2021 Municipal Primary Candidate Questionnaire
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Prepared By: __Kiera Wilhelm__________ Phone/Email:___
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Campaign Manager__Dina Hall___ Phone/Email:_____ _____
Candidate Name: ____Kiera Wilhelm_________________________________
Campaign Website: ___ kieraforbethlehem.org_________
I, _______Kiera Wilhelm______________, certify that the information provided on this
questionnaire is accurate and the opinions stated here accurately reflect my own positions.
__________________________________________________________________________
Please complete, sign and return this via email in either Word Doc or PDF format to
[email protected] on or before March 27th, 2021.
_______________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer
In an effort to build transparency and hold our leaders accountable, LVSU intends to publish this
questionnaire on our website and social media to draw our members’ attention to issues in this
election cycle. We also intend on publishing answers from your campaign to more directly
engage with our membership and community. Do you agree to have some or all of your
responses shared publicly as part of our endorsement process?
X Yes
❏ No (if no we will indicate that you preferred not to share your answers publicly)
INTRODUCTION
Lehigh Valley Stands Up (LVSU) a grassroots multi-racial working class force for transformative
political change in the Lehigh Valley. We empower constituents and public servants alike to
address systemic causes of inequity at the heart of our mission, especially the systems that
disproportionately impact our marginalized communities, such as Black, Indigenous, People of
Color (BIPOC); Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (LGBTQIA+); disabled; and
otherwise vulnerable residents. The following open-ended questions are intended to help the
members of Lehigh Valley Stands Up (LVSU) understand how you view the world and the
political issues that face the Lehigh Valley. As you might expect, these questions are big and
broad. We expect each answer to explicitly address the issues facing the aforementioned
vulnerable communities. Please respond to each in 250 words or less.
1. What do you value most about the municipality you’re running to represent and
why do you want to represent the people of that municipality?
Bethlehem is a city full of history; there is inspiration and significance in honoring our origins,
our resiliency, our path. Simultaneously, there are so many here invested in innovating with
creative vision for a vibrant and sustainable future for all of its citizens, to looking forward with
an eye to how we can even better serve a population that is richly diverse.
For the past four years, I have served as Director of Fig Bethlehem magazine, a publication that
supports and promotes local businesses and organizations. In this role, I have had the privilege
of meeting and telling the stories of people from all walks of life: hard-working small business
owners, dedicated volunteers and community leaders, residents dedicating themselves to work
that benefits our city in innumerable ways. I am inspired every day by their dedication and
commitment. Witnessing this firsthand fueled my desire to do more, and ultimately, my decision
to run for City Council.
As I was invited in, I want to invite others in, too. I want to meet people where they live and
work, to hear their concerns, and what they think is going well. Thoughtful, intentional
communication between a government and its citizens helps create an engaged community of
residents. Civic participation contributes to the health and well-being of individual citizens, and
to the community as a whole. We all benefit when we hear from all voices, and I want to be part
of a City Council that welcomes those voices.
2. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing BIPOC and LGBTQIA+
constituents? How does it fit into your campaign priorities?
This question is challenging to answer, because there are so many issues that any BIPOC or
LGBTQIA+ individual faces, on any given day. Each at the time will feel—and therefore is—the
most significant. Especially as someone who is not a member of either community, my job is to
listen, and to learn.
There are foundations of systemic, historic, deep-seated bias that underlie the daily inequities
faced by both populations. Challenging this bias is crucial work that extends beyond my run for
Council, or beyond any one election. It’s a long haul. Inequities must be addressed, every day,
at every level, by me, and by all of us. By challenging our own assumptions; through our
interactions with family and friends; by enacting policies that advance justice and equity, and
amending policies that do not. By enabling and empowering marginalized communities, and
correcting past injustices.
Guided by the lived experiences of those in the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities, I will work,
every day, to be a voice on Council that strives to represent their needs and experience; that
ensures that they feel safe and heard, and can live without discrimination, harassment, or
violence.
3. How will you regularly use the power of your office to dismantle white supremacy
and address systemic racism in our local and municipal governments?
Systemic racism in local government is especially insidious because it puts bias within a
structure of authority—we are taught to respect rules, after all—and it can go dangerously
unchecked. As a member of Council, I will advocate for making institutional changes, evaluating
existing systems and eliminating or transforming discriminatory structures and policies at all
levels.
It is my ethical obligation, and that of every member of our local and municipal governments, to
lead, overtly, on a foundation of anti-racism. I am still learning. I will meet and speak with people
about their individual experiences and wishes for change. I will eagerly accept every opportunity
not just to inform, but to be informed. I have learned from BIPOC friends and community
members who experience racism on a daily basis, an experience I will never endure. I will invite
potentially difficult and uncomfortable conversations with those who do not understand, as
well—challenging assumptions and leading with intention toward affecting change, sometimes
even one person at a time.
4. The 2 main campaigns for LVSU in 2021 are de-carcerating the Allentown school
system and protecting and expanding voting rights in the Lehigh Valley: In
seeking our endorsement, how will you support our campaigns?
De-carceration of schools is an important issue in Bethlehem, as well. Spurred by the important
conversations that have already taken place in Allentown, Superintendent Roy and the
Bethlehem Area School District are reevaluating the use of student resource officers (SROs) in
our middle and high schools. Students of color are more likely to be disciplined or arrested in
school, and local incidents with SROs have raised serious concerns about their presence. It’s
crucial to consider whether the presence of an armed and uniformed officer does, in fact, make
students—particularly students of color—feel safer, or the opposite. Having worked in the past
with members of the BASD administration, I will be able to build on existing relationships to
advocate directly and learn firsthand.
