J. William "Willie" Reynolds is an American politician. He served as a city councilman of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from 2008 until 2022 and is currently the city's 12th and incumbent mayor. Following a successful re-election, he began his second term in 2026, which is set to expire in 2030. He is not eligible for re-election.
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Early life and education
Reynolds is a lifelong Bethlehem, Pennsylvania native and attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem and received his bachelor's degree in education from Moravian University.
Career
He served as a legislative aide to state representative Steve Samuelson from May 2003 through September 2009. He then worked as a history teacher in the Allentown School District from September 2009 until his mayoral campaign in 2021.
Bethlehem City Council
Reynolds was elected in the Bethlehem City Council in 2007 and took office in 2008. At the time he was the youngest person to be elected to this position. He was elected the President of City Council in 2016, and held this office until he became Mayor in 2022. At the time of stepping down he was the longest serving member of the City Council. He was known for his activism for civil rights and equality, and his push for financial accountability for economic development programs. He has supported the City Council's efforts to decriminalize marijuana and reform the police.
Mayor of Bethlehem
Reynolds had unsuccessfully run for mayor in 2013 where he was narrowly defeated in the Democratic primary by Robert Donchez 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent, a margin of 184 votes. Due to the Republican Party not fielding any candidates, besides a write-in, the Democratic primary was treated as the election proper. Reynolds announced his intention to run for Mayor again on January 5, 2021.
After securing the Democratic Party's nomination he ran against Republican John Kachmar, defeating him soundly, 64.3 percent to 35.7 percent.
In May 2025, Reynolds defeated City Councilwoman Grace Crampsie Smith in the Democratic primary for Bethlehem mayor.
As mayor, Reynolds hopes to keep Bethlehem one of the "best places to live in America", and to continue to recover from the closing of the Bethlehem Steel Plant. He has also come out in support of the American Rescue Plan which contributed $34.4 million of the city's budget of $118.4 million, saying that this money will be used to allow the city to continue capital projects without going into debt, and further stated it was a contributing factor in Reynolds' ability to reduce the city's debt from $170 million to $110 million. As part of the budget for 2023, the city's contract with Republic Services for trash collection expired and mayor Reynolds and the city council have been unable to reach an agreement on a new contractor despite meeting on the subject 97 times.
Reynolds has promoted cooperation with Allentown's mayor Matthew Tuerk, and Easton's mayor Salvatore J. Panto, Jr. All three are Democrats and together lead the Three City Coalition of the major cities of the Lehigh Valley cooperating on issues of housing, homelessness and sustainability. Additionally, at his state of the city address in 2023 Reynolds announced that the city’s revenue is on track to outpace its debt by 2026. Reynolds has stressed the importance of building more Affordable housing in the city, citing a spike in rent and an only 2% vacancy rate within the city. Reynolds has supported the expansion of the city's social services, such as renovating 25,000 of the city's 37,000 water meters, implementing a new computerized crime-data system, and increasing the number of social workers. Reynolds has touted the city's Bond credit rating and having the maximum legal earned income tax. He has proposed creating more parks and a new community center in the city's south side. Reynolds has worked to increase affirmative action in the city, creating a new office of Equality and Inclusion and working closely with the city's Puerto Rican community. He also seeks to create a new sister-city of Bethlehem in Puerto Rico.
Personal life
Reynolds is married to Dr. Natalie Bieber. They both reside in North Bethlehem in the same neighborhood Reynolds was born. He is a member of the Moravian University Board of Trustees and is on the Bethlehem Area Public Library's board of directors.
Reynolds is an avid cyclist and often rides with members of the community and fellow cyclist and Lehigh Valley Democratic mayor Matthew Tuerk. Reynolds is also a member of the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, a group that promotes cycling throughout the valley.