District area: District 3 includes the Towns of Binghamton & Conklin and portions of the Town of Vestal.
Term: Two-year term
Each candidate was asked to limit answers to 100 to 150 words. WSKG cut answers at the 150 mark. If you would like more details about a candidate’s answer to a question, their contact information and/or website is provided in this Voter Guide.
Candidate: Kelly Wildoner
Incumbent - First elected 2012
Party affiliation: Republican, Conservative
WSKG Q&A
The county has hired consultants to develop a strategy for shifting from using hotels to a shelter for homeless residents. Shelters are a temporary remedy. Should the county legislature be working to move people from temporary to permanent housing? If yes, what should the legislature do? If no, why not?
Temporary shelter should be viewed as a step toward permanent housing, not necessarily the final destination. The County has a role in helping make that transition possible, particularly through social-service programs, budgeting and coordination with community partners. However, housing policy involves federal, state and municipal responsibilities as well. New York State and the federal government provide significant funding and establish program requirements, while municipalities control much of the zoning and land-use process. The Legislature should make sure County resources are being used effectively and support partnerships with housing providers and local governments. At the same time, the County should not assume authority that state law has assigned to another level of government.
Besides homelessness, county residents are also coping with a broader housing crisis. Rents have risen significantly and according to New York state’s Homes and Community Renewal, home prices in the state have risen 50-80 percent in the past 11 years. Should more Broome County municipalities become “pro-housing communities” to be eligible for state funding meant to address the housing shortage?
I believe this is an issue where the County should support rather than direct local decision-making. The Pro-Housing Communities program is structured around
municipalities, and local governments have substantial authority under New York law over zoning and land use. Each municipality should examine whether certification would
benefit its residents and whether its infrastructure and existing planning can support additional housing. The County can help by coordinating regional planning, sharing information and working on infrastructure issues that cross municipal boundaries. But imposing a County-wide approach to local development could interfere with responsibilities that state law has placed with individual municipalities. Local residents should continue to have a meaningful voice in those decisions.
New York counties are set to absorb a total of $168 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) administrative costs a year due to federal funding changes to the program. Should the state play a greater role in supporting this program at the county level?
SNAP is not a program created or controlled by County government. It is a federal program administered through a partnership involving the state and local social-services districts. Federal funding changes can therefore have a direct impact on County finances even though the County does not establish the program’s rules. New York State also plays a significant role in determining how social-services expenses are allocated to counties. Broome County should administer SNAP responsibly and comply with all applicable requirements, while state and federal policymakers should address the larger funding issue. The County should not be expected to independently solve a financing structure it does not control.
A recent state regulatory audit raised serious concerns about the fiscal management of the county’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA). The legislature appoints the IDA board but has no authority over the agency board or leadership. Do you think that should change?
Accountability should always be part of the discussion, but it is equally important to understand the legal structure of the IDA. The Broome IDA operates as a separate public benefit corporation under New York’s General Municipal Law. The County Legislature appoints its board, but the agency has its own corporate authority and is not a department of County government. State law also establishes the Authorities Budget Office as an oversight body for public authorities. The Legislature can exercise the authority granted to it, but it should not assume powers that state law has not provided. Any effort to substantially change the relationship between the County and the IDA would need to be addressed through the appropriate state legal framework.
What, if anything, do you think the county could do to make the legislature’s work more accessible and transparent to the public? Do you think all of the legislature’s meetings (including committees) should be recorded and made public?
The public should be able to see how its County Legislature conducts business, and we already provide several avenues for that access. Regular legislative sessions are open and available through Zoom, with agendas, resolutions, budgets and other documents posted online. Meetings are recorded, and audio is available through FOIL. Committee meetings and budget sessions are also open to the public and streamed.The County has experienced difficulties keeping video archives online because of technical limitations and the age of some of the existing equipment. I support continuing to improve public access, including looking for better ways to preserve and organize meeting records.
Much of New York is considered a childcare desert. Should the county legislature be taking action to address access to care for Broome County families?
The County should remain engaged in addressing childcare access because reliable care is essential to many working families and businesses. However, this is an area of shared responsibility. New York State establishes many of the rules and funding mechanisms, while local governments administer certain programs. Broome County has recently been selected for a state pilot aimed at improving access for children ages 0 to 3, and the County is working with the state to bring additional childcare capacity to Oakdale Commons. Those are practical ways for the County to contribute. We should continue pursuing opportunities like these while recognizing the significant role that state government plays.
The state’s new Local Cops, Local Crime Act includes a ban on local law enforcement agencies having certain official partnerships with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)? Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
This issue should begin with the legal responsibilities of County government. County departments must follow state and federal law and should cooperate with other law-enforcement agencies when that cooperation is required or authorized. That includes appropriate circumstances involving criminal investigations and court orders. The Legislature’s role is to make sure County government remains within its legal authority and that departments understand their responsibilities. The County should not attempt
to override requirements established by higher levels of government, nor should it assume powers that state or federal law has not provided.
A recent report from the Office of the New York State Comptroller found a rise in the number of municipalities across the state that have proposed to override the state’s property tax cap. With counties facing funding cuts and rising costs, would you be open to overriding the tax cap in Broome County?
The County has worked hard to control costs while maintaining essential services and reducing the property-tax burden. In fact, the 2027 budget is expected to produce an eighth straight year of property-tax reductions. We have also provided municipalities with a record share of sales-tax revenue to help them manage higher expenses. That has been accomplished through cooperation across party lines and a focus on fiscal stability and debt reduction. Before considering a tax-cap override, government should continue examining spending, efficiencies and other available resources. The County’s recent record shows that fiscal discipline can produce meaningful results.
The legislature regularly gets reports from the county executive and they are available to the public. Do you think the legislature should get regular reports from some other departments as well? (e.g. Department of Social Services, sheriff’s office, district attorney, etc.) If so, why and how often should they get reports? If not, why not?
I think oversight works best when information is provided through established channels and made available to the public. The County already receives annual reports from numerous departments and programs, and those reports are available online. Department heads routinely attend committee meetings and provide legislators with updates on their activities and initiatives. Every department also goes through an annual budget review where legislators examine current operations and future financial plans. The Legislature’s Daylight Legislation has further increased access to financial information. If additional reporting is needed in a particular area, the committee process provides an appropriate place to address it.
Some municipalities have citizen boards for better law enforcement accountability. They do not have any disciplinary authority but they can receive and monitor citizen complaints and review internal investigations. Do you think Broome County should have some form of citizen law enforcement board? Why or why not?
The County should take law-enforcement accountability seriously, but there are already established avenues for addressing individual complaints. The New York State Attorney General maintains a complaint portal covering local law enforcement, state police and correctional facilities, while individual agencies also receive complaints and feedback. Before establishing a new citizen board, I would want to understand what additional function it would provide and whether that function is currently missing. Any new system should improve accountability without unnecessarily duplicating existing state or local processes. My experience has been that most law-enforcement officers are committed to serving residents and keeping our communities safe.
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Candidate: Kevin Alford
Party affiliation: Democratic
WSKG Q&A
Kevin Alford did not respond to WSKG's Voter Guide questionnaire.