Anthony Alcalde hopes to bring a new, outside perspective and an involved, hands-on leadership style to the table when he takes on the role as Catasauqua Borough’s new mayor.

Alcalde said he has been living in Catasauqua for eight or nine years, though he has been in the Lehigh Valley since 2007. He noted he was born in New Jersey and lived in Peru for about nine years during his youth. He said he and his family moved around a bit, but he is happily settled in Catasauqua now with his wife.

He also noted his children are in the area as well. He has six children and four grandchildren.

Alcalde is hoping he can use his status as a “transplant” to the area to help bring a new way of looking at issues and addressing concerns. He hopes a fresh look will help energize the community and bring out other new voices to join the conversation.

That is one of the cornerstones of what Alcalde aims to do in the new role. He wants to expand civic participation and get more people involved.

He also wants to build bridges between the Catasauqua “lifers” and the transplants. According to Alcalde, both of these groups have incredibly valuable insights, and together they can help grow the community.

Alcalde wants to take inspiration from David Thomas.

“If he could build this community, why can’t we?” Alcalde said. “Life goes in cycles. History can repeat itself.”

To do this, Alcalde wants to have conversations — a lot of them. He wants to talk with members of the community and find out what they want from the borough, what they think works well (and what doesn’t) and what their expectations are for him. He also wants to have these conversations with members of borough council and borough employees.

Alcalde works as a logistics manager. He said this work has allowed him to hone his leadership skills. He said his leadership style involves talking with his people and finding out what they need. He plans to bring this mindset to his role as mayor.

“It’s not me — it’s us,” he said, emphasizing the importance of the community working together to better the borough.

Alcalde said connecting with people is integral. He noted he enjoyed going door to door during his campaign to talk with different people and seeing different personalities and perspectives. He wants to continue this face-to-face connection with the community, emphasizing the human factor.

The borough is not just an entity. It is a community full of people who have their own thoughts, dreams and feedback.

“I know I’m not going to please everyone, but I need that feedback,” Alcalde said.

He said he wanted to test his leadership style. He connects well with people but understands this will be different. He expects there to be a learning curve as he navigates the political aspect of the position.

“It’s politics, but it’s human,” Alcalde said.

He also noted his actions as mayor will not be personal but rather business. He aims to focus on what is best for the borough.

He said he is not afraid of having hard conversations but understands the importance of tone and setting.

“It’s not what you say but how you say it,” Alcalde said.

He noted changes may be necessary, and he understands how scary that can be for people. He hopes people will keep showing up, asking questions and being engaged in the process. He wants the residents to seek understanding and more information before pushing back and fighting changes.

“Be comfortable in the uncomfortable situations,” he said, noting it is in these moments we see growth.

He also wants to embrace the youth of the community. He said he has noted a strong youth sports connection in the borough and wants to encourage that and use it as an avenue to connect with the younger generation.

Another way to connect with youth is through new technologies, such as artificial intelligence. He thinks connecting with the youth will help keep them engaged to the borough into adulthood, so they can keep moving it forward.

“Embrace the unity; embrace the youth,” he said.

Alcalde said he is excited to be part of the borough’s future and lay the groundwork to help the next mayor keep the borough growing.

He also noted one of his big goals will be to “Keep Catty in Catty.” He wants to see how best to keep their resources in the borough. He hopes to bolster the small businesses already in Catasauqua and fill the voids.

Alcalde said he plans to have conversations with people on what needs they aren’t finding within the borough borders, what “takes them out” and exploring how they can bring these resources in.

He said running for mayor wasn’t necessarily “part of the journey, but it’s part of the path.” He said things fell into place, and the next step just made sense.

He credited his family and children for helping to continue pushing him forward and focusing on his career and advancing into management and leadership. From there, he kept growing and challenging himself to take the next step and the next beyond that.

“It was time to take the skills I learned into a different environment,” Alcalde said.

He did a write-in campaign for mayor in 2021. He said he felt it might be time for something new, so he just decided to go for it. Alcalde said the experience was energizing and fueled his optimism.

He recalled watching a Halloween parade and commenting, “That’ll be me,” when the mayor’s float passed by.

The experience remained in the back of his head until the most recent election came around. He said he was spurred on by support of his people, noting a conversation with former councilwoman Jill Smerdon finally pushed him to actually run.

Alcalde said he has always been a competitive person. He puts himself in a position to succeed and makes sure to learn from his losses. He also doesn’t accept barriers and finds a way to work through obstacles and come out on the other side.

He said he views the role of mayor as a prestigious position, and he plans to treat the position with the respect it deserves and take the responsibility of the post seriously.

Alcalde said he wants to be very involved in what is going on. He said he tends to be detail-oriented, loves numbers and data and is excited to “get in there” and learn about ongoing projects and future plans.

He also said how humbled he is in the faith the community has in choosing him.

He noted he also surrounds himself with motivational and supportive people. He said it’s important to find people who are “on the same ride” to help navigate situations, fight negatives and keep pushing forward.

“I’m living my dream,” Alcalde said. “I’ve manifested to where I’m living my dream. Things just fall in order in life.”

He is motivated and energized for this next chapter for both himself and the borough.