Helen Torok is being sworn in today as a new member on Lehighton Borough Council.

She would be called a surprise candidate because she wasn't even on the ballot in the primary.But she won write-in campaigns to have her name placed on both the Democrat and Republican sides of the November ballot.In November, she tallied the most votes of five candidates, netting 386, while incumbent Scott Rehrig got 375 and another newcomer, Joseph Flickinger netted 355. Two other incumbents lost.Torok is an African-American in a community which, according to 2012 census figures, has 5,172 whites and only 27 blacks.She's also a newcomer. She moved into Lehighton three years ago. Before that, she lived in Penn Forest Township for 35 years.She had been a judge of elections for four years in Penn Forest Township. This is her first attempt to win a governing seat.The start in politicsTorok, an Independent most of her life, said she became a Democrat a number of years ago when the late David Addy successfully sought the position of Carbon County Judge."When my good friend Dave Addy ran for judge, I switched parties to support him," Torok said.Torok, of the Jewish faith, was born in Sylvania, Ga., but was raised and educated in Savannah, where, she said, "They have the largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the world." Her ancestry is Irish.She moved to the Newark, N.J., area; then while paging through the New York Daily News, saw an advertisement for a house for sale in Penn Forest Township.She and her husband, Tibor, looked at numerous houses, but fell in love with the Penn Forest home."We were big time skiers," she said. "We looked around the Catskills, but we wanted to move to an area with a lot of natural resources."She and Tibor have been married for 46 years. They have a son, Derek Torok of Easton, and a daughter, Marika Torok-Briggs of Racine, Wis. They had another daughter, Andrea Lynette Foster, who died two years ago from diabetes complications. They also have numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.The vote-getterSo why would the people of Lehighton so willingly open their arms to Torok and easily elect her to borough council?"It was quite a surprise," she admits. "I was not expecting quite that number (of votes)."She said part of the reason may be her long history of civic commitment in Carbon County.She said she was one of the founders of the Jim Thorpe Lions Club and is involved with Family Promise.Torok also served as a director of the Carbon County Fair and is also involved with the Penn State Agriculture Cooperative.Recently she was appointed to the Carbon County Action Committee by the Carbon County Commissioners."I will be representing small businesses and low income clients," she said.She is active in the organization Carbon County Democrats for Change, which is headquartered in Lehighton."I had a certain affection for Lehighton from the first time I came and opened an account at the former People's Bank. Lehighton wasn't as commercial as Jim Thorpe at the time," Torok said. "I like that it had a Main Street. I found an attraction at that time of the downtown."She added, "As time went on, I saw more and more deterioration (in the downtown). At one time, I wouldn't even walk through the park because of the drugs and foul language. It was like a bad dream coming back," making reference to her days in Newark.Improvements have been made in the park, but a lot more is needed to improve the downtown, Torok said, explaining why she ran for council."I felt, 'Why should this deterioration continue?' There were some people who did get involved and tried to make a difference, but people didn't support them," she said. "When you get people to go along with you, change will happen."The businesswomanTorok, who has been involved in numerous business ventures in Carbon County, runs her own business called Innovative Solutions, which includes advertising, multimedia consulting, strategic marketing, and E-commerce services.She's a photographer and a former international model.Business investment is needed in the borough, Torok said. For that to happen, there is a need to make parking more convenient for shoppers.Another priority is to get young people involved."I felt I would like to make a difference with the young people here," she said. "I would like to have children retire here and make a Lehighton like it was years ago."The singerSinging is one of her main loves. She has sung in other countries, and has been invited to sing with a hotel band in Lagos, Nigeria.While singing with the Harlem Opera Workshop, the group was asked to sing during a visit by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. She said members said, "Because of the way blacks were treated in the U.S., we should be thrilled to do a concert for him."Torok didn't agree and refused to sing."My music wasn't about politics," she said. "That is why I didn't sing. What he said about blacks then in the U.S. was totally true."At that time, Torok's mother still could not vote."I just wasn't going to entertain his delegation," she said. "The irony was that my favorite dance music was Cuban."