May 16, 2007

Szabo Heads for City Primary Loss

Reynolds, the youngest candidate, is on way to a council nomination

By Nicole Radzievich of The Morning Call

In a dramatic changing of the guard, the oldest Bethlehem City Council member, Magdalena Szabo, was edged out of the race to retain her seat Tuesday by the youngest challenger.

With 29 of the 37 precincts reporting, unofficial results show J. William Reynolds, a 25-year-old aide for a state legislator, secured one of the the three Democratic nominations for City Council with at least 1,654 votes. That was 481 more than Szabo got in those wards.

''I couldn't have done this without the help of a lot of people out there, my family and the support of Rep. Steve Samuelson,'' said Reynolds, who works for Samuelson, D-Lehigh.

''Most of all, I want to thank the Bethlehem voters who listened to me explain my vision of what Bethlehem could be when I walked into their neighborhoods and knocked on their doors.''

Incumbents Robert Donchez and Gordon Mowrer appeared to win nomination easily, tallying 2,037 and 1,519 votes respectively in the 29 wards, unofficial results show.

If the results hold, Donchez, Mowrer and Reynolds will face Esther Lee, the only name on the Republican ballot, in November.

If Reynolds prevails, he will become the youngest councilman in the city's history.

The primary results follow a low-key race in which the seven candidates agreed more often than not and struggled to set themselves apart from the the pack.

At each of the three candidates forums, Reynolds drove home the message that he had more at stake than any other candidate running. As a young professional, he said, he knows the challenges Bethlehem faces to get young people to stay and raise families in the city.

Political watchers say he tirelessly campaigned door to door, attended public meetings and talked about how he wants to expand the city's businesses and make Bethlehem safer.

He was one of few front-runners who received no money from Mayor John Callahan and Council President Michael Schweder.

Schweder and Callahan contributed to Donchez's campaign. Callahan supported Mowrer, and Schweder backed Szabo. However, Callahan stood behind Ronald Heckman, a Lehigh County leader, and Schweder had posted campaign signs for Dana Grubb, a former city employee and not an ally of Callahan's.

Heckman took home 1,119 votes, Grubb 1,203 and former councilman Ismael Arcelay got 1,203 in 29 of the 37 precincts, according to unofficial results.

Donchez, who finished four primaries as a top vote-getter, said he was humbled by the support of city Democrats.

Szabo, 79, has been on council since 1998 when she was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Cunningham, who left council to become mayor.

She won elections the following year and in 2003. As a retiree of the Bethlehem Contracting Co., Szabo said, she could make council a full-time job, but had said her current term would be her last.

But Szabo changed her mind after council dealt with some of its most difficult decisions, such as whether to invite a slot-machine casino into the city to jump-start redevelopment of the former Bethlehem Steel property. Once the state awarded a slots license for the project, Szabo decided to run again.

Reynolds is a Democratic committeeman for the city's 1st Ward and also serves on the South Bethlehem Neighborhood Center board of directors. He graduated magna cum laude from Moravian College in 2003 and has worked for Samuelson the past four years.

Reynolds was a star basketball player at Liberty, where he was all-conference, and Moravian, where he lettered for three seasons.
 

Paid for by Friends of J. William Reynolds, P.O. Box 1632, Bethlehem, PA 18016