Bethlehem mayoral candidates host debate regarding campaign platforms

The Bethlehem Mayoral Primary Debate was held on Monday for the two candidates — Grace Crampsie Smith, ‘05G, a member of the Bethlehem City Council, and J. William Reynolds, the incumbent mayor of Bethlehem. The two met to discuss topics affecting the local community, with more than 50 attendees present at PBS39 at Steelstacks. 

Audience members were asked to refrain from speaking, and there was no time allotted for public comment. LehighValleyNews.com reporters Tom Shortell and Will Oliver facilitated the debate.

Both Crampsie Smith and Reynolds are registered Democrats, meaning there are no Republicans in the primary race at this time. The debate was organized so neither candidate saw the questions, many of which focused on how tentative federal funding cuts could affect operative plans in Bethlehem, beforehand.

Finances

Shortell asked Reynolds about the city’s budget, which has grown by about $31 million since the American Rescue Plan Act was implemented in March 2021 to address the impacts of the COVID pandemic. The act included creating an emergency rental assistance program to help people avoid evictions, but the available money has almost run out, and Shortell asked what the future of those plans and services are. 

Reynolds said Bethlehem has never been in a stronger financial position than it has now. He said Bethlehem has the lowest earned income tax in Pennsylvania and has paid off more than a third of its debt over the past four years under his administration. 

While the city had to borrow money after the closure of Bethlehem Steel, he said the city has “basically inverted that debt to income ratio.” 

Shortell asked Crampsie Smith about the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance statute, which is a tax abatement program she championed. It would require developers who get tax breaks to set aside 10% of their housing as affordable housing. However, according to the law, developers can avoid this by paying a fee.

Crampsie Smith said the program is a 10-year tax break, through which developers in certain areas can either make every 10th unit affordable housing or pay a fee in lieu of $25,000. She said she previously amended the abatement to make the fee $52,000.

From the fee in lieu, she said the city has between $500,000 and $700,000 to use on affordable housing projects.

Homelessness encampments

Oliver asked Reynolds about notices recently left at homeless encampments along the Lehigh River, which suggested “a sweep was imminent,” according to Oliver. He asked what his administration’s policies are regarding the encampment.

“One of the things that we’re most proud of is our Community Connections program,” Reynolds said. “This is an innovative program between our health department and social workers and police department to meet people where they are, to be able to talk to them, to provide housing services and things like that.”

He said there will not be a sweep of the area where the notices were left, and his administration will not be moving any people. 

“We are not in the business of moving problems,” Reynolds said. “We are in the business of solving problems.”

He also said the administration has been working with Community Connections, Lehigh Conference of Churches, New Bethany and Community Action Lehigh Valley to help people find stable housing and an improved quality of life. 

Shortell asked Crampsie Smith about her criticisms of the Reynolds administration spending approximately $1 million on consultants for housing. She said Bethlehem was selected to be one of five cities to work with New York University in a housing solutions workshop.

“We were given ideas (in the workshop),” she said. “I started a local taskforce with developers, nonprofits and housing. NYU recommended we continue that taskforce. We developed that taskforce for free.”

She said the Lehigh Valley Housing Commission also provided recommendations for free and felt there was no need to hire additional consultants.    

“Here we are, years later,” Crampsie Smith said. “We have nothing. We have no shovel in the ground. We have no homeless shelter.”

She also said she would have relied on those with expertise in housing. However, as someone who has worked with the unhoused population for over 40 years, she said she knows what to do.

“It’s not an easy solution,” she said. “It’s multi-systemic. But we need to work with the people who are with these folks (in the encampment) every day.”

Housing crisis

Oliver asked Reynolds what he had to show in regards to his efforts to address the affordable housing crisis over the past three and a half years. Reynolds said Oliver himself, as a reporter on the Bethlehem beat, is a great example, as he’s written more than a dozen articles regarding the housing “successes” within the city. 

Reynolds said it’s important for people to stay in their houses throughout the duration of courses offered in Bethlehem that focus on helping people buy homes for the first time and creating more than 500 new affordable housing units.

“Let me be clear, criticisms of our housing isn’t criticisms of me,” he said. “It’s criticisms of Community Action, of New Bethany, of Bethlehem Area School District, of City Hall, of all city employees.”

In the second section of the debate, Crampsie Smith and Reynolds each had one minute to respond to questions and a chance to make a 30-second rebuttal to their opponent.

