In Monday’s State of the City address, Binghamton Mayor Matthew Ryan was frank about the effect of the economic climate on the city, yet he was optimistic about his government’s ability to unite, and address a wide array of economic and political troubles.
From the outset, Ryan framed Binghamton’s economic troubles in the context of the nation’s larger problems. He pointed to federal spending on two wars and deregulation on Wall Street as the factors that led to a widespread economic crisis that has had its impact here in Binghamton.
“Binghamton has not been spared by the financial hardships sweeping our state and our entire country,” he said.
Ryan said that the nation’s problems are now the problems of its cities.
“I would suggest tonight that mayors of cities large and small are precisely the individuals who understand the negative impacts of our unjust, trickle-down, scramble-for-the-remaining-crumbs economy,” he said.
The mayor spent the first portion of his address discussing the accomplishments of his first term. Ryan spoke of the arrival of new businesses that would bring jobs to the city, the switch to less expensive health insurance programs for city employees and cutting 44 positions from City Hall, a practice he called “right-siz[ing]” the government.
He also made collective action a theme of his address.
“Participatory democracy is the lifeblood of our community,” he said, referring to the formation of new committees that increased community involvement in government planning and policy-making. “It is the creative force that yields solutions that work for all of us, and we have embraced it fully and without reservation.”
Looking ahead from the start of his second term, Ryan also emphasized coordinated action in government operations and in the pallet of issues he hopes to tackle in his second term.
Ryan devoted a significant amount of attention to Binghamton University students’ impact on the city. He pledged to “once and for all end the debate over what constitutes a functional family equivalent,” indicating that the definition would likely stand at three to four unrelated persons. He nevertheless recognized BU’s vital contribution to the city’s growth.
“The ideas being incubated at the research facilities at BU will provide many of the jobs of the future,” he said. “Already we see the goals of CIC2020 [Catalysts for Intellectual Capital 2020] being realized as more and more students make Binghamton their permanent home.”
After the speech, he made time for more focused remarks.
“When your back is against the wall, you do things you wouldn’t normally do,” Ryan said. He noted that desperate economic times have made it necessary for his administration to cut jobs, cut spending and call on all elements of government to work together to solve Binghamton’s problems.
“We had to cut a lot of positions,” he said. But many of the cuts came in the form of furloughs and attrition so as to reduce city spending with a minimum impact on individuals.
He emphasized that the city is leading by example.
Ryan spoke specifically of finding savings in health insurance when he said, “We need our unions to join us is in shouldering a small piece of the burden so that no one group shoulders the entire load.”
Local policymakers and community members seemed to have a generally favorable opinion of Ryan’s address and his performance as mayor.
Mary Clark, the regional director of Citizen Action of New York, a community-organizing group that works on social justice issues, lauded the mayor’s initiative in setting the tone for progress.
“In hard times you like to see a mayor like this,” Clark said. “This is the first government that’s been this open to inviting citizen participation.”
She said the mayor seeks input and ideas for solutions to the city’s problems through “a collective process” and that he has been successful in promoting a spirit of cooperation.
David Tanenhaus, the executive director of the Binghamton Housing Authority and a BU alumnus of the class of ’74, approved of the mayor’s performance as well.
“He’s a creative guy and he’s got a capable staff,” Tanenhaus said. He said Ryan presented “sound ideas” to attract people into the city, as well as spur industrial and commercial development.
At the same time, he acknowledged that the problems facing Binghamton are laden with a complexity that transcends politics.
“It’s very challenging, Republican or Democrat,” he said.
Last night’s speech was Ryan’s first public address since he was voted into a second term after a hotly contested election last November by a margin of fewer than 100 votes.