Following the most contentious and ugly U.S. election cycle in recent times, officials around the Lehigh Valley from both major parties are calling for unity above all else.

Bethlehem Mayor Bob Donchez said he had suspected it would be a close election considering the candidates’ flaws.

“I didn’t think Mr. Trump would crack the blue wall. I sensed talking with people that there was a quiet Trump vote. People just didn’t want to admit they were voting for him.

“But now that the election is over, we really have to unite and support President Trump because that’s what makes democracy great,” Donchez said.

Like others, Donchez encourages voters to turn out for elections more often than every four years.

“It would be good to have more people come out and vote,” he said. “That’s what democracy is all about.”

State Rep. Dan McNeill, D-133rd, is worried for the Democratic party in Pennsylvania, saying the house Democrats losing three more seats has led to a huge lack of parity that will be much worse for the state of Pennsylvania. He summarized his thoughts on the presidential election: “What happened happened.”

McNeill stressed that now, we have to put it behind us.

“Let’s just move on and hopefully we can undivide America,” he said. “Start doing the right thing for citizens, and get middle America back to work. America works when the middle works.

“In the Lehigh Valley, I think we’re doing a great job. I just hope we come together,” McNeill said. “Trump’s a question mark. We’ll have to see what he does. He’s a business leader; he’s a strong-willed guy, so I don’t think he’ll get shoved around. I don’t think his party’s going to let him do what he doesn’t want to do.

“I’m in a wait-and-see mode,” he added.

Coplay Borough Mayor Dean Molitoris stressed the need to make changes for the common good.

“No matter who your candidate was, now is the time to work together,” he said. “In any system, things need to be changed because there is always room for improvement.

“What we need to do now is identify the areas that need to be changed so we can make things better,” Molitoris said.

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski said, “I am as stunned as everybody else by the outcome of the presidential election. As Secretary Clinton said, I hope that Donald Trump will be a successful president for all Americans. It is important that Republicans and Democrats in the executive branch and the Congress quickly get beyond the acrimony of the campaign and get to work on improving the everyday lives of our citizens.”

Easton Mayor Sal Panto was more curt, saying, “The voice of America has spoken. We need to honor that vote and bring the country together and diminish the hatred and aggression against one another brought out by the campaign rhetoric. America will move forward.”

Sen. Bob Casey, in a general release, echoed the mayors’ sentiments.

“While I had hoped for a different outcome, in January, Donald Trump will be our president. [On Nov. 8], the American people made it clear that they expect both parties to work together to solve very difficult problems that impact their lives. It’s now time to begin to heal our nation and come together to achieve real, measurable results for our nation.”

Republican Rep. Marcia Hahn, R-138th, was equally keen to mend rifts.

“There were some differences; I think you saw them,” Hahn said. “People want to be included. People have sacrificed to have the right to go vote, and people did just that. They voted, they made their choice, and we have to all come together to keep going. I was proud of the outcome.”

Hahn said jobs and the economy are priorities, and the Lehigh Valley, once a bastion of manufacturing, can be so again.

“We need to bring that back. We need to stop sending all our jobs to other countries,” she said.

Hahn added Northampton Community College and nearby Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical help train people for the kinds of jobs companies should bring back to the Lehigh Valley.

“I want to thank everyone who came out and voted. They need to do that in every election, not just the presidential,” Hahn said. “People always say, ‘My vote doesn’t count,’ but it does, and you saw that this time.”

Catasauqua Borough Mayor Barbara Schlegel echoed the sentiment.

“This is America - one person, one vote. To everyone who voted, thank you for exercising this right. With God’s blessing, may we continue to be the United States of America.”

Northampton County GOP Chair Lee Snover was one of Trump’s early supporters and a delegate for him at the Republican National Convention.

“I’m all in,” she said at a time when many other Republicans were more circumspect.

Snover organized party support. This included flash mobs along William Penn Highway and other well-traveled roads. She held pizza parties while volunteers assembled yard signs. She recruited more than 200 people to work as greeters at the polls on Election Day.

The result of Snover’s hard work is that a reliable Democratic county turned red. Trump garnered 49.63 percent of the vote in Northampton County to Clinton’s 45.85 percent. She carried Bethlehem and Easton but fared poorly elsewhere.

One of Trump’s volunteers was Northampton County Council member Hayden Phillips, who worked the polls in Lower Nazareth.

“Mr. Trump’s going to come in and clean the swamp,” said the retired Marine colonel. “I think it’s going to be a game changer. It’s not going to be politics as usual in Washington.”

“I think the silent majority ruled,” added Peg Ferraro, a Northampton County Council member and GOP state committee person.