May 25, 2024 By Brad Hundt 4 min read

BRIDGEVILLE – Not long after Betty Copeland became mayor of Bridgeville, the one-square-mile borough faced one of the most challenging days in its recent history.

A torrential downpour on the evening of June 20, 2018, brought 3 inches of rain to South Hills communities in just a few hours and caused McLaughlin Run to overflow its banks. Baldwin Street in Bridgeville flooded, displacing residents, damaging homes and businesses and leaving a surreal scene of debris and mud for days after.

The borough has since taken steps to try to ease the threat of flooding on the street and those that surround it, purchasing some properties and tearing them down. Grass and trees have been planted in their place so the water has someplace to go the next time the heavens open up.

“I’m so grateful we have a flood committee and, once the call goes out, everyone responds immediately, seeing what the needs will be,” Copeland explained in her office at the borough building recently. “Our borough engineers are working well to see that it’s getting taken care of.”

Thinking about flood mitigation isn’t typically something someone in their golden years would have to think about, but Copeland has broken the mold in Bridgeville in more ways than one. When Copeland, a Democrat, defeated the incumbent Republican mayor, Pat DeBlasio, by 32 votes out of 1,014 cast in November 2017, she became Bridgeville’s first Black mayor and first female mayor. Copeland is most likely the oldest person to have ever held the job – she celebrated her 90th birthday in March. With the retirement last year of John Dindak, the 96-year-old mayor of West Homestead, she is believed to be the oldest mayor in Western Pennsylvania.

“I was surprised the night of the election when I got the call from (DeBlasio) telling me I had actually won,” Copeland said. “He congratulated me.”

Copeland’s role in borough government is largely ceremonial. She oversees the police department, signs some documents, delivers proclamations and has presided over five weddings. She also is a visible presence at community events and was named mayor of the year by the Pennsylvania State Mayors’ Association in 2021.

“People are ready to answer my questions, and not make me feel like it’s a ridiculous question,” Copeland said.

During her tenure as mayor, Copeland has worked with local legislators, including state Sen. Devlin Robinson, a Bridgeville resident whose senatorial district includes the borough. According to Robinson, “I think she’s a great mayor.”

“We’ll meet at the coffee shop, and she’ll tell me what Bridgeville needs and I’ll go advocate for it in Harrisburg,” Robinson said.

Becoming Bridgeville’s mayor was not always the most likely path for Copeland. A stay-at-home mother to a son and two daughters, Copeland first arrived in Bridgeville in October 1952. Her husband, Curtis Copeland, was the longtime postmaster in the community and served a term on borough council. After her husband, who had been given the nickname “Mr. Bridgeville,” died in 2016, Copeland was talked into running for mayor by two friends.

“I thought they were just taking me out for a nice afternoon,” Copeland recalled. “And I was surprised when they said, ‘We’d like you to run for mayor of Bridgeville.’ And my reaction was, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.'”

She continued, “And I thought about it, and I said, ‘Well, I’ll pray about it.’ My friend said she would pray with me, and after thinking it over, I decided I could. I never anticipated winning, though.”

Will she run for a third term in 2025? “I really have to think about it,” Copeland said.

But she does think other octogenarians and nonagenarians can effectively serve in elected office.

“I would hope they have the kind of support that I have here in Bridgeville.”