2009 Allentown mayoral election

The 2009 mayoral election in Allentown, Pennsylvania was held on November 3, 2009, and resulted in the incumbent mayor Ed Pawlowski, a member of the Democratic Party, being re-elected to a second term over Republican Party candidate Tony Phillips.

Background
Incumbent mayor Ed Pawlowski was seeking his second term as mayor, having first been elected in the previous election in 2005.

Campaign
Pawlowski would be challenged in the Democratic primary by longtime city employee and former follower Dick Nepon. He would handily defeat Nepon with almost 82% of the vote. Pawlowski's followers also attempted to write him in as the Republican nominee in an effort to cross-file Pawlowski to forego the general election. However, this effort would fail and Tony Phillips would secure the Republican nomination. It is unknown how many write-ins Pawlowski received as a Republican as they were pooled into his total as a Democratic candidate. Pawlowski would go on to defeat Phillips in the general election with almost 74% of the vote.