List of mayors of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

The Mayor of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is a political position dating from 1917, arising from the merger of Borough of Bethlehem and the Borough of South Bethlehem, which came together as the city of Bethlehem. J. William Reynolds is the current mayor having been sworn in on January 3, 2021.

Separate boroughs
Prior to the unification of Bethlehem and South Bethlehem into a single city, both Bethlehems' executive was known as the Chief Burgess, a title derived from the English office of Burgess which usually denoted the elected official of a municipality. Bethlehem used the title until 1886, while South Bethlehem used the title until 1913. The office would survive in the Borough of Bethlehem, not as the municipalities executive, but rather as the head Magistrate. A Chief Burgess would hold office for a one year term, the length of a session of the city council, and there was no term limits.

Borough of Bethlehem Chief Burgess
Bethlehem, or North Bethlehem, is the traditional core of Bethlehem, where the original Moravian settlement stood. The oldest of the Bethlehems, its politics was dominated by Moravians until 1880. It was separated from South Bethlehem and Northampton Heights by the Lehigh River and West Bethlehem by the Monocacy Creek.

Borough of South Bethlehem Chief Burgess
During the period of Moravian dominance until 1846, South Bethlehem was where the Moravians housed non-Moravian travelers, building an inn south of the river, allowing outsiders to engage in trade and rest, but also keeping them separated from the settlement. The Moravians also allowed several Huguenot farmers to settle on the south side. It would not be until the end of the American Civil War in 1865 when South Bethlehem would be incorporated as its own borough, expanding southward several times until it bordered Hellertown. It was separated from North and West Bethlehem by the Lehigh River, and was bordered in the northeast by Northampton Heights.

Borough of West Bethlehem Chief Burgess
Separated from North Bethlehem by the Monocacy Creek and South Bethlehem by the Lehigh River, during the early history of Bethlehem, the area known as West Bethlehem consisted of the sole chapel and burial ground for non-Moravians, mostly consisting of soldiers from the American Revolutionary War, who died while being treated in the Brothers house when it was repurposed into a hospital. However, starting in 1830, industries such as lumber mills and coal furnaces where constructed by local businessman Timothy Weiss, as well as housing for workers. The community would continue to grow, with a school being built in 1860, and a rail station in 1867, finally by 1886 residents where fed up with paying for taxes to North Bethlehem, and receiving little in return. As such they elected their own rival municipal government on September 16, 1886, and secured incorporation as West Bethlehem on October 25. Until the Borough's annexation by North Bethlehem on August 16, 1904, they too would use the Chief Burgess as their municipal executive.

Borough of Northampton Heights Chief Burgess
Northampton Heights was incorporated on February 20, 1901 and at its peak consisted of 280 houses with a population of 1,000. The borough was adamantly against joining a unified Bethlehem, remaining an independent municipality until March 2, 1920, nearly 3 years after the city of Bethlehem was incorporated. In 1918 the borough attempted to be annexed by Hellertown, Pennsylvania in order for the new combined municipalities to become a city, however, Bethlehem annexed land between Northampton Heights and Hellertown to prevent this. After being incorporated the neighborhood remained a distinct community until the 60's consisting of a mix of Windish, Hungarian, Russian, Ukrainian, and Pennsylvania Dutch. In 1963 Bethlehem Steel purchased the entire neighborhood and razed it to make an oxygen furnace. Like the other boroughs, Northampton Heights also used the Chief Burgess system.

Borough of Bethlehem Mayors
The Borough of Bethlehem replaced their Chief Burgess with a more traditional mayoral government in 1886.

Borough of South Bethlehem Mayors
In 1913 the Borough of South Bethlehem was incorporated as the City of South Bethlehem in an effort to stave off merger with the rest of Bethlehem. With the new municipal government the Chief Burgess was done away with and replaced with a mayoral government. However, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania determined that the incorporation was unconstitutional and in 1915 the borough of South Bethlehem, and the Chief Burgess, was restored.

Term limits
In October 1973, just before the 15th mayoral election as the city was about to elect its 6th mayor, the council voted in favor of an ordinance limiting Bethlehem mayors to two full four-year terms (in addition to a partial term as an interim mayor if applicable). The ordinance was never submitted to, or challenged by, the voters. At the time, Bethlehem was the only city in Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia that had term limits for mayor. This ordinance was ruled illegal by the Northampton County Court shortly after and mayor Paul Marcincin, who had voted in favor of the ordinance in 1973 when he was on the city council, used the court ruling to run for a third term in 1985. However, the city council challenged the legality of his third term and the case was brought before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which, in 1987, struck down the Northampton County Court ruling and restored the 1973 ordinance. Marcincin would step down resulting in the first interim mayor in Bethlehem's history, as well as solidifying the two term limit for mayors.