Donchez Likely Winner of Democratic Mayoral Primary

City Councilman Bob Donchez appears to be the man Bethlehem voters have picked, by a slim margin, to be the city's next mayor.

But as he and opponent J. William Reynolds wrapped up their election night parties after midnight, neither side was ready to close the book on the Democratic primary outcome.

Reynolds did not concede and Donchez did not claim victory.

At issue were apparent problems with a voting machine in Reynolds' home precinct. A voting machine in the city's 9th Ward, 3rd Precinct malfunctioned and was even carted out and replaced during the course of the day, according to Councilman Michael Recchiuti, the city Democratic Party chairman.

The Reynolds campaign believes that, as a result, not all of the votes cast in Reynolds' home neighborhood were counted, Recchiuti said. If that's true, it still may not be enough for Reynolds to overtake Donchez, the party chairman said.

With all but one voting precinct reporting, Donchez held a 213-vote edge over Reynolds, according to unofficial vote totals provided by the election bureaus of both Northampton and Lehigh counties.

In the 9th Ward, 3rd Precinct, 202 Democratic votes were cast, below what might have been expected based on past history, Recchiuti said. According to Northampton County's unofficial tally, Donchez won that precinct by 10 votes.

At about 10 p.m., with the race still too close to call. Reynolds thanked supporters at the Hyatt Place Hotel. He said no matter the outcome he was proud of his campaign and his supporters.

"Win or lose, there is no reason why all of us shouldn't walk down Main Street tomorrow wtih a smile on our faces," he said.

At the Comfort Suites Hotel, Donchez also thanked his supporters, but would not claim victory.

Whoever wins would appear to be the de facto mayor-elect of Bethlehem. No Republicans ran and no third party or independent candidates have expressed an interest in running in the November general election.

In a race, the candidates tried to distinguish themselves on matters of style more than substance, as there were few genuine differences where government policy is concerned.

Both agreed, for example, that residents should continue to contract their own private trash haulers. However, they also agreed that the city should institute “zoned hauling” that would limit trash collection to specific days in specific neighborhoods.

The biggest policy difference between the two candidates was in Reynolds' proposal to add districted seats to City Council to guarantee representation to Bethlehem neighborhoods—such as the West and South Sides—that, according to Reynolds, have recently been underrepresented.

Donchez said he is opposed to such a plan because, he said, he thought it would lead to parochial in-fighting during budget hearings.

Donchez touted himself as the more “experienced and mature” leader, with 18 years on City Council behind him. Reynolds cast himself more in the mold of the city’s current and previous mayors—John Callahan and Don Cunningham—younger risk takers ready to move the city forward.

But Donchez’s efforts to define Reynolds as too young “and not ready to lead” had Reynolds and others crying “dirty politics.” One campaign mailer in particular showed a picture of Reynolds as a 19-year-old college student, wearing a baseball hat backward.

Donchez said Reynolds had attacked his integrity first but, according to Recchiuti, few bought his reasoning.

“While the mailers have factual undertones, they are clearly meant to deceive the voters,” Recchiutti wrote the day after the issue escalated into a terse argument at a League of Women Voters debate.

At the last debate of the campaign, Reynolds alleged that Donchez had spent .

After staying out of the race for four months, on Friday, saying Bethlehem has a long history of supporting youthful “invigorating” leadership.