Shortell said the average Bethlehem resident cannot afford rent higher than $1,700 a month. In his question, he asked Reynolds what he would say to residents who are unable to access the new luxury apartments being built within the city. 

Reynolds said he’s looking to add housing at the market rate, as well as housing that is “deeply affordable and attainable.” He also said housing is a national problem in addition to being a problem in Bethlehem. 

Shortell asked Crampsie Smith what she would do in regards to the housing crisis. She said two weeks ago, the city council voted on building new housing on New Garrison and North Street, which would require tearing down 15 units of affordable housing. The motion was approved, but Crampsie Smith said she voted against the proposal.

Supporting the Latino community in Bethlehem

Oliver asked Reynolds how his administration has supported the Latino community in Bethlehem. Reynolds said this included naming Bethlehem’s first sister city — Patillas, Puerto Rico — and ensuring the needs of the Latino community are heard. 

Reynolds also said Latino leaders in the Lehigh Valley and Bethlehem have come together to organize the future of the community.

Crampsie Smith noted the efforts of the city’s first DEI director, Janine Carambot Santoro. 

Crampsie Smith said in her work as a school counselor, a large portion of the students she supported were immigrants, refugees and Hispanic. She also said she will continue to support the Latino community by adding members to her cabinet, as well as other people of color. 

Lehigh expanding into Bethlehem

In 2023, Lehigh outbid the city and purchased three Lutheran churches in Bethlehem. Referencing critics of this situation, Shortell asked Reynolds if Bethlehem is paying the price for “giving Lehigh everything it wants.” 

“Our relationship with Lehigh goes back a long way, and so does the tension that started in 1865 when Lehigh first came here,” Reynolds said. 

While he said the university made mistakes decades ago, the relationship between the university and the city has been improving, as the university is “learning what it means to be a good neighbor.” He said Lehigh offered the churches back to the city so the lots can be used to construct a community center. 

He also said the relationship with the university is give and take, but Lehigh has been helping the city with its housing through new programs.

Crampsie Smith said as a Lehigh alumna, she’s grateful for the university’s efforts. 

Still, she said she has met with the administration to ask they bring students back onto campus for housing and out of the South Side. She said she has seen this occur with other colleges and universities, and the initiative helps with community relationships and gaining more control over the student body.

Opponent questions

In the third section of the debate, Crampsie Smith and Reynolds were able to ask each other two questions each, with one minute to respond. 

As chair of the finance committee of the Bethlehem City Council, Crampsie Smith said it’s come to her attention that invoices have not been received in a timely manner, and she finds this concerning in light of Mark Sivak, the former Bethlehem finance director, embezzling approximately $18,000 from the city. 

She asked Reynolds why he has been “so dismissive” in ensuring finance procedures are in order, highlighting that he has not been in attendance at the last eight to 12 city council meetings.

Reynolds said City Controller George Yasso has not seen late fees on the city audit. Crampsie Smith countered with the statement that she has met with him on behalf of Reynolds’ “inability to address the issue.”

Reynolds said he disagrees with that characterization.

Closing statements

Reynolds said if elected for another term, he would invest more in parks, public safety and new housing opportunities.

“More than anything, we’re going to convince you that the chaos happening in Washington and other places, that’s not what we’re about in the city of Bethlehem,” he said.  

Crampsie Smith said she looks forward to possibly serving Bethlehem as its first female mayor.

She said she intends to meet the needs of residents and “that which makes Bethlehem special” by preserving history while continuing community development. She highlighted that Bethlehem houses a World Heritage UNESCO Site and that the city’s Main Street was ranked the best in America, and she said she plans to improve the city through a pragmatic approach.

Bethlehem residents Sally and Mark Will-Weber attended the debate. They said their opinions of the candidates didn’t change dramatically afterward, and the answers from the candidates did not surprise them. 

Sally Will-Weber said she liked that Crampsie Smith said she would have an open office if elected. 

“It’s very disconcerting to me that you can’t even deliver a letter now,” she said.

Mark Will-Weber agreed, but he said parking is the most pressing issue to him. He said he knows someone who works as a dishwasher in Bethlehem, making $50 a day but having to spend $12.50 each day to pay for a parking meter. 

Both said they would be voting for Crampsie Smith in the upcoming primary election due to issues they have with the current administration. 

Sally Will-Weber said because of these concerns, the two began attending city council meetings, which she said “opened our eyes to what’s happening behind the scenes.”

The last day to register to vote for the upcoming primary mayoral election is May 5. The last day to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is May 13.