In Bethlehem, friction defines mayoral race
In Bethlehem, incumbent Democrat J. William Reynolds is facing a primary election challenge from city council member Grace Crampsie Smith for a four-year term as mayor of the city of about 76,500 residents.
Reynolds is seeking his second term while Crampsie Smith is making her first bid for the job that has an annual salary of $90,500. No Republicans are on the primary ballot, meaning the race could be decided on May 20.
In seeking reelection, Reynolds said, “We made progress on everything we said we were going to do.”
Among the accomplishments, he cited the $1.4 million makeover of Friendship Park, the purchase of new police cars and fire trucks, a 33% reduction of the city’s debt and $1.1 billion in private-sector investments that include plans by German pharmaceutical manufacturer GfM Bremen to house its U.S. headquarters in South Bethlehem.
Crampsie Smith said a sense of duty instilled by parents led her to run for mayor. She said she stands for health and public safety, sound fiscal management and smart economic development that preserves neighborhoods.
“I'm going to be mayor for all people,” she said. “I'm going to reopen the doors to City Hall once a month and have a time where anybody from the city can come in and meet with me.”
Reynolds and Crampsie Smith have often clashed on city issues, especially when it comes to creating more affordable housing.
Reynolds said he is taking a systematic approach based on research and community input. Rather than spending the money on a single project, he said, the city is using $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding and other grants to jumpstart multiple projects that will benefit more people.
Projects in the works include South Bethlehem’s Eastern Gateway where 120 market-rate and affordable housing units are planned on $4 million worth of land recently donated by Lehigh Valley Industrial Park.
The city also has enacted strategies to keep people in their homes, including hiring a tenant advocate to help people avoid eviction.
“The plans we have laid out have mobilized hundreds and hundreds of people in Bethlehem and in the Lehigh Valley to be a part of the solution,” he said.
Crampsie Smith said Reynolds has wasted time and money on studies with little to show. “We still don't have shovels in the ground,” she said.
She said the city has spent $1.6 million on consultants since Reynolds was elected.
Rather than spend money on research, she said, “We have local people who are experts in the areas in which we hire consultants. I think we need to get them at the table.”
Reynolds has countered that the city uses consultants in lieu of hiring additional staff and that many consultant fees are covered by grants. In addition, his administration said that Crampsie Smith’s list of consultants includes those hired before Reynolds was mayor.
Their discord was on display at a debate Monday that was organized by Lehigh Valley Public Media. Crampsie Smith said she would not support Reynolds if he wins. Reynolds, in turn, accused her of running a negative campaign.
Here is a closer look at the candidates and where they stand on issues facing the city.
Profiles were derived from interviews, campaign websites, social media sites, speeches, media reports and Monday’s debate.
To see a photo gallery from the debate, click here.
J. William Reynolds
Reynolds, who goes by the name Willie, grew up in Bethlehem and went to Liberty High School. His late father John Reynolds was a political science professor at Moravian College. His mother Rachel was a math professor at Cedar Crest College. He graduated from Moravian College in 2003 with a degree in political science and government.
His first job was working as a legislative aide for state Rep. Steve Samuelson. After earning a secondary education certificate from Moravian, he taught social studies in the Allentown School District from 2009 to 2021.
In 2007, when he was 25 years old, Reynolds won a seat on Bethlehem City Council, becoming the youngest person elected to the post. He was subsequently reelected to council, serving as council president.
In 2013, he made a bid for mayor, losing in the Democratic primary to incumbent Robert Donchez. He ran again in 2021 when Donchez was prevented from running again by the city’s Home Rule Charter. He defeated Republican John Kachmar, a retired government administrator who has since died, with more than 60% of the vote.
Reynolds is married and has one child.
ISSUES
Housing affordability
Reynolds said the city has set aside $5 million from its $35 million Community Recovery Fund, which was created with federal covid relief money. The city has also received state and private funding for affordable housing.
With the help of 3,500 residents and stakeholders, the city developed and is implementing a five-year plan called “Opening Doors: Strategies to Build Housing Stability in Bethlehem.”
