   Allentown developers cultivating political influence
Allentown developers cultivating political influence  The two
men who have bankrolled much of the billion-dollar
transformation of downtown Allentown are hoping to convert that
commercial revival into a political force. City Center
Investment Corp. co-owners Joe Topper and J.B. Reilly have
launched a political action committee aimed at channeling their
investment in Allentown's rebirth into a campaign fundraising
apparatus designed to defend those interests in the halls of
local and state governments. Since its founding in October,
Citizens for Urban Renewal has dished out $47,000 in
contributions to a mix of Democrats and Republicans, including
Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski and state Sen. Pat Browne,
R-Lehigh, who wrote the tax...