Suppression, gerrymandering, and other deceptive practices have actively put barriers to voting,
and this affects people of color the most. Voting is a basic democratic right, and we must ensure
free and fair elections—making it not just possible to vote, but easy to vote.
These campaigns deserve our attention, and I support LVSU’s tireless work on both. In both
matters, I will actively support the evaluation and rethinking of systems and practices—in the
interest of meeting the needs of all members of our community, keeping them safe, and
ensuring that their voices are heard.
5. What is your vision for the role of police in our communities in the Lehigh Valley?
Please address how your elected office can take steps to accomplish your vision.
Creating and maintaining a safe and stable community for an entire population of people
involves providing resources for a vast array of needs—from homelessness, to substance
abuse, to mental health, and so much more. Sometimes these resources are dispatched in
response to crisis calls, requiring instant expertise in managing emergency situations of all
kinds. It’s unreasonable to think that any single entity can effectively respond to and meet all of
those needs.
A recent OpEd in the Washington post presented a relevant analogy, suggesting we think about
public safety the way we think about public health. Just as we don’t expect hospitals alone to
keep a community healthy, we shouldn’t expect police alone to keep us safe.
Evidence has shown success when police serve as part of a broader network—including both
civilians and law enforcement, as well as mental health professionals, crisis and health care
workers, and medics, for example. Such teams can work together in partnership to dispatch
solutions, in both emergency and non-emergency situations, that offer the most relevant
expertise and training. Ensuring—truly ensuring—public safety that is free of violent and
discriminatory practices to all citizens is one of the great responsibilities of our local
governments. As our own local law enforcement departments take it upon themselves to
evaluate and improve their practices, correct mistakes, and better serve the residents of our
communities, I look forward to being a part of that process, and actively championing
alternatives to current systems.
6. According to a December 2020 report from the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy
Center, CARES funding for PA schools was distributed inequitably and
underfunded the poorest districts and those with majorities of students of color
most. The state also failed to distribute $108 million in rent and mortgage relief
within the allowed period. With more COVID relief available soon from the Biden
administration, we need leaders that will get relief into the hands of those that
need it most.
If your elected body received a grant for COVID-related relief, what would be your
top spending priority? How would you ensure that COVID-related relief lands in
the hands of vulnerable people first?
Housing assistance and school funding represent basic, foundational needs: a safe, secure
place to live, and a safe, secure place to learn. And we know that for students in vulnerable
populations, schools provide more than an education; they are also a primary source of
nutritious food and health care. As the question suggests, such funding is top priority.
We must also be responsible for ensuring that all members of our community have access to
vaccines. I would prioritize funding for a program such as the City of Boston’s Vaccine Equity
Initiave, which increases vaccine access to communities that have been disproportionately
affected by the virus through services such as multilingual vaccine awareness events, language
interpretation, and transportation.
7. Municipal and local budgets are notoriously cash-strapped. In a period of
austerity how will you prioritize the needs of our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+
communities in the face of budget shortfalls?
In times of austerity, we need to provide as much support as possible to already underfunded
resources and vulnerable populations. Specifically with regard to Covid-stressed budgets, the
pandemic has more severely affected BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ constituents, as most crises do;
even in “non-pandemic” times, these constituents are more subject to poverty, lack of health
insurance, unemployment, and poorer mental and physical health. When faced with a health
crisis, local governments must prioritize programs that provide crucial assistance—as in the
Vaccine Equity Initiave I mention in question #6.
8. What is your path to victory? How will you engage new voters and expand the
electorate in your municipality or body?
First and foremost, my path to victory involves behaving—at every step—in a manner which is
true to who I am and to my values. I cannot move forward with a campaign any other way, and I
only care to earn a seat on Council in this way. I have developed trusted relationships with
every client and colleague through my work at Fig, and I take my responsibility to each of them
seriously. It is this reputation for responsibility, dependability and professionalism that I will bring
to any role, including running for and serving on City Council.
I am seeking to build a campaign which makes as few assumptions as possible about those
consuming the messages I share; I want to speak to all of the citizens of Bethlehem. I want to
speak to those who may never have voted in a primary, who may not even know what City
Council is.
Voting and understanding local government—let alone attending or standing up at a Council
meeting—can be intimidating, and even more so for those who feel marginalized for any reason.
If you have not felt warmly invited, what would compel you to participate? As both a candidate
and as Councilperson, educating, inviting, and empowering as many residents as possible will
be at the core of my service.
9. Who is funding your campaign? Is there anyone from whom you are not taking
campaign contributions? Why?
My campaign is being funded by individual donors comprised primarily of community members,
colleagues, family, and friends. I will not accept corporate donations or gifts from any group or
institution which may have an expectation in terms of how I vote or behave as Councilperson, or
that do not align with my personal values.
10. For School Board Candidates Only: Given the difficulties K-12 education faced
throughout this pandemic, what are your preparedness plans for future
pandemics?
N/A
ADDITIONAL CLARIFICATION
If there’s anything else our membership should know about you or if you feel the need to
provide additional information about any of your above responses, do so here. Please keep your
response to a total of 100 words or less.
