The Mayor of Allentown Has Logged Out: Now Streaming Live from Spain
Social media and your blogger Abe have been saying for months that the mayor treats Allentown like his own purse — something he can use to pay for his memberships in clubs and personal travel to US destinations for “conferences”.
Well, he has gotten so bold and brash with his misuse of taxpayer dollars that he has become the global traveling, Mayor.
Word spread to my inbox this morning that he was in Spain for a “conference” that just happens to overlap with the Madrid Marathon on April 26, 2026. The city didn’t gasp. It groaned at the thought of paying for another of his “someone look at me!” trips.
Because of course he’s there. Of course, the conference is out of town. Of course it lines up perfectly with a marathon. Of course, it is another opportunity for him to get out of Allentown. Of course, he claims he is there representing Pennsylvania, as if anyone cares.
The timing is so suspicious and convenient …. The city is knee deep in issues — infrastructure, safety concerns, budget headaches, homeless/unhoused issues — and the mayor’s response has been to pack a suitcase and sprint toward the nearest international terminal and run once again.
Meanwhile, back in Allentown…
The city is still here. The problems are still here. The residents are still here. The mayor? Not so much.
It feels like Allentown is being governed by an out of office reply that says, “I’ll get back to you when I’m done pretending this trip is work related.” I doubt that Frank Kane even knows that the mayor is out of town again. I saw him down by the Jordan Creek looking for what I expect is his cellphone.
While the mayor is prancing another 26.2 miles in Madrid, he hasn’t run a single mile toward the responsibilities he was elected to handle. He’s running a marathon abroad because running this city would require effort and leadership. Sorry Allentown today was the St Luke’s annual marathon, but it was too low-class for our social media tramp mayor.
Whether the trip is innocent, convenient, or a masterclass in avoidance, the public reaction has been: We are tired of watching this mayor run… unless it’s toward the job he keeps treating like the large city potholes he keeps ignoring an avoiding.
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38 comments:
are you sure that this is a taxpayer expense? I can’t imagine any reason a Mayor of Allentown would need to go to Spain to do business or attend a conference for the City of Allentown. I hope you are incredibly misinformed Abe. Even the Mayor isn’t this stupid.
https://citylab.bloomberg.org/
Give him a break, please. Maybe he took his former secretary to Spain to celebrate her recent promotion?
Another waste of taxpayer money. The mayor uses the city general fund like it is his account. This has possible implications of gross mismanagement of city funds and the controller and finance office should be removed from their offices for allowing these expenses.
We elected a mayor, not Richard Quest!
This mayor is never in the city! He should just be a cardboard cutout at this point—we could throw darts at it.
Allentown taxes keep going up each year and we see more of our hard earned money being handed over to the city without much explanation. No wonder it’s is all hush hush, it is being used for vacations, unnecessary buildings, vehicles, special “grants” to voters and non-profits where senior city staff serve on the boards, and promotions for a 25 year old child who has a very suspicious relationship with the mayor.
This loser can hopscotch across the globe attending bogus “conferences” using our money without any checks and balances?This is insane and council should be approving his travel or seriously limiting his ability to travel. We deserve better than these disappearing acts and the turned faces of our council members. I guess it is a lot to expect from them—they are all probably gaining from the crooked relationship they with Tuerk. Candeeda Affa stated in a prior post exactly the council’s position to all of this “what can we do?….he is the mayor”
Hello,
Affa sucks. Gutless. What can we do, he is the mayor. How about impeach his ass.
How about controlling the money for one candeeda !!! Damm no one with back bone up there !!!
My guess: Bloomberg Philanthropies and Aspen Institute are paying a portion of the tuition, travel and lodging expenses and guess who is getting stuck paying for the remaining balance of costs incurred on this preposterous junket? I really hope someone on City Council raises an objection or that the City Controller refuses to authorize any payment of City funds for this.
The Controller's kid works for the city. Don't hold your breath on that happening. As far Candida voting against anything Mayor Tork does forget it she's clueless 24/7.
Should be possible to obtain a full accounting of travel expense receipts that are/were paid out of Allentown taxpayer money. This mayor does seem to go out of town on an excessive amount of junkets. However, I would not be surprised if his expenses are being covered one of America’s many non-governmental front groups, USAID-type or one of the hundreds of radical Democrat groups like ActBlue or Southern Poverty Law Center.
my theory is that since tuerk knows his days are numbered in allentown, he’s trying to raise his national profile enough so that someone from the democratic party will adopt him. why else all the no kings protests and attempts to be seen as a thought leader? the truth is that if any of these conference organizers or attendees took a moment to actually google allentown and read up for a moment on the goings on here, they would know that the allentown mayor is a charlatan.
The Democratic party is known to adopt morally and spiritually evil individuals just like then republicans often do. Somehow though I think Allentown mayor is as good as it gets for him. He is not a representation of the Democrat branding so why not travel outside the US to hope someone notices him?
