An Easton resident presented a petition at last week’s city council meeting calling for Taiba Sultana to step down from her city council seat.
Chris Phillips, a resident of the South Side District that Sultana represents, claimed that 250 residents signed the petition at the meeting. The petition claims that Sultana is not fulfilling her role as councilwoman because she has allegedly missed multiple meetings, according to Lehigh Valley Live.
In an email, Sultana wrote that the accusations by the resident were the same ones made by Easton Mayor Salvatore J. Panto Jr. previously. She added that she had “already refuted” the accusations.
“She missed three of the four budget meetings, which are City Council’s biggest responsibility,” Panto said.
Sultana, who is currently challenging State Rep. Bob Freeman (HD-136) in the Democratic primary, denies the claims that she has missed multiple meetings.
“I acknowledge that I missed a budget meeting in 2022, but it was due to a family emergency when my mother was in the ICU,” Sultana wrote. “I have diligently attended all required meetings and remain committed to serving the residents of Easton, particularly those on the South Side where I call home.”
The claims of Sultana and Panto could not be independently verified; budget meeting minutes are not posted on the Easton website. Sultana has, however, missed five city council meetings since she was sworn in in 2022, a similar number of absences to colleagues such as Councilmen Ken Brown and James Edinger.
Sultana called the claims made against her “baseless accusations” and “unfounded propaganda.”
“This smear campaign against me is a common political strategy that I am familiar with,” Sultana wrote.
Sultana is the representative for Easton’s 3rd District, as well as the first woman of color and first Muslim-American woman member of the Easton City Council.
Currently, there are no steps that the City Council is planning to take in response to the petition, according to Panto.
“The charter only allows you to remove someone who’s convicted of a felony,” Panto said. “The city council cannot remove one of its own.”
Panto believes that the only action the city can take is to wait for Election Day.
“I’m sure she’ll run for re-election, and I’m sure she’ll lose to Bob Freeman,” Panto said.
Dana Kircher • Apr 19, 2024 at 1:05 pm
Another “woman of color” elected in just because of her color or in this case religion also. She wasn’t elected on merit. I guess she expects her color to carry her through her career since that’s how she got the job in the first place!!! You get what you vote for people!!!!