in Madrid with mayors like Andy Shaw and mayors like Lauren McLean, mayors like Daniel Richmond from South Carolina, who are coming up with novel and innovative solutions to solving the some of the challenges that we face here related to public safety, related to housing, related to transportation.

00:19:34:25 – 00:20:17:06
Matt Tuerk
I had a chance to talk with Mayor Brandon Scott, who was doing phenomenal work in Baltimore around public safety and vacant housing. And whether you’re in Madrid with Bloomberg City Lab or you’re here at the US Conference of Mayors, where I’m talking a lot of those same people, we are learning a lot from each other. We have access to important officials who can help help us make improvements back at home again, talking to the new administrator for the ATF, we have an opportunity to think about how we can reduce gun trafficking, meeting with housing developers and folks who are helping us improve the economic outcomes for our residents from Bank of America.

00:20:17:10 – 00:20:37:16
Matt Tuerk
We have tremendous access to people who can help us, help empower us to do better. And then we have this amazing opportunity to learn from each other to to get a little better. So the combination, it’s really like the best possible learning experience that you could get for a mayor to be exposed to other mayors.

00:20:37:19 – 00:20:42:47
David Martin
And you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. No, because you just call somebody or you run into somebody who’s done it.

00:20:42:50 – 00:21:11:29
Matt Tuerk
Well, exactly. And when you when you come up with a challenge knowing that I can call up mayor Kate Galago, who’s leading the fifth largest city in the country, and she’s somebody who can help me navigate some of the challenges that we face in Allentown. That’s pretty impressive. And that is that comes from a small investment in travel that not only allows us to do this tremendous technical assistance and and learning opportunities, but also is plugged us into grant opportunities.

00:21:11:29 – 00:21:32:08
Matt Tuerk
So as a result of spending time with us, Conference of Mayors, I was able to get a $20 million grant from the Economic Development Administration as a result of the access that was provided through US Conference of Mayors, I’m able to get funding for our road safety improvements from the US Department of Transportation as a result of time spent with Bloomberg City Lab.

00:21:32:11 – 00:21:55:00
Matt Tuerk
I’m able to attract $200,000 of grant funding for youth climate action projects to make sure that our young residents are actively taking a role in improving climate outcomes in the City of Allentown in partnership with our city. So the dollar investment into the City of Allentown as a result of the time spent here has far exceeded what we’ve put in.

00:21:55:02 – 00:21:56:17
David Martin
That does sound like good government.

00:21:56:17 – 00:21:58:04
Matt Tuerk
That’s good government, man.

00:21:58:09 – 00:22:05:30
David Martin
You are very active on social media, I guess. Yes. Well you are. How is that good government? How does it help?

00:22:05:33 – 00:22:29:27
Matt Tuerk
You have to show people what you do. Transparency. Like our number one job is public safety is public health is infrastructure. In our cities. If we can get people like we have to give people an opportunity to trust us. And trust is partly I sang to do something and then I actually deliver on it. But when we can show the the process, we can show people the behind the scenes.

00:22:29:34 – 00:22:55:56
Matt Tuerk
It gives them a level of confidence that it’s happening the right way, independent of our direct work as mayor is working in our cities to solve the problems like potholes and housing and all that, that stuff that residents expect from us. We also have a secondary responsibility. You’re wearing a pin that says we love democracy. Mayors are the front line of the protection of our democracy by maintaining the trust of the people.

00:22:55:56 – 00:23:18:36
Matt Tuerk
When we can show people what we do, we can be transparent about the decisions that we make. We help build trust. We help build America. So like we the part of my activity on social media is to give people a chance to see what we do. But it’s also, for me, a way to engage with our residents, make sure that they know who their mayor is, they know how to talk to me.

00:23:18:36 – 00:23:37:51
Matt Tuerk
They get they get to see everything that I’m doing. My goal in Allentown or among my goals and Allentown, is to be the most accessible mayor in the city’s history. People know they can talk to me. And so spending time, you know, sharing my runs or sharing the things that I see that helps people engage.

00:23:37:54 – 00:23:40:05
David Martin
Have you been to an Iron Pigs game yet this year? Yes.

00:23:40:15 – 00:23:41:15
Matt Tuerk
I was at the home opener.

00:23:41:18 – 00:23:43:33
David Martin
Okay. Did you have you thrown out the first pitch yet?

