BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem City Councilwoman Rachel Leon will run for a second term on the council, she said Thursday.
Leon, a Democrat who has lived on the city’s South Side for most of her life, joined the city council in 2022. She has also been a member of the Bethlehem Housing Authority’s board of commissioners since August.
After graduating from Freedom High School, Leon spent 10 years in the Navy. After leaving the service, Leon spent three years in Hawaii, where she founded a nonprofit serving homeless veterans.
She wants another four years on the council, Leon said, to improve the lives of Bethlehem’s residents.
“Are their roads safe? Are their roads paved? What's their rent look like? Are they living in safe conditions, or is there mold? Is there lead?” she said. “All that stuff, it fuels me.”
If she wins a second term, Leon intends to explore changes to city trash collection and ensure rental regulations are working to keep tenants safe, she said.
More policy proposals are coming soon, she said.
Four seats on Bethlehem’s seven-member city council are up for grabs in this year’s municipal election. Locals Tina Cantelmi and Justin Amann also have joined the race.
This year’s municipal primary falls on May 20; the municipal election follows on Nov. 4.