Draft:Lamont G. McClure

Lamont George McClure Jr. (born November 23rd, 1970. ) is an American democratic politician and former lawyer, currently serving as the County Executive of Northampton County, Pennsylvania. He served as a member of the Northampton County Council from 2006 to 2013.

Early life and education
Lamont George McClure Jr. was born on November 23rd, 1970 to Lamont "Lonnie" George McClure Sr. and Patricia "Pam" McClure (Montague).

McClure graduated from Wilkes University in 1992, with a Bachelors Degree in History and International Studies. In 1995, he received his Juris Doctorate from Duquesne Law School, and became a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association

Career
McClure worked as an associate attorney with the Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos, former owner of the Baltimore Orioles, for 13 years. In 2000, he worked as the campaign manager of Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli's unsuccessful campaign for Pennsylvania Attorney General. On November 8th, 2005, McClure was elected to the Northampton County Council, and he served as a member of the council from 2006 to 2013. On November 7th, 2017, he was elected to the position of County Executive and he took office on January 2, 2018. On November 1st, 2021, then Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, endorsed McClure for reelection. On November 3rd, McClure won a second term, defeating challenger, Steve Lynch, after baselessly accusing his opponent of being a "domestic terrorist".

2023 Election Controversy
On Election Day, November 7th, 2023, poll workers discovered that paper backups of ballots were not matching the selections some voters made on the ES&S ExpressVote XL voting machines. . McClure was criticized for failing to accept responsibility for errors with the voting machines that he endorsed, and for passing blame to his top administrator. On November 9th, State Representative Milou Mackenzie called for his resignation, followed by an additional call for his resignation on November 30th, 2023. McClure dismissed the attacks, saying that he would not step down, and that he planned to seek a third term in 2025. On November 24th, McClure's Director of Administration, and overseer of the county's elections division, Charles Dertinger, resigned from his position. In a written statement McClure said, "the 2019 and 2023 elections were failures under his leadership of the Elections Division" and "Despite his Election failures of 2019 and 2023, the foregoing reasons stated is why his resignation is regrettable. I wish him well in his future endeavors"

Personal Life
McClure currently resides in Bethlehem Township with his wife, Sandra McClure. . Sandra is a part-time Northampton County Assistant District Attorney