00:23:43:34 – 00:24:02:11
Matt Tuerk
I have yet to, you know. I’m not sure. Curt. Charlie. Come on guys, I they I have not had a chance to ever throw out an Iron Pigs first pitch. All right, I’m rocking my iron pigs. Actually, it’s a Lehigh Valley coaches hat. I wear it around. I get so many compliments on it. I’ve thrown the first pitch out for an Alan Dera baseball game.

00:24:02:14 – 00:24:09:35
David Martin
But the question of mayors who have minor league teams in their cities, or we have the we have we haven’t have not.

00:24:09:37 – 00:24:18:22
Matt Tuerk
We don’t just have a minor league team. We have the best minor league team. And and we have the best minor league baseball park in the country.

00:24:18:25 – 00:24:20:01
David Martin
It is a great park. Yes.

00:24:20:05 – 00:24:26:08
Matt Tuerk
That was I think it was USA today or somebody voted our park, the best park in the country and everybody should come see it.

00:24:26:10 – 00:24:35:12
David Martin
All right. We’re going to come back and I’m going to ask you a couple more questions that I’ve asked you before, but we’re going to get a new spin on them, okay.

00:24:35:17 – 00:24:59:06
David Martin
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00:24:59:06 – 00:25:10:48
David Martin
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00:25:10:53 – 00:25:40:41
David Martin
After you get done with this episode. Hear more good government stories with our friends at How to Really Run a City for memories, Kasim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, and their co-host, journalist and author Larry Platt talk with guests and other mayors about how to really get stuff done in cities around the nation. Check them out where you’re listening now or through their nonprofit news site, The Philadelphia Citizen.

00:25:40:46 – 00:26:05:47
David Martin
Across America, there’s a growing demand for leadership that delivers results. The Good Government Institute brings together proven ideas, principled leaders, and real world solutions. We talk about what works. We talk about the best in government and in public service. On our flagship podcast, The Good Government Show, we talk about what makes good citizens. Our guests are government leaders who share great ideas and what public service means to all of us.

00:26:05:50 – 00:26:13:51
David Martin
Visit Good Gov Institute to learn more. That’s good gov Institute.

00:26:13:56 – 00:26:19:20
David Martin
So Matt Turk, you’re the mayor of Allentown. You’ve been mayor for about 5 or 6 years now. I think.

00:26:19:22 – 00:26:19:39
Matt Tuerk
Four and.

00:26:19:39 – 00:26:23:51
David Martin
A half, four and a half years second term. Has your definition of good government changed?

00:26:23:56 – 00:26:26:20
Matt Tuerk
It’s probably evolved, but I don’t know if it’s.

00:26:26:22 – 00:26:27:00
David Martin
What is it? How is.

00:26:27:00 – 00:26:48:04
Matt Tuerk
It evolved? Changed. I think that it’s probably refined more than anything else. I go back to that that good government as the same thing as I talked about with social media. It’s being transparent and showing. It’s saying what you’re going to do and then doing it. It’s giving people confidence that their money is well spent, that when they spend money on this city government, that they’re getting the services.

00:26:48:06 – 00:27:09:15
Matt Tuerk
And it’s not a go back, maybe a tweet to it. The thing that has evolved is this is not I recognize deeply that government, that particularly local government, it’s not fee for service. Right. Like you’re not paying taxes so that we come clean up your street or the street in front of your house. So we clean up all the streets for everybody.

00:27:09:15 – 00:27:24:16
Matt Tuerk
And that, that to me, like, if we can, if we can always hold on to that, then this isn’t just us meeting the needs of a single person, but entire city. That that’s what I try to hold on to as good government is meeting the the needs of the whole public.

00:27:24:18 – 00:27:31:30
David Martin
What’s been an eye opener for you in your second term that you didn’t sort of expect? You know what what what what surprised you about the job of mayor?

00:27:31:32 – 00:27:59:04
Matt Tuerk
What surprised me in the second term about the job. I don’t know if I’m surprised so much as kind of delighted. I remained delighted that I’m able to continue to deeply engage with our residents, that I and that it is that there is an opportunity to go even deeper. Like, I feel like the relationship with the residents of the city of Allentown continues to evolve, and it continues to get a little bit better.

00:27:59:04 – 00:28:18:03
Matt Tuerk
If there’s anything that it’s like the pleasant surprise, I’m always surprised by the brilliance of third graders, right? Like I spent, I bring third grade kids into City Hall and talk to them about government, and I’m always delighted by how into it they are and how they get it.

