Former Republican mayor Andy Szekely enters Lansdale mayoral race

Andy Szekely, who served as Lansdale’s mayor for nearly a decade, is returning to borough politics as the Republican candidate for mayor after Greg Gilrain withdrew from the ballot.

Szekely, a lifelong Lansdale resident and Upper Gwynedd chiropractor, said his decision came suddenly.

“If you asked me two weeks ago if I'd be running again for mayor, I would have laughed at the idea,” he said. “However, in the past week or so I have heard a few unsettling things about the Borough or rather its mismanagement based on Council's direction.”

The Lansdale Republican Club made the announcement on Facebook Wednesday night.

Concerns over finances, homelessness, and projects

Szekely cited multiple issues that influenced his decision to run. He said he was told by a borough employee that a supplier refused to provide products because the borough had not paid its bills. He also pointed to what he described as instability in the finance department.

“There is no denying that five finance directors in six or seven years does not look good,” he said.

He also criticized what he said was talk of dedicating part of Stony Creek Park for homeless use.

“This is coming on the heels of an illegal, homeless Guatemalan migrant attempting to strangle a woman on the 300 block of Vine Street,” Szekely said. “If you look at other municipalities and/or cities, there is an inverse relationship between the money spent and resources provided to the homeless — the homelessness gets worse, and the communities suffer.”

Szekely, a resident of Lansdale's West Ward neighborhood, further opposed what he called “the absolutely asinine property vacancy tax that Mayor Garry pushed for,” arguing it would have expanded government and raised taxes.

“It was rightly put to bed by Chef Chipper,” he said. “The administrative costs to manage this stupid idea is just another way to expand government resulting in another department, resulting in higher taxes — not to mention scaring away investors.”

He said the borough should be scrutinizing major projects.

“No one uses the SEPTA garage to shop in Lansdale. They don’t even use it for regional rail,” he said. “And the Borough lost the revenue of the metered lot. No wonder SEPTA is in the financial trouble it is. $40 million for a parking garage that only a couple dozen cars park in each day.”

“Someone needs to question these large projects,” he said.

Why he chose to run

Szekely said he was approached by Lansdale Republican Committee members Jason Meitzler and Yanni Lambros to run after Gilrain withdrew.

“There should always be another candidate to vote for; it’s healthy,” he said. “Wednesday was the deadline, so I said yes.”

He added that Lansdale has had one-party rule for nearly a decade.

“As is the case in the presidential and congressional history of elections, the pendulum swings back and forth … In Lansdale, we’re creeping up on ten years of a Democrat complete majority, and so goes the saying, ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely’,” he said.

The former mayor, who also ran unsuccessfully against Steve Malagari for state representative in 2018, said he continues to hear from residents who wish he had remained in office.

“Every week I bump into someone who will say, ‘I wish you were still the mayor’ or ‘You’ll always be my mayor,’” he said, noting he heard similar sentiments at the recent Saint Stanislaus Festival. “And since I served almost ten years as the mayor, I came to know a lot of people, and I think I did a lot of good for the community.”

No immediate comment on opponent

When asked about Democratic opponent Rachael Bollens, a current Ward 1 councilwoman, Szekely declined to comment, noting that her campaign website was no longer active.

He recalled that during the primary, her platform appeared “fairly generic” and “nothing substantial.”

Bollens declined comment at this time; she was unavailable due to a death in the family.

Councilmembers respond

Members of Lansdale Borough Council pushed back strongly against Szekely’s criticisms. Their remarks reflect their own views and not those of the borough or other members of council.

Councilwoman Carrie Oglesby rejected Szekely’s claims about finances.

“For any questions in regards to payments or other Borough financial matters, I invite Andy as well as all Lansdale Borough residents to join me at our next Administration and Finance meeting,” she said, scheduled for Sept. 3 at 6:30 p.m. “When you attend Borough meetings in person, you receive real and updated information, not lies and misinformation. See you there.”

Councilman Mike Yetter took issue with Szekely’s comments about immigration and homelessness, referencing Szekely’s recent interview with “Hungarian Conservative.”

