Though her late husband had served on the borough council, Betty Copeland never thought of running for office, until earlier this year when she was talked into running for mayor of Bridgeville, at age 83.
On Nov. 7, she won: the first Black, the first woman, and the first octogenarian elected to the office.
“The Democratic committee approached me saying, with all my years of volunteer work, they thought I’d be a great goodwill ambassador, so I ran,” Copeland told the New Pittsburgh Courier in an exclusive interview.
“I never thought it would be a reality—they’d never vote for a woman, let alone an African American woman—but then, election night the incumbent mayor called me and said, ‘Hello, mayor-elect.’ It’s incredible.”
Since her win, Copeland said she has been “inundated” with cards, flowers, celebratory calls and Facebook messages from across the country—many from total strangers.
Apparently, the “Bridgeville loves Betty” campaign slogan extended further than its creator Democratic Committeewoman Deb Colosimo imagined—and she couldn’t be happier.
“You have no idea,” said Colosimo. “I haven’t stopped smiling since Tuesday night,” she said. “We’re all so proud of her. She’s been quietly doing good deeds behind the scenes for years. She’s well respected and she’s a woman of faith. No one has ever touched my heart like her. She won on her goodness.”
Copeland’s volunteer work spans decades and includes organizations like the Guild for the Blind, the Bridgeville Historical Society, the Chamber of Commerce and Friends of the Bridgeville Library, which she founded.
She also volunteered at Mayview State Hospital, where she met Tim Stevens, then the director of volunteer services at the hospital. He, too, was elated to hear of her election win.
“How about that? That is just fabulous,” he said.
Copeland says she owes her victory to God, her family, and her extended church family. “I had a cousin from Coatesville, Pa. drive in—even when I told her not to, and my son and daughters came up from Maryland, D.C. and Virginia to campaign, and of course my family from the First Baptist Church of Bridgeville—they were my biggest supporters,” she said.
Copeland’s son, Curtis, said he and his sisters couldn’t be prouder and the response they got while working the polls was astounding.
“My sisters and I worked the polls in Bridgeville on a cold and wet election day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the response we were getting when handing out our election materials was amazing,” Curtis said.
“It is amazing to me that my mother, at the age when most people are retiring from a life of community service or attempting to step out of the spotlight, is now the mayor. She is an example to all of us that as long as God gives us health, we should continue to do good works.”
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