Besides the Eastern Gateway development, projects in the works include a pilot project with Lehigh University to study the conversion of accessory dwelling units such as garages for housing. Concurrently, a consultant is looking at zoning law changes for ADUs, which are currently only allowed as accessory uses.
With the help of a $500,000 federal grant, Reynolds said the city is working on a plan to rebuild the Bethlehem Housing Authority’s Pembroke Village and plans to apply for a federal grant for up to $50 million to do the work.
Reynolds said the city undertook an $84,600 study to develop a plan to address homelessness and study the potential for a year-round shelter.
The city has allocated $2 million to create a permanent year-round shelter with about 70 beds in collaboration with Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering.
It also has committed $1.4 million in federal funding to convert a South Bethlehem property into a family shelter with 11 units that would be operated by the Lehigh Conference of Churches.
Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority recently received an $800,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency's Community Revitalization Fund Program that will be used to turn a blighted property at 401-403 and 405 E. 4th St. into a mix of retail and four apartments, with three of them affordable housing.
Public safety
Calling Bethlehem “one of the safest cities in Pennsylvania by nearly every metric,” Reynolds said his administration has spent or will spend $1.7 million on 25 new police cars and $5 million to rebuild the majority of the fire truck fleet, including three new engines. He said he has worked with the International Association of Fire Fighters union to fill vacancies faster, tripling the new recruit training budget. Four paramedics were added to the EMS team.
Public infrastructure
With the help of grants, he said, the city has improved parks, trails and streets. Besides rebuilding Friendship Park, the city started summer concerts at the Rose Garden and reopened Westside Pool. A comprehensive parks and recreation master plan is underway.
Reynolds said the city has also stepped up repaving city streets, including 47 lane miles paved in 2022-23 and 50 lane miles in the 2024-25 plan.
Neighborhood investment
Reynolds has initiated four neighborhood revitalization plans. These efforts have resulted in the Bethlehem Co-Op Market, which is set to open this year at 250 E. Broad St., and a $10 million federal infrastructure grant to upgrade West Broad Street to make it safer, more walkable and attractive to businesses and families.
Climate Action Plan
Reynolds said he has been implementing the city’s Climate Action Plan, which includes goals to reduce the city’s energy consumption and working with residents and groups to come up with action plans to improve sustainability.
Economic development
Over the last four years, Reynolds said the private sector invested more than $1 billion throughout the city, attracting small merchants, entrepreneurs and larger companies. Those efforts include the housing developments Six10 Flats, Taylor Flats and the Dream Boyd Theatre, approval for a Temple by Hilton hotel in South Bethlehem.
City’s fiscal health
Reynold said the city is on sound fiscal footing. His 2025 budget of $112.49 million maintained the tax rate (19.64 mills for Northampton County part of the city, 6.21 mills in the Lehigh County portion), according to Lehigh Valley News.
It was slightly less than 2024’s $113,266,297 budget, which included a property tax increase of 2.6%.to cover the cost of the new paramedics and upgrades to first-responder radios. It was the first hike since 2021 when taxes rose by 5%.
Reynolds said the city has an A+ bond rating, has reduced its debt by 33% and is on track to reduce it by another 30% over the next four years.
“We follow a few simple rules,” Reynolds said. “We do not pay for recurring expenses with one-time revenues and we never mortgage our future to avoid making difficult decisions today. We must stay committed to these priorities if we are to maintain our strong financial position.”
Grace Crampsie Smith
Crampsie Smith grew up in Summit Hill as one of seven children. Her father was a police chief and her mother a nurse. She graduated from Bloomsburg University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology/social welfare in 1980 and earned a master’s degree in 2005 from Lehigh University in secondary school counseling.
She recently retired as a school counselor for the Easton Area School District. Prior to that, she worked for Lehigh, Carbon and Schuylkill counties as an addictions counselor, prison counselor and as a coordinator for community and early intervention services. She has also taught college courses. She is the mother of three children and has two granddaughters.
Crampsie Smith was appointed to City Council in September 2019, after winning the May primary for a two-year term. In 2021, she ran for a four-year term, emerging as the top vote-getter for the four open seats. She is not simultaneously running for council this year.
