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O'Connell, the only candidate to raise the issue before Iannelli brought it up, stressed the need for new leadership to rid the city of corruption and laid the blame at Pawlowski's feet. "The mayor and I, in the beginning, were obviously on the same page, but it is like a marriage, it is like a family and when someone is deceitful to you, you've lost everything," O'Connell said. "The FBI probe will take care of itself; seven people, one this morning, have pleaded guilty. There is one common denominator: It is corruption." Pawlowski has not been charged in the probe, but all seven of the individuals who have entered guilty pleas have implicated a person identified in charging documents as "Public Official No. 3," whose description matches that of the mayor. Charlie Thiel, an Allentown School Board member and former security company executive, and Siobhan "Sam" Bennett, a bed and breakfast owner and former CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Women's Campaign Fund, avoided direct criticism of Pawlowski over the run of guilty pleas to charges of pay-to-play involving city contracts. Bennett said she launched her run for mayor before the FBI probe into City Hall became public, a veiled suggestion that the other candidates were opportunists. "There has been a lot of action, which of course there needs to be, but I think it's important we don't let this campaign be defined by that," she said. Thiel sounded a similar tone. "It is not my responsibility to play the Department of Justice or anybody [else's] up here," he said. "It is my decision to actually come forth and say I want to serve this community and lead this city into the future." Political newcomer Joshua Siegel said the FBI probe is a prime example of the corrupting influence of money on politics, and said he would impose tighter restrictions on campaign contributions in the city and involve the public more directly in governance. "It has reminded us of the serious corrosive effects of money," Siegel said. But Lehigh County Councilman David Jones, who said he was inspired by Pawlowski to enter politics, urged the mayor to resign to end the cloud he said hangs over the city. "What is sad is that the legacy of service and good work is now going to be tarnished," Jones said. "It is going to be tarnished not because of whatever the judicial system decides in terms of guilt or innocence. It's going to be tarnished by his decision to continue to want to stay in office, because as long as he stays in office, the cloud, the doubts, the uncertainty" impede the city's progress. Pawlowski disputed that. "What cloud?" he asked, citing the city's downtown development boom. "The city is running effectively, we actually came in under budget this year in our budget projections. I think the city is actually moving in a pretty good direction. We are growing, we are getting new jobs, we are getting new development, I don't see any cloud that has stopped this city from progressing." That came after Pawlowski offered a full-throated denial that he has done anything wrong in connection with the FBI probe, which became public in July 2015. Pawlowski was jeered when he said he had done nothing improper, later saying he deserves to be considered innocent until proven guilty, and that a few bad apples don't mean the whole city administration is corrupt. Iannelli asked Pawlowski if the scandal had been hard on him. "It is difficult for me," Pawlowski said. "It is difficult for my family. I want to clear my own reputation, I don't believe I did anything wrong and I will continue to push that I didn't do anything wrong. I know deep in my heart that if I really felt there was something improper or illegal that happened in City Hall, I would not be sitting up here on this dais." Candidate Nathan Woodring did not participate in the debate. Iannelli plans a Republican debate next month. Read the original article here.