This November, voters in the city of Binghamton will elect a mayor to serve for the next four years. Current Mayor Jared Kraham announced he is running for a second term on Tuesday.
Kraham, a Republican, previously served as deputy mayor for eight years under former mayor Republican Rich David. When Kraham was elected in 2021, he was the youngest mayor in Binghamton’s history.
“When you run the first time, it's based on your potential, your promise, your ideas,” Kraham said. “And when you run for reelection, it's based on your track record. You have something to run on. People know who you are. They can measure your success in an office.”
Kraham said he has tried to address decades-long challenges in the city. He cites his administration’s work to address dilapidated properties, or to pressure the railroad company Norfolk Southern to fix local railroad bridges.
“These issues are the ones that a mayor is kind of uniquely positioned to solve,” Kraham said. “One of my goals as mayor is to actually take those on.”
Kraham said public safety and neighborhood quality of life challenges remain among the issues he hears about most often from Binghamton residents.
“Binghamton, based on index crime and statistics going back 40 years, has seen some of the lowest crime rates on record,” Kraham said. “And so while that's important, and certainly I'll be talking about that. There's still not a neighborhood watch group, or a door that I will hit where people won't be bringing that up as their number one concern.”
Kraham said since he was first elected, the need for more housing has become increasingly severe, with rising rents and rates of homelessness.
“I, as mayor, have changed the city of Binghamton's mentality, focus and direction as it relates to the development of housing,” Kraham said. “I'm confident saying that, and whether it's folks at the state level or our other partners in government, they will recognize that Binghamton is leading the region as it relates to housing.”
Kraham pointed out that Binghamton was one of the first cities to secure a “Pro-Housing” designation from the state, which opened the door for millions in state discretionary funding. He also referenced millions in federal American Rescue Plan Act allocations for local housing initiatives.
Kraham said a major accomplishment of his administration is the recent news that Binghamton won $10 million in state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding for projects in the city’s First Ward neighborhood.
Kraham is being challenged by Democrat Miles Burnett, who launched his campaign last month.
