Matt Landau, the current Student Association president at Binghamton University, has announced he is considering a mayoral run in Binghamton. Fortunately for him, his current undergraduate constituents and the entire University he represents, there is still time to reconsider.
Landau would run, he said, because the mayor’s office does not work closely enough with the University, a problem he said he would correct. A neophytic blend of good intent and naivete, his thinking adds up to delusions of grandeur.
Landau, who turned 21 yesterday, will never be elected at his age, not in this town. If he chooses to run to prove a point, knowing he will lose, it will reduce his bid to a petty publicity stunt, one that would actually be a detriment to his goal of improving town-gown relations. The locals who currently harbor prejudices against BU students will only see their dislike exacerbated by Landau’s audacity, and it might even swing some townies who think those downstate kids in their North Faces aren’t all that bad.
For a second, let’s say Landau somehow did get elected; in a town of over 40,000, does he really think he’d be able to devote that much time to BU’s issues anyway?
It turns out there’s a position tailored for that sort of thing, and Landau already holds it: SA president. But he hasn’t done enough in that capacity to have you believe he’d spearhead change in a higher office.
Last year, in a lower-ranking SA position, Landau helped prevent some gym classes from completely ceasing to exist. That’s his claim to fame thus far. This year he didn’t allow the Blue Buses to stop running, and he’s created a few more councils — with more bureaucracy in an SA that needs nothing less.
That’s about it, besides his idealistic and laudable SA-for-everyone speech from earlier this year, which spoke of ways the SA can represent all undergrads, not just those who reach out to it.
But Landau already blew his best chance to walk the walk. When BU had a chance to chime in on State University of New York tuition hikes, neither Landau nor his appointed representatives who voted on the matter approached the student body.
So, Matt, let’s forget this idea. The next mayor, incumbent Matt Ryan or not, has some work to do when it comes to making the area hospitable for BU students. But you yourself have some work to do in the office you hold right now, and it’s insulting to tell your constituents that you’re putting your time and thoughts toward something else.