Crampsie Smith chairs the Public Works Committee, is a member of the Finance and Community Development committees and is the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission liaison.
Crampsie Smith has been active in Democratic politics, including as a precinct committee person, Northampton County Council of Democratic Women; Bethlehem Area Democratic Committee; Lehigh Valley Democratic Progressive Committee; Lehigh Valley ROAR; and Lehigh Valley 4.
In 2022, she received the Outstanding Elected Democratic Woman of the Year Award by the Pennsylvania Federation of Democratic Women.
ISSUES
Affordable housing
Crampsie Smith said the No. 1 issue facing the city is the lack of affordable housing. She said her experience as a school counselor gave her insight into the gravity of the situation. “I just could not believe how many students and families were becoming homeless,” she said.
In 2021, before Reynolds became mayor, Crampsie Smith started a housing affordability task force, asking residents and stakeholders to meet to come up with solutions.
As councilwoman, Crampsie Smith said she successfully pushed for an amendment to the tax abatement program known as LERTA, which requires developers to build affordable housing as part of their projects or pay a fee in lieu of such housing.
Crampsie Smith said she also was behind the effort to raise the fee to $52,320 per 10 housing units constructed. “And ironically, the mayor was really upset with me. He was really against doubling it,” she said.
Responding to a question at Monday’s debate, Crampsie Smith said the LERTA has yet to yield new housing but that $500,000 to $700,000 has been paid in fees.
Crampsie Smith said “too many high-end luxury rental apartments” are being built in the city. She mentioned a concept plan to build 70 apartments with a retail component at 11-15 W. Garrison St. that would involve tearing down older homes that now have affordable rental rates.
“When we're doing things like that, I'm thinking, how are we addressing the affordable housing crisis? We're actually doing the opposite,” she said.
She said the city should be doing more to encourage home ownership, working with people who don’t have down payments and matching them with banks for mortgages. “Many people that are renting don't want to rent forever,” she said.
Crampsie Smith said the city should expand programs where caseworkers help manage money to make sure clients pay their rents. She said that could open the door to more landlords who would be willing to offer low-rent housing.
Budget
Crampsie Smith said she is a fiscal conservative who could do a better job with the budget.
“I would certainly tighten up fiscally how we do things and implement policy and procedures and assure that they are carried through,” she said.
She said she was responsible for budgets in her county work. “So I really know what it's like to have limited government funds and to have to spend it as efficiently as possible,” she said.
Crampsie Smith voted against the 2.6% tax hike in the 2024 budget. She said it angered her that Reynolds proposed a tax hike while saying the city was in good financial shape. She also said the city still had American Rescue Plan money, which must be spent by 2026.
“I said, ‘How can I vote for a tax increase?’” she recalled.
At the debate, Reynolds said Crampsie Smith did not offer any amendments to the budget to address her concerns. He also said the tax hike went to pay for the new paramedics, something he didn’t want to use one-time money to cover.
Public safety
Crampsie Smith said, “Public safety is huge for me.” She said she fought to get the city fire department up to its full staffing levels, a process she said is ongoing. She also sponsored a resolution to assure insurance coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder care for first responders.
Crampsie Smith joined fellow council members in declining to pass a "Welcoming City" ordinance that would limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The ordinance, which was pushed by members of the public, was opposed by Police Chief Michelle Kott and Reynolds.
She said Bethlehem cooperates with U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement if the agency has a warrant to detain a person suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.
Parking
Crampsie Smith was one of two no votes on the February 2024 approval to tear down the Walnut Street Parking Garage and replace it with a structure that would be taller, narrower and have fewer spaces. The old garage, which has since been demolished, was often half full, according to an article in Lehigh Valley News. Reynolds supported the plan.
At the time of approval, she said, the plan did not show the future use of open space that was created by the smaller garage’s footprint – what she called the white box on the plan’s blueprint. The land has since been slated for apartments.
“It was very irresponsible and unprofessional,” she said.
Other issues
In 2020, Crampsie Smith said she introduced a responsible contractor ordinance and was behind a 2024 bill passed that bans the sale of pets from puppy mills within the city.
