Firefighter and Bethlehem native Bob Brooks runs for Congress

Firefighter, union leader and Bethlehem native Bob Brooks has launched his campaign for a Pennsylvania Congressional Seat.

Brooks, who served as an active firefighter until this past March, announced his candidacy for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District on Aug. 26 via a video posted on social media. The video details some of his campaign’s positions, which are rooted in increasing affordability, access to health care and support for first responders. 

Brooks is the fifth candidate to enter the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District,  joining former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, energy engineer Carol Obando-Derstine, ‘22G, and Mark Pinsley, according to Lehigh Valley News.

Brooks said he first considered running for Congress in June after speaking to Governor Josh Shapiro and Congressman Chris Deluzio. 

“I saw an opportunity, and decided to try to get in this race and win it,” Brooks said.

Brooks said he has worked for everything he has and his priority is to help working class citizens.

He said he’s been working since he was 10 years old, holding various jobs like a pizza delivery driver, dishwasher, truck driver, landscaper and baseball coach. According to Brooks’ campaign website, he now owns and operates a landscaping and snow removal company, Brooks Lawn Care, that he started in 2013.  

He has never held a local, state or federal office. 

In his time at the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, Brooks served as the northeast district field service representative, the eastern vice president and became the president in 2021.

According to his campaign website, Brooks represents over 8,000 firefighters as the president of the association. 

Brooks said in his time leading the PPFFA, he’s learned the importance of bipartisan agreement. He said he believes if more people worked across the aisle, the U.S. would be in a much better place.

District 7 comprises all of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon Counties. Allentown’s Democratic mayor, Matt Tuerk, previously worked with Brooks on the Northampton Airport Authority Board. 

During his term as mayor, Tuerk and Brooks worked with Pennsylvania Rep. Jennifer O’Mara to pass legislation supporting mental health for firefighters, specifically those experiencing post-traumatic stress injuries. 

“He’s a worker,” Tuerk said. “Bob’s down to earth. I was surprised by getting to know him, just how kind he is. He is a gentle dude, very personable and really understands what it’s like to be a working person in America.” 

Tuerk, who invited Brooks as well as the four other Democratic primary candidates to the Great Allentown Fair, has yet to endorse any of the candidates. 

Brooks’s campaign released a post highlighting the endorsements from groups including local fire stations, the PPFFA, the International Association of Fire Fighters and the SEIU Pennsylvania State Council, a labor union located in Harrisburg.

Brooks has also been endorsed by Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Deluzio, Pennsylvania’s Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

On Aug. 28, the official X campaign account posted they had raised over $100,000 in support of Brooks in the first 24 hours.

 “I’ve struggled, I fought, I’ve scratched, I’ve clawed, to get out and to get to a good place, a better place than I am today,” Brooks said. 

In a statement made on Aug. 26, Arnaud Armstrong, the spokesman for Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s reelection campaign, said the Democratic field is “a traffic pileup of strangers and radicals.” 

Armstrong discussed the candidates in another statement, saying they don’t “have the leadership, experience or vision needed to unite voters and deliver for our community,” according to a Lehigh Valley Live article.

Brooks said he doesn’t think it matters if people complain that he is too progressive. 

Patrick Martin, who has served on the executive board of the PPFFA with Brooks as the secretary-treasurer, said Brooks has a very strong work ethic and has worked with him for almost 10 years. 

“Bob works tirelessly from sunup to sundown,” Martin said. “No matter what he is doing, he gives 110% to everything he does.”

Brooks said if he gets to Congress, his work ethic and patience will allow him to be a bulldog, mirroring one of his tattoos — a bulldog in a fire helmet. 

“(I) just put my nose down and go to work for what I believe in,” Brooks said, “If I take that work ethic that I’ve always put in, and take that down to Washington, D.C., people here will see results.” 

The primary election will be in May 2026 and will be a closed primary, only open for registered Democrats. More information about the election can be found on the Northampton County election website.