Patriots of the Constitution hosted a town hall event at Radical Wine in Lehighton to give Carbon County voters a chance to meet the two Republican candidates running for the 7th Congressional District seat. Lisa Scheller was unable to attend due to another commitment, so Kevin Dellicker shared his story and his values with those in attendance.

Dellicker told the crowd that his three main priorities for his campaign are strong families, good jobs, and safe communities.

“My message is one of freedom and hope,” Dellicker said. “My campaign slogan is ‘Keep America Free.’ I think the elites that run our country don’t trust ordinary Americans to do the right thing, so they continually impose rules, regulations, mandates and controls instead of letting ordinary Americans exercise their freedom.

“The test for the policies that I’m going to support when I get to Washington is, ‘does this make us more free?’ If the answer is yes, then I’m inclined to support it. If the answer is no, then I probably won’t.”

Dellicker served 26 years in the military, having gone to war four times, and still serves with the National Guard. He also runs a small business that he and his wife, Susan, started 17 years ago.

“The business is technology, so I have a lot of experience in relevant issues like cybersecurity, telecommunications, and broadband infrastructure. And I have experience as an economic and environmental policy adviser in state government.”

The town hall was hosted by Patriots of the Constitution, an organization whose mission is “to awaken as many Americans as possible to the slow deterioration of our constitutional liberties that have occurred over the past 100 years.”

Lisa Scheller is chairwoman and CEO of Silberline Manufacturing, an aluminum pigment manufacturer based near Hometown, Schuylkill County. She is a former chair of the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners.

Dellicker and Scheller will participate in a Republican debate on April 1 at Northampton County Community College, Alumni Hall, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem Township. The event is sponsored by the Northampton County Republican Committee. It will take place at the Gates/Alumni Center (across from the main campus) in Room 130. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the forum begins at 7 p.m. It will be open to the public; first come, first served.

With the new district realignment, District 7 now includes all of Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties, and a small section of southwestern Monroe County.