During the Jan. 28 Lehigh County Board of Commissioners meeting, audience members presented opposing views regarding recent events taking place across the country.

Joe Welsh addressed the board about the injustice he feels has been displayed in the federal government’s handling of the Renee Good and Alex Pretti killings. Citing and reviewing the 20 violations he believes were below the standards of legitimate law enforcement, he also brought with him a Lady Liberty figurine and stated “until this past year, she has represented American exceptionalism. Until this past disastrous year, we haven’t deliberately set out to do things wrong.”

Welsh emphasized that he believed “the current ICE operations are aiding and abetting human trafficking in Lehigh County.”

He explained it is less likely the victims of trafficking or those with information will contact legitimate law enforcement out of fear.

Michael O’Hare delivered opposing viewpoints to the subject. He said we mourn the loss of all life, listing specifically, “many other women who have been killed by criminal illegal aliens in this country.” He suggested “more communication, less grandstanding; more cooperation, less obstruction and more grace, less condemnation.”

Directly following these two arguments, several other citizens spoke in support of Welsh. Going so far as to adopt one another’s beliefs and statements, multiple citizens rallied in their plea for the eviction of ICE.

Additionally, a citizen with a telecom background offered his insight on fusion centers and how they can be used to legally reverse-engineer any information found so it cannot be traced. He attributes these fusion centers to igniting issues with ICE further and offered his knowledge of lawyers who are willing to assist in getting rid of these fusion centers.

A member from the Withstand Coalition took to the podium once again to express the group’s willingness to assist with the formulation of a plan to address health care cuts and looked to the board for an update since the topic was last discussed during the Jan. 14 meeting. Brace said there is no legislation on the agenda pertaining to this matter, so he has no update to offer.

Susan Jordhamo and Steve Mory both spoke in regard to a reported overuse of solitary confinement in the Lehigh County Jail. They cited declining mental health as a direct result of this punishment and eagerly look to this year for a renewed focus on addressing these concerns.

O’Hare also took to the stand to mention there will be a special election Feb. 24 for District 22, and the last day to request a mail-in ballot for that election will be Feb. 17.

Moving forward with the legislative items on the agenda, there were several appointments for the board to vote upon. Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel introduced all six appointments, and while most were also met with a positive recommendation from the governance committee, the appointment to the director of corrections came with no recommendation from the committee.

There was a thoughtful discussion and general appreciation to the appointee for his time spent in answering tough questions posed outside of the meeting. These thankful comments came from the commissioners, as well as multiple citizens who took the time to speak both in person and virtually.

When it came time to vote, all nine commissioners confirmed Kyle Russel’s appointment to the director of corrections and are eager to see the changes he will make.

Jessica Baraket’s appointment to the director of administration was confirmed with an 8-1 majority vote. Commissioner Antonio Pineda served as the opposing vote.

Bethany DiMatteo’s appointment to chief fiscal officer was confirmed by all nine commissioners. The appointment of Samantha Pearson as director of the department of community and economic development was also unanimously confirmed by all nine commissioners.

Finally, both Andrew Elliott’s appointment as director of general services and Samuel E. Cohen’s appointment as county solicitor were confirmed by a 9-0 vote.

In response to a question he was asked earlier in the day, Chair Geoff Brace explained the purpose of the chair’s review section of the agenda. Brace said he has “generally used chair’s review as a way to discuss topics where the board of commissioners’ actions are not scheduled anywhere else on the agenda.”

Given they are topics not listed on the agenda, there is typically no official action the board will take on these topics and no public comment is built into those sections; however, the floor does open to comment immediately following chair’s review.

The remaining legislative items on the agenda included unanimous approvals. Bill 2026-01 approved the disbursement of another round of the 2025 Affordable Housing Trust Funds to improve a 48-year-old building that contains 44 units in Slatington, and resolution 2026-03 approved a professional services agreement with Eric K. Dowdle, Esq., to serve as criminal conflicts counsel for those criminal defendants who have a conflict of interest with the public defender office.

The minutes from the Jan. 14 meeting were reviewed and approved.

Rounding out the evening’s agenda, several bills received first reading and will be voted upon during the next regular meeting which was expected to take place 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11.