Oh that’s right. That is why the Controller signs off on every one of the mayor’s schemes. Have to protect junior.
Allentown has always been a family business for degenerate and brain dead children of elected officials. Just look at how many are working at the city at this moment.
It’s outrageous that anyone would even entertain the idea of sticking taxpayers with the leftover bill for this vanity trip.
The fact that this is being framed as some sort of great opportunity doesn’t make it any less of a joke.
This whole situation reeks of corruption: slap a prestigious‑sounding sponsor on the event, then quietly shovel the leftover costs onto us like nobody will notice. It’s insulting.
Someone on City Council absolutely needs to slam the brakes on this, looking at you Council President Santo “Tuerk lover” Napoli, because it’s the kind of nonsense that gets slipped through when everyone pretends not to see the price tag.
If the Controller signed off on it without asking hard questions, that’s an even bigger problem. Residents shouldn’t be subsidizing a feel‑good social media excursion dressed up as civic progress. It’s wasteful, it’s tone‑deaf, and it’s exactly the sort of thing that erodes public trust. The mayor continues to treat taxpayer funds like an open tab and it needs to be reigned in fast!
Someone call Frank Kane to fix it!
Oh wait, send him a smoke signal or carrier pigeon with a message.
A fun exercise for someone with time would be to file a right to know requesting receipts for Mayor travel and include in the request any external funding sources for the travel expenses. As an elected official this has to be 100% transparent to ensure that outside influences are not paying for nice things that are reciprocated as paid work from taxpayer funds. The feds call this "pay to play".
That is a great idea! When you go to https://www.openthebooks.com/ it only shows that he received $79.29 in 2022. I bet that is because he is hiding his expenses by using a city Visa card for all travel related expenses so he personally receives very little money because it is used to pay the card.
An RTK on all his paid travel vouchers will show expenses for hotel, travel, meals, conference fees, etc. of course that is only if he settled the vouchers.
Why is the mayor going on these trips anyway? He is a lame duck mayor and he is essentially a part-time or seasonal employee. He only has 3 years and 8 months remaining at the city and spending any money on him is a complete waste.
Because America and now the World need to exchange brilliant ideas on City Management with him that's why. How else would Allentown have known it needed a Sustainability Manager and a Director of Civic Innovation. I'll bet Tuerk brags about creating these positions when he on his taxpayer funded tour of the US and the World. He is going to travel by rocket to the moon (at taxpayer expense) within your 44 month period he has left.
Just what we need-another circus clown 🤡 in space.
Hey
His new CIM is a waste of space and a little twat. Bring back Laura.
I'd argue instead for no Civic Innovation Manager at all.
Wait til budget time. Garbage fee increase due again and a absolute tax increase coming.Bend over!
Couldn't have said it any better myself. Signed Abe's friend George Washington.
I hope someone brings this up at council. Mayb Frank can call Matt in Spain and see how his race went.
A while back, C-SPAN broadcast a round table discussion at one of the mayors’ group conventions. Former Philadelphia and Washington, DC police commissioner/chief Ramsay chaired the forum, as the topic was police policy. Mayor Tuerk touted a new effort in the Allentown Police Department, where officers were granted the opportunity to train in a variety of specialties. I recall he was extolling its innovation. Chief Ramsay’s patrician response was that a number of departments had done just that, over the years. He cautioned that the lesson learned was that first, you have to get good at at least one thing before taking on other responsibilities. Food for thought.
Matt is just looking out for himself and already networking for his future “job”.
I heard he would like to get Council to amend the charter to allow him to run for additional terms.
What a loser. This is the pinnacle of his career.. he’s not going anywhere after this because he’s done nothing for Allentown.
Reminds me of Ray Affelbach.
Go ahead. I am very involved with the hispanic community. I assure you, I will make sure "no term limits" does not pass.
The way Democrats run our elections these days, if the Democrat Party bosses want Tuerk to remain as Allentown Mayor, or move up the elected office ladder, the mechanisms are already in place for either of those outcomes to happen.
Yes, the integrity of election results in America is weak. Go ahead, deny that.
Can you also make sure the Hispanic community see the horrific individual he really is and how he has sold Allentown a fraudulent story to all of us?
Tuerk just doesn’t realize that he brings nothing to the table. He is a baby at a big boy table.
He has routinely failed or underperformed in almost everything he has done. The good chief is right, get good st something before taking on another. Tuerk has never gotten good at anything that benefits anyone but himself.
Why? Council turns a blind eye to anything Matt does.
Frank will have a phone but not the Mayor’s number this time.
Or their 5 year anniversary?
Perfectly said! The next 3 1/2 years can’t go by fast enough.
NGOs are a cesspool for decaying former politicians. I am sure one will pick him up but then quickly throw him out because even they have standards.
Find “Ramsay” Replace with “Ramsey” Apologies.
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