Ed Pawlowski is the 41st mayor of the city of Allentown. He is a leader with skills honed by experience. A center-city Allentown resident for over a decade and a half, Ed knows first-hand both the struggle and the potential Allentown faces. He cares passionately about the future of the city he chose to make his home.
In 2005, Ed was encouraged to run for mayor by business and community leaders. His supporters were quick to point out that Ed’s leadership and experience were the only hope for a city that had been so recklessly managed for years. Voters in Allentown elected Ed and then showed renewed confidence by re-electing him by a nearly 3-1 margin in November 2009, winning every single voting district in the city for a second term.
The tenure of the Pawlowski administration has been characterized by action, purpose, a strong sense of urgency, and endless energy.
As mayor, Ed has worked tirelessly to improve Allentown. No less than a half a billion dollars in new development projects have sprung up in every section of our city. Ed worked to bring in over 100 million dollars in State and Federal grants to rebuild city parks, develop new businesses in our Downtown and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods.
Ed understands what it takes to run a city. For nearly 20 years he has been involved in directing numerous corporations and building communities. From his early days in ministry, to his time as a community organizer on Chicago’s Southwest side and the former Director of Community and Economic Development for Allentown, Ed has striven to make an impact on the communities and people he serves.
Since his first day as mayor, Ed Pawlowski promised that he would “build a better Allentown” by making City Hall a catalyst for change. He has worked hard to fulfill that promise.
He has streamlined operations in city hall and increased services to the community. He has rebuilt the city’s police force from its historic lows in 2005 and over the past four years has seen crime decrease by over 26% and violent crime decline by over 19%.
He has been a tight fiscal watchdog who transformed an $8 million deficit, inherited from the previous administration, into a multi-million dollar cash reserve, which has helped Allentown to weather the unexpected downturn in our nation’s economy and achieved this with no property tax increases for the city’s residents over the last six years.
He has also cultivated a strong working relationship with members of city council. During his time as mayor, he has seen an almost perfect record of obtaining unanimous bipartisan support for initiatives he has introduced.
Ed received his master’s degree in urban planning and public policy from the University of Illinois and his bachelor’s degree from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, where he met his wife, Lisa. They have have been married for twenty four years and have two children, Mercy and Alex who both attend Allentown public schools.
Through hard work and determined leadership Allentown is now on a path to a better tomorrow.
Different events; Family pictures and Social pictures.
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