In the May 5, 2025 article, Szekely spoke about his family heritage and his past mayoral platform, which emphasized bringing a more European-style, walkable downtown to Lansdale, though those efforts clashed with suburban development and changing demographics.

Once the last Republican in borough leadership, Szekely lost reelection in 2017 as Democrats consolidated power in Lansdale. In the article, he attributed that defeat to the Trump-era political climate, which made it difficult for local Republicans — even those with crossover appeal — to retain office.

Today, Lansdale Borough Council is entirely Democratic, and incumbent Mayor Garry Herbert is part of that progressive majority. Herbert is no seeking re-election as mayor; he is instead seeking the Ward 1 seat being vacated by Bollens (and is a shoo-in with no Republican opponent).

What hit council members and their political peers the hardest with the conservative Q&A article was how outspoken Szekely has been about the demographic and political shifts in Lansdale and Montgomery County. Szekely described them as part of a broader leftward turn in local governance, schools, and community culture.

He linked those changes to national trends — immigration, diversity initiatives, and progressive policies — while positioning himself as a Christian conservative voice against them.

“Andy has continued to show his true colors by highlighting and generalizing the nationality of a disturbed individual who was quickly and safely apprehended by our fine police department,” Yetter said. “This echoes a recent article where Andy cited our proud Bangladeshi community, Muslims, and LGBTQ community members as reasons why he wants to leave Lansdale and the United States.”

“He is not a person committed to Lansdale’s long term prosperity,” he said.

Council Vice President Meg Currie Teoh disputed any plans to dedicate borough parkland for homeless use.

“There are no plans to dedicate any portion of any borough park for this purpose,” she said.

She also warned against generalizing people based on isolated incidents.

“I would strongly caution anyone not to paint entire populations of human beings based on one individual’s behavior,” she said.

Currie Teoh emphasized that homelessness is a housing problem tied to rising rents and limited resources, not a failure of aid.

Councilman Andrew Carroll responded directly to Szekely’s criticisms of borough projects. On the Madison complex and SEPTA garage, he said, “I’m not sure what he thinks he can do about it now that the project is complete, when he was ineffective at doing anything about it when he was the sitting mayor.”

“Rather than playing Monday morning quarterback on decisions that are over a decade old, I, for one, would prefer a Mayor that has vision to the future and not contempt for the past,” Carroll said.

“I’m amazed that Andy is running for mayor again; I heard he was moving to Hungary,” he added.

Councilman BJ Breish issued the longest rebuttal, denying claims that he proposed dedicating Stony Creek Park for homeless use and criticizing Szekely’s framing of the issue.

“By highlighting that the alleged criminal was ‘illegal and homeless,’ Andy is using a serious crime to scapegoat an entire group of vulnerable people and drum up fear,” Breish said. “First, let me be absolutely clear: the claim that I want to dedicate a portion of Stony Creek Park to the homeless is a complete and utter falsehood.”

Breish urged residents to demand “thoughtful, compassionate, and forward-thinking” solutions from candidates.

“Facts, not fear, should guide our policy,” he said, pointing to national data that shows individuals experiencing homelessness are more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators. “While this doesn't excuse any single criminal act, it provides crucial context that fearmongering conveniently omits. Let’s invest in solutions, not stigma. Let’s choose compassion and strategy over fear and division.”

Democratic Committee response

Jared D. Rubinsky, chairman of the Lansdale Democratic Committee, also weighed in.

“Andy Szekely was voted out of office in 2017, and voters rejected him again when he ran for 53rd District in 2018,” Rubinsky said. “We do know his vision for Lansdale is backward looking and often embraces views that are more reminiscent of 1955 than of 2025.”

Rubinsky said Szekely “mocks Lansdale, the people that live here, and the home we have all built together,” and argued that he does not understand how to help the community thrive.

Rubinsky declined comment on if the Committee would or would not legally challenge the Republican nomination.

No official announcement was made either by Gilrain or the Lansdale Republican Club about Gilrain's withdrawal from the race.