00:28:18:06 – 00:28:19:32
David Martin
Yeah. And what do they ask you?

00:28:19:33 – 00:28:33:43
Matt Tuerk
Questions they do. Third graders are asking really good questions. They they hold their mayors accountable. They want to know that you’re helping people. And it’s good to hear them expressing real concerns as residents.

00:28:33:45 – 00:28:39:50
David Martin
What have you found out about government and city government that you’d like people to know that they probably don’t know?

00:28:39:52 – 00:29:01:13
Matt Tuerk
I think they know it, but they might be in denial. Well, I mean, there’s look, I think I might have given you a similar answer last time. The people who work for city government are just some of the most dedicated public servants that you’re ever going to meet. They show up for their city even if they don’t live in the city.

00:29:01:17 – 00:29:25:40
Matt Tuerk
They’ve got some connection. They’ve got something that there’s some irrational like drive to, to serve that pretty much everybody in City Hall has. And people try to bang on, like the bureaucrat or the city employee. And they think that like, I don’t know, they have weird feelings about city employees, maybe because they they pay they pay taxes, but those city employees are deeply dedicated.

00:29:25:40 – 00:29:29:47
Matt Tuerk
And I think people need to to realize that and deeply understand that.

00:29:29:49 – 00:29:31:47
David Martin
What’s the best thing about being mayor of Allentown?

00:29:31:49 – 00:29:40:41
Matt Tuerk
The best thing about being a mayor of Allentown is getting a chance to talk to the people of Allentown and just be there for the people of Allentown when they need me.

00:29:40:44 – 00:29:42:58
David Martin
What’s your favorite place in the city?

00:29:43:03 – 00:30:07:23
Matt Tuerk
My very favorite place in the city. It’s hard not to say like, I like my office. I like just a beautiful view of the city. But my favorite, there’s no. It’s not a single place as being on the street. I’m most at ease and most at home. When I’m out in the street, in a neighborhood, whatever that neighborhood is, either riding my bike or running or walking and talking to people.

00:30:07:28 – 00:30:11:04
David Martin
If you’re if you’re running and people say, oh, that’s the mayor, do they run with, you.

00:30:11:06 – 00:30:29:17
Matt Tuerk
Know, the stop for them? Okay. Sometimes I’ll run with a group, but I’ll stop. When I was out riding my bike in a neighborhood the other day, and I tracked, like, a flock of second graders or like, riding around they were trying to get. They always start by trying to get me to pop wheelies, but they just kind of like ride along and ask questions so people engage.

00:30:29:22 – 00:30:33:24
David Martin
All right. And that’s does it take you a while to get out of the restaurant or get out of the store?

00:30:33:26 – 00:30:41:07
Matt Tuerk
My kids have learned at this point that, like, can’t you they have to just soldier on ahead. No waiting for me.

00:30:41:09 – 00:30:47:42
David Martin
This is the good government show. We always ended on a good government story. Tell me about a good government project you’re excited about. Maybe something that haven’t really talked about yet.

00:30:47:45 – 00:31:10:31
Matt Tuerk
Well, we’ve talked about a little bit, which is the Allentown Works project. So Allentown has a high prime age employment gap, higher than average. It’s people who are either unemployed or out of the workforce. And our Allentown Works initiative is funded through the Economic Development Administration. It’s a host of little projects that are designed to reduce the barriers to people getting to good jobs.

00:31:10:31 – 00:31:34:39
Matt Tuerk
It’s a combination of investment in people skills and it’s resident led. That’s the most important part, is that our residents are defining how we should be doing this work. So it’s investment in skill sets to get people into health care careers and into manufacturing careers. It’s also recognizing that some of the things that keep people out of the workforce is things like unaffordable and inflexible childcare.

00:31:34:39 – 00:31:54:43
Matt Tuerk
So we’re working to improve child care options to people in a small part of our city. Sometimes there’s great jobs in the outlying areas of the city that people just can’t get to because they don’t have the transportation, sort of looking at innovative approaches to getting people to those jobs. And then the other big piece is ensuring that there are job centers within the city.

