For Immediate Release Contact: Robert Clark

September 1, 2010 610-253-8159

College Hill Neighborhood Association of Easton

And League of Women Voters of Northampton County
Host Forum for Candidates for 15th Congressional District

Program will be held Monday, September 13 at 7 p.m. at Lafayette College

(EASTON) – The three candidates vying for the right to represent Pennsylvania’s
15th Congressional District will share the stage in a Candidates’ Night forum September
13 at 7 p.m. in Oechsle Hall, room 224, at Lafayette College. John Callahan (Democrat),
Charlie Dent (Republican), and Jake Towne (Independent) are running for the seat
currently held by Dent. The 15th District includes all of Northampton, most of Lehigh,
and parts of Montgomery and Berks counties. The forum is hosted by the College Hill
Neighborhood Association of Easton and the League of Women Voters of Northampton
County and is open to the public. Parking is available in the visitor parking deck adjacent
to Oechsle Hall (behind Markle Hall).
The format for the forum will include opening statements by each of the
candidates, followed by questions from the audience, submitted in writing. The forum
moderator will be Dr. Phyllis Finger, an experienced political forum moderator and
Gifted Support Specialist/Enrichment Teacher with the Easton Area School District.
Light refreshments will be available following the program.
“We are pleased that all of the candidates have agreed to come together to make
clear their positions on the major issues facing our region, our state and our nation,” said
Hubert Etchison, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association. “This is the
first time all of the candidates will have appeared together at a public forum,” he added.
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Joan Dean, president of the League of Women Voters of Northampton County, stated,
“The League is excited about the opportunity to partner with CHNA for this forum,
which is among the most closely watched contests in the mid-term elections.” Phyllis
Johnson, CHNA program coordinator, said, “The forum will help the district’s citizens
decide which candidate will get their votes in this hotly contested Congressional race.”
Candidate John Callahan (D) has served as mayor of Bethlehem since 2003. He
first entered public service in 1998, when he became the youngest person to be elected to
Bethlehem City Council. He is president of the Pennsylvania League of Cities and
Municipalities and is a member of the National League of Cities’ policy committee on
energy, environment and natural resources. A graduate of Moravian College, he serves on
numerous local boards.
Incumbent Charlie Dent (R) is in his third term in Congress representing the
state’s 15th District. He serves on three House committees: Homeland Security,
Transportation and Infrastructure, and Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics). He was an
aide to former Rep. Don Ritter and served eight years in the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives and six years in the State Senate. He is a graduate of Penn State
University and earned a master’s in public administration at Lehigh University.
Jake Towne (I), a chemical engineer who has worked in the semiconductor
industry the past seven years, is a graduate of Lehigh University. In his position with
Ablestik Laboratories, he led the start-up and commissioning of two manufacturing units
in Shanghai, China. He also has taught English in tribal villages along the Chinese-
Burmese border. In March 2009, he returned to Nazareth, PA, his hometown, to pursue
this campaign.
The College Hill Neighborhood Association of Easton (www.eastonchna.org)
strives to improve the quality of life in the community by sponsoring informational,
socially-conscious, and cultural and recreational programs. The League of Women
Voters, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, promotes political responsibility
through informed and active participation of citizens in government.
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