In a nail-biting primary Tuesday that likely will decide the next mayor, veteran Bethlehem City Councilman Robert Donchez took an early lead over J. William Reynolds and held it, but the margin of victory was so slim he declined to declare victory early Wednesday morning.
According to unofficial election results, Donchez won by just 296 votes with all precincts reporting at 12:30 a.m.
"It's a close race, and I'm not ready to declare victory," Donchez said. "We'll wait until tomorrow and see what the final numbers are."
Donchez commended Reynolds and his volunteers on a well-fought campaign. Donchez had 2,651 votes and Reynolds tallied 2,355, according to unofficial results. Reynolds won in the Lehigh County part of the city.
Reynolds said, "I'm proud of the campaign we ran and will wait to see what the results are tomorrow."
If Donchez's lead holds, he will likely become the city's 12th mayor when the term-limited Mayor John Callahan steps down at the end of the year, barring a third-party or write-in candidate. No Republicans filed to run.
Donchez would likely work with a council that will include at least two new faces. With four seats up for election, council members Eric Evans and Karen Dolan and newcomers Bryan Callahan and Adam Waldron were leading among the six Democrats running. In November, the four top vote getters in the council race will face Republican Christopher Morales, owner of Bethlehem's lone hot dog cart, Easy Weenies.
The mayoral contest pitted Donchez, a 63-year-old retired teacher and legislative aide, against Reynolds, a 31-year-old teacher and former legislative aide. The two had very similar records on council but diverged widely on style.
Donchez emphasized his experience, suggesting Reynolds wasn't ready to be mayor. The son of a former city police detective, Donchez had an early look at the inner workings of City Hall and his campaign experience is nearly as old as the city's strong mayor form of government. He's been on council for 17 years, serving as its elected president nearly half that time.
But Reynolds called Donchez an insider and questioned Donchez's maturity, once confronting him at a debate with a negative mailer Donchez had sent out. One mailer included an old photograph of Reynolds with his hat turned backward.
Reynolds got an 11th-hour endorsement Friday from Callahan, who said he intended to stay neutral but was persuaded to make a public endorsement after the mailers.
Donchez's campaign issued a statement calling Callahan "the ultimate hypocrite," noting Callahan's negative campaign when he became mayor in 2003. Donchez had also questioned how Reynolds could call him an insider when he had the support of the sitting mayor.
Reynolds, the youngest city councilman ever elected, had spent much of the campaign comparing his energy and philosophy to Callahan, who was elected at 34, and former Mayor Don Cunningham, who was elected at 31.
Reynolds emphasized his grass roots and proposed several initiatives, including changing some of council's at-large seats to district seats, and creating neighborhood committees to meet with department heads. He vowed not to marry any one until everyone ? regardless of sexual orientation ? could marry in Pennsylvania.
Donchez has described himself as taking a deliberative approach where he would convene a task force of business and finance experts to analyze how City Hall operates and search for better budgeting practices. He may make the rare move and ask council to reopen the 2014 budget after he is sworn in to make changes based on the task force's recommendations.
He said he would schedule regular office hours where residents could drop in, and hold town hall meetings in each section of the city.
He's called for bringing more economic development programs in house and naming a point person to help guide the effort. He would also explore creating the Christmas City Economic Development Corp., supplanting Bethlehem Economic Development Corp., and possibly merge it with the Redevelopment Authority.
On public safety, he would consider returning a fire pumper to the Dewberry station, which is now an EMS site, and gradually bring the police officer ranks from 149 to 155.
He said he would explore sponsorships for city facilities and create better access for the elderly at paths and pet-friendly parks.
Donchez had the backing of several well-known Democrats, including campaign chairs Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli and state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton.
Donchez took an early fundraising lead with $112,000 in the bank by Jan.1. Donchez had $167,600 to spend on the campaign during this year, a little more than twice what Reynolds had.
Nicole.mertz@mcall.com
610-778-2253
Source: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-bethlehem-mayor-election-20130521,0,2395042.story?track=rss
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