Ken Kraft Is Back as President of Northampton County Council

Jan. 5, 2025

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

Northampton County Council member Ken Kraft is back as president for 2026, a job he held during an earlier stint on council.

He succeeds Lori Vargo Heffner. Jeff Warren was elected vice president of Council, which now has an 8-1 Democrat majority versus 6 Democrats – 3 Republicans last year.

Kraft was elected during a reorganization meeting that took about 6 minutes. Kraft is known for holding quick meetings.

Chris Spadoni plans to retire as council’s solicitor but he will remain until Council can figure out who it wants to take his place.

Council member Kelly Keegan nominated Lamont G. McClure Jr. for solicitor, but there was no second to the nomination and no vote was held. Nobody else was nominated. McClure just left office as Northampton County Executive, succeeded by Tara Zrinski. He served two terms and did not run for a third.

McClure is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Congress. The winner of that primary election will oppose first-term Republican Ryan Mackenzie in the November election.

This year’s Council has eight Democrats: holdovers Kraft, Vargo Heffner, Warren, Keegan, along with newcomers David Holland, Jason Boulette, Theresa Fadem and Nadeem Qayyum.

The only Republican is Thomas Giovanni who was not up for re-election in 2025. Democrats swept the five available seats in November.