Reynolds runs again

Candidates for election, Serious Issues 2 Minutes

(2nd in a series of posts on candidates for election)

JWilliamReynolds.org

Bethlehem 2017

press release Jan. 22, 2019

Bethlehem City Councilman J. William Reynolds Announces Re-Election  BETHLEHEM, PA –Bethlehem City Council President has announced that he will be seeking re-election reynolds 2to City Council in 2019. “Bethlehem continues to be a model of what a city can and should be in the 21st century – progressive, diverse, and economically strong.  I am proud of everything we have accomplished during my time on City Council but more work remains. That is why I am running for re-election.”  Reynolds stated that he is proud of everything that has been accomplished during the previous four years on City Council including the successful implementation of several initiatives proposed in his “Bethlehem 2017” legislative agenda.

  • Proposing and leading the creation of Bethlehem’s first climate action plan

  • Northside 2027 – a unique partnership and revitalization strategy for neighborhoods involving citizens, the Bethlehem Area School District, and Moravian College

  • Bethlehem’s first open data effort to improve access to public data in an effort to spur innovation and entrepreneurship

  • Financial Accountability Incentive Reporting (F.A.I.R.) – an initiative designed to increase transparency and efficiency of economic development incentives

  • Working with the Administration and City Council to improve the City of Bethlehem’s financial standing currently reflected in Bethlehem’s recent upgrade to a A plus bond rating from S&P

  • Being a vocal advocate for state legislation related to environmental protection, equality, marijuana decriminalization, and increased funding for the Bethlehem Area School District

  • Attending block watch meetings and remaining accessible to citizens related to neighborhood issues

If re-elected, Reynolds stated that his priorities would include continuing to implement and execute Bethlehem’s climate action plan, further develop Northside 2027, extend Bethlehem’s open data initiative as well as

  • Continuing to support economic redevelopment and revitalization efforts throughout the City

  • Working to keep Bethlehem the safest mid sized city in Pennsylvania

  • Focusing on improving governmental communication including modernizing Bethlehem’s social media channels in an effort to increase the efficient delivery of basic city services

  • Continue to build cooperative strategies with the Bethlehem Area School District in an effort to combat issues currently affecting Bethlehem’s most vulnerable children

CM Reynolds has served on Council for approximately 10 years; he is running for his 4th term in office. See the three items bolded above. The full text of JWR’s “Bethlehem 2017” is linked from the Gadfly sidebar. And both the Climate Action Plan and Northside 2027 are threads here on Gadfly. See under “Serious Issues” on the top menu or under “Topics” on the sidebar.

Published by The Bethlehem Gadfly

Edward J. Gallagher, Bethlehem immigrant, retired, nearly 50 years as Professor of American Literature at Lehigh University, known as "Dr. G" and "Conan the Grammarian" to students, whose virtual world avatar "EdwardScholarhands" stares at you here, has reinvented himself as the Bethlehem Gadfly.

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One thought on “Reynolds runs again”

  1. Willie has some great ideas on his list, but in many areas implementation is not living up to the ideas.

    • Climate action plans — already discussed, but progress is agonizingly slow.
    • Data transparency? — we still don’t have the City’s corrected GHG inventory from 2017, much less even totals from the citywide energy-use data
    • FAIR reporting? (I haven’t seen any reports.)
    • Advocating for better environmental legislation? — I’m not sure what he’s referring to here.

    Can anyone fill me in on these points?

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