[5][6] Siegel also successfully led the drive to bring the city's vehicle fleet maintenance back in house after over twenty years of privatization, citing concerns over public safety, treatment of union employees, substandard wages and lengthy times required to service critical city vehicles such as fire trucks and snowplows.
[7] Siegel also championed campaign finance reform legislation that would have capped the total size of contributions made by each donor; his bill, the provisions of which he argued would have prevented the corruption scheme that resulted in the resignation and federal conviction of Allentown mayor Ed Pawlowski in 2018, was defeated by a margin of 4–3.
[10][11][12] Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization which overturned Roe v. Wade, Siegel fought to pass local legislation that would have protected reproductive access in Allentown, including a buffer zone around the local Planned Parenthood clinic to protect those entering from harassment or intimidation, as well as legislation aimed at crisis pregnancy centers for disseminating false or misleading information and prohibiting city resources from being used to aide out of state prosecutors pursuing those coming to Pennsylvania for reproductive care.
On February 8, 2022, Joshua Siegel declared his candidacy for the newly created seat, numbered as the 22nd district,[16] covering most of the city of Allentown as well as some suburbs to the east and southeast.
[17] Siegel's candidacy focused on addressing the crisis of affordability and rising inflation such as the rising cost of housing, education and childcare; as well as economic development and regionalism, education funding, reducing gun violence, comprehensive public safety, affordable housing, responsible development, protecting the right to organize, strengthening unions, protecting democracy, reproductive healthcare and LGBTQ rights.
[19] In the November 8 general election Siegel defeated Robert E. Smith, a former Allentown school board member,[20] by a margin of 64%–36% to become the state representative-elect for the 22nd district.
[24][25][26] Siegel voted in favor of shield law legislation that would protect women seeking reproductive care in Pennsylvania from out of state prosecutors.
The legislation would prohibit Commonwealth resources from being used to assist in helping facilitate prosecution of women in Pennsylvania traveling from other states where abortion access has been criminalized.
[27][28] Advocates of the legislation argued that Pennsylvania had become a sanctuary for those seeking access to abortion and both doctors and patients shouldn't have to fear prosecution for providing critical medical care or be bound by dangerous out of state laws.
Siegel voted in favor of HB1018 which would have created extreme risk protection orders (ERPO) or red flag laws which allows for the short-term removal of firearms from people who might be a danger to themselves or others.
Siegel and advocates argued this was about public safety and protecting law enforcement by ensuring that private sellers cannot simply transfer a gun without regular legal oversight.
Siegel has been an outspoken critic of those who fail to properly store their firearms either leaving them unsecured and loaded or in easy access to children.
[36] Siegel has co-sponsored and supported legislation aimed at ensuring that our elections are protected from efforts to subvert trust and faith in the process and expand access to the ballot box.
He has introduced legislation around zoning reform to make it easier to build missing middle housing such as duplexes, triplexes and quads allowing density to be occur within existing developments in order to promote land preservation, walkability and smart growth which he argues will save taxpayer dollars, create more desirable communities and improve access to employment, healthcare and recreation that all generations demand.
[65][66] Siegel has also advocated for changing building codes to make it easier to build larger apartments that can accommodate families through legalizing point access corridors or single stair-case legislation which allow condominiums and apartments to be built around a central stairwell and elevator shaft in order to conserve space and improve the quality of units.
Siegel voted in favor of extending OSHA protections to public sector workers to prevent workplace injuries and fatalities.
Pennsylvania doesn't require public employers to follow federal Occupational Safety and Health standards which leaves workers vulnerable to unsafe workplaces.
Siegel argued the legislation would help root out bad contractors that treated their workers improperly, protect taxpayer dollars by ensuring that bridges and roads were built with the highest quality labor and completed properly and on time, addressed the shortage of construction workers by rewarding firms that invested in the skills of their employees and encourage contractors to make investments in workforce development.