Bethlehem council hopeful targets homelessness, rising rents in possible 2027 bid

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A business manager on Bethlehem’s South Side says he plans to run for an at-large seat on Bethlehem City Council in 2027, launching a prospective campaign centered on homelessness, housing affordability, and rent regulation — proposals that could test the limits of what city government can do.

Michael Cooley, general manager of the Insomnia Cookies shop on Bethlehem’s South Side, told Lehigh Daily he intends to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2027 primary. Cooley has not filed nomination paperwork, and his name is not yet certified for any ballot.

Candidates seeking a Democratic or Republican primary ballot line in Pennsylvania must file nomination petitions and a statement of financial interests with the county board of elections.

If he files and qualifies, Cooley would be seeking one of three at-large seats now held by Bryan Callahan, Michael Colón and Colleen Laird, whose terms end in 2028.

Cooley, a registered Democrat, said the issues motivating his potential campaign are homelessness, affordable housing, and rising rents.

“The condition of the people motivates me to run,” Cooley said. “We live in some nasty times right now, to the point where gas is outrageous, food is outrageous.”

Cooley was born and raised in Rahway, New Jersey, and later moved to Pennsylvania after spending years in Bethlehem. He said he has managed a local bakeshop, worked as an inspector of elections in Lehigh County, and coached basketball locally.

He said one of his main goals would be to “get kids off the streets and to lower the population of homelessness.”

His comments come as Bethlehem continues to face pressure over housing costs, homelessness and development on the South Side, where student housing and private investment have reshaped parts of the neighborhood.

The city also removed unhoused individuals from encampments near the Hill-to-Hill Bridge and Fahy Bridge in 2025 after Norfolk Southern cited safety concerns about encampments on its property.

Asked about the removals, Cooley said, “They should have displaced them to shelters before they took up the [encampments]. It’s not just elderly people there; some kids were homeless living there, too.” The majority of the unhoused population residing adjacent to the D&L trail and underneath the two bridges has effectively dispersed throughout Bethlehem.

Cooley said the city should focus on job growth and constructing affordable housing if city officials want to reduce homelessness.

“The plan is to get people employed and to get the city cleaned up,” he said. “The only way you’re going to get rid of homelessness is if you create more jobs and then you have low-income housing, so these people can actually jump-start their lives.”

If he runs and is elected, Cooley said, he would work with local leaders and real estate developers to construct low-income housing near SteelStacks, citing the area’s access to public transportation.

“There’s no better location for it,” he said.

Cooley also said he supports regulating rents, arguing that Bethlehem needs to address rising housing costs.

“Absolutely, that is what needs to happen,” Cooley said. “We definitely have to regulate rent, because right now you can have two people living next door to each other and they both could be renting, and the difference could be over $1,000.”

Pennsylvania has no statewide rent-control law, and Cooley’s proposal could face legal and legislative challenges over whether Bethlehem has the authority to impose rent-control regulatory measures without state authorization.

“My position stands,” Cooley said. “The city should provide rent control to its residents.”

Housing costs have become a major issue on the South Side, where investment firms have purchased single-family dwellings and apartment buildings to lease to college students, specifically, students at Lehigh University.

Amicus Properties, a New York-based property management firm, has invested more than $30 million in South Side properties.

The concentration of Lehigh off-campus student housing has contributed to concerns about gentrification, rising property values and higher rents for lower-income residents.

An Amicus Properties executive declined to comment.

Cooley also raised concerns about school meals and youth programs, saying the city should do more to support young people before and after school.

“If you can’t go to high school before the bell rings and after the bell rings, where are you?” Cooley said. “You are on the streets, and that’s where a lot of the crimes are being committed — we have to bring back after-school and before-school programs.”

Student meal access has become an active issue before the Bethlehem Area School Board. After months of organizing by Lehigh Valley DSA and other universal-free-lunch advocates, BASD has approved a pilot program offering free lunch at Calypso, Lincoln and Marvine elementary schools for the 2026–27 school year.

Advocates have continued pressing the district to expand the program beyond those three schools.

BASD already provides free breakfast to all students through Pennsylvania’s statewide universal free breakfast initiative, and students who qualify by income can receive free or reduced-price lunch. Lunch is not universally free districtwide; elementary lunches are listed at $2.65 and middle and high school lunches at $2.85.

City Council does not govern BASD. Public school districts in Pennsylvania are governed by elected school boards, which set district policy and budget priorities. If elected to City Council, Cooley would not have direct authority to enact a universal free-lunch policy, though he could use the office to advocate publicly or support city-school partnerships tied to youth services.

Cooley also criticized the country’s food supply, saying federal agencies have allowed a concerning amount of hyper-processed ingredients, pesticides, and genetically modified products into consumer goods.

“Most of the stuff we claim as food, real honey, real sugar, is not real honey, real sugar,” Cooley said. “It’s all byproducts and chemicals.”

Jennifer Weis, a Philadelphia-based registered dietitian, disputed Cooley’s comments. “When people talk about pesticides, they are talking about pesticide residue, and any fruit or vegetable on the market has what is referred to as No Observed Adverse Effect Level,” Weis said.

She further explained that genetically modified products are proven safe and effective by the USDA and FDA federal standards. Weis argued that Cooley’s remarks were inaccurate and unhelpful, and that the food supply is overall safe, but has been less safe as a consequence of federal cuts stemming from the Trump administration.

Cooley was also asked about immigration enforcement in Bethlehem following a federal operation on June 11, 2025, at the Five 10 Flats apartment complex on the South Side. Federal authorities detained and later arrested 17 unauthorized noncitizens for immigration violations.

Mayor J. William Reynolds said Bethlehem police did not coordinate with federal authorities. However, regardless of the mayor’s comments, Bethlehem is not legally recognized as a sanctuary or welcoming city for unauthorized noncitizens. Given this, Cooley was questioned about his specific stance on whether Bethlehem should be categorized as such.

“You can only do that to a city when you have things in place to take care of the people,” Cooley said. “As of right now, Bethlehem doesn’t have anything in place to take care of those people. If we declare sanctuary status and we have nothing in place, we’re just adding to the homeless population.”

Cooley also said he supports a mutual aid agreement between the Bethlehem Fire Department and neighboring fire departments. The city has fewer firefighters than it did 50 years ago and staffs 18 firefighters per shift, below the 30 recommended by the National Fire Protection Association.

International Association of Fire Fighters Local 735 has supported the mutual aid agreement, saying it could help address staffing constraints and response delays during urgent calls.

Cooley said he plans to remain involved in politics if he ultimately runs and wins office. “I am planning on staying in politics,” he said. “The goal is change, and until that happens, you’ve got to stick with it.”