00:31:54:43 – 00:32:13:30
Matt Tuerk
So investments in light manufacturing, we’re a big believer that we can that well, we know that we still make a lot of things in the Lehigh Valley. I think there’s an opportunity to make things in cities as well, particularly in cities like Allentown. So we’ll invest in small manufacturing sites within the city. It’s an ambitious project for us.

00:32:13:30 – 00:32:23:13
Matt Tuerk
It’s the largest federal grant that the city was ever awarded. But it’s going to I think it’s going to not just get some good things done in Allentown, but it’s going to set an example for the rest of the country.

00:32:23:15 – 00:32:24:17
David Martin
That sounds like good government.

00:32:24:20 – 00:32:24:27
Matt Tuerk
I.

00:32:24:27 – 00:32:25:58
David Martin
Think so. And there’s still farmland?

00:32:26:00 – 00:32:26:58
Matt Tuerk
Not now in town.

00:32:27:00 – 00:32:27:55
David Martin
No, it’s all good.

00:32:27:58 – 00:32:28:29
Matt Tuerk
No, I mean.

00:32:28:29 – 00:32:30:17
David Martin
It’s a cool high valley. There is. Yeah.

00:32:30:19 – 00:32:30:41
Matt Tuerk
Yes.

00:32:30:41 – 00:32:33:26
David Martin
For sure. Yeah, yeah. All right. But not in Allentown.

00:32:33:32 – 00:32:35:43
Matt Tuerk
We have like, Irving Gardens.

00:32:35:48 – 00:32:43:13
David Martin
And stuff like that. Yeah. Matt Turek, the mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Always a pleasure to have you on the show. Thanks for coming back. And good luck.

00:32:43:14 – 00:32:43:51
Matt Tuerk
Thanks, David.

00:32:43:52 – 00:32:47:57
David Martin
Thank you.

00:32:48:01 – 00:33:09:29
David Martin
The Good Government Institute has a new partner, the Charles F Kettering Foundation. I really like their podcast, The Context, and I bet you will too. They have a new series called Democracy Under Construction. The show is hosted by historian Alex Lovett, and he looks back at the first 250 years of U.S. history. Alex digs into the moments that have pushed us towards an inclusive democracy.

00:33:09:31 – 00:33:18:07
David Martin
You can find it where you’re listening right now, or visit Kettering and give them a follow.

00:33:18:12 – 00:33:36:06
David Martin
Want to hear more about good government? Check out another show I host leading Iowa good Government in Iowa cities. I host the show with Brad Kavanagh, mayor of Dubuque, Iowa and the immediate past president of the Iowa League of Cities. Together, we talked to leaders in Iowa cities. We talk about what works and what good government looks like in Iowa.

00:33:36:08 – 00:33:44:44
David Martin
Join us right here. We’re listening. Now that’s leading Iowa. Good government in Iowa cities.

00:33:44:48 – 00:34:04:52
David Martin
What if Lincoln hadn’t been shot? What if World War One hadn’t happened? Jim Ludlow could. Government show executive producer, explores both those ideas in two books in Lincoln Beyond the Bullet he imagines that Lincoln lives in while cousins, he imagines what would have happened if three kings, all cousins, hadn’t blundered their way into war. What if. Think about it.

00:34:04:54 – 00:34:12:18
David Martin
Go to Good Institute and order a copy.

00:34:12:23 – 00:34:29:48
David Martin
See, there is a good reason why mayors travel around the country and go overseas to pursue good government. And he got an American. That’s impressive to say nothing of the ten mile morning run before we talked. Good health and good government. Now listen up. IronPigs with someone. Let Mayor Matt Turk throughout a pitch at a game this year.

00:34:29:52 – 00:34:50:08
David Martin
Well, that’s our show. Thanks for listening. Please like us and share with your friends and review us right here where you’re listening. And check out our website. Good government show for extras. Help us keep telling stories of good government in action everywhere. Join us again for another episode right here. I’m Dave Martin and this is the Good Government show.

00:34:50:13 – 00:35:29:06
David Martin
The Good Government Show is produced by the Good Government Institute, a nonprofit organization promoting civic engagement and civic education. All donations to the show helped promote trust in government. You can donate at Good Govt Institute. That’s good govt institute. Executive producers are Jim Ludlow, Dave Martin, that’s me and David Snyder. Jason is our editor and producer. Join us again to hear good stories about our government right here on The Good Government Show.

00:35:29:11 – 00:35:32:16
Narrator
This podcast is part of the democracy Group.

**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.