Hadassah Mativetsky ‘07, MS ‘12, is the Democratic candidate for the Binghamton City Council’s fifth district. She works as the business development manager and a quality engineer at RL Quality Management Services, a local business that partners with large and small companies to establish and maintain their quality management system processes. She was formerly a quality engineer and quality assurance manager at Universal Instruments Corporation and the interim assistant director of Hillel at Binghamton. Questionnaire answers have been edited for clarity.
1. What motivated you to run?
During [COVID-19] I started watching City Council meetings on YouTube as a way of replacing my national media diet. I saw things that gave me faith in local government — decently run meetings, bipartisan votes and congeniality among council members. What I did not see was much in the way of a resident-focused Council lead agenda. I saw a Council working on the Mayor’s agenda. The Mayor should have an agenda, after all, he was elected for running on a platform, so that is a good thing. But the City Council should also have an agenda of its own. We shouldn’t leave behind residential areas, otherwise, what is the point of having councilmembers representing different districts?
2. How does your background and previous experience make you a strong candidate for this position?
Professionally, I’m a quality engineer. As an engineer, I’m always looking for objective evidence, and I see inefficiency as opportunity. I consider systems and interaction effects. I investigate and dig in on issues. Using this fact-based problem-solving mindset, I will be able to navigate pointless partisanship and effect change.
3. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing your constituents, and how do you plan to address them?
For months, I’ve been knocking on doors — nearly 2,000 on my own, thousands more collectively with my team — and listening to residents talk about what matters most to them. Those conversations are the basis for the following big-picture issues I will bring to Binghamton City Council.
Public safety
Let’s ask [rank-and-file] Binghamton police officers what they need so we can recruit [and] retain them by providing them with the resources they need to meet the objectives of the neighborhoods they serve.
Invest in public safety solutions such as radar speed signs — also known as driver feedback signs. These signs give drivers real-time feedback on how fast they’re driving, and the data [has] proven them to be an effective method for reducing speeds.
Enhance community policing.
Keep Conklin Avenue fire station for quick response time to South Side.
I celebrate the high level of training the firefighters receive at the James M. Sullivan Training Center on the South Side.
Support grants to responsibly increase the number of firefighters and department improvements.
The root causes of crime must be addressed by supporting mental health, substance-use services and affordable quality housing.
I carry Narcan while knocking on doors in memory of my friend’s daughter, we need to train more people.
Public officials need to keep an eye on our regions flood readiness. We need to approve the updated flood maps and plan accordingly.
Affordable housing
After the 500-year flood crisis, all levels of government worked together to rescue residents, rebuild infrastructure and work toward mitigation and resiliency. I believe that homelessness [or a] lack of affordable housing should be considered just as urgent, and I will work toward forming collaborative partnerships to combat this problem.
Binghamton’s rent is not considered high in relation to other parts of the country. The issue is not the high cost of living but low wages. Smart economic development, like through New Energy New York, is critical.
Affordable housing is not just about rent. Understand why landlords aren’t taking advantage of subsidized programs for heat-pump upgrades for low-income tenants [and] investigate how local non-profits or government can help them overcome what is holding them back.
As we incentivize building more units across the city, I will advocate for neighborhood architecture, public transportation routes, flood map, local labor and in-building — building in vacant lots — to be taken into account.
A vibrant downtown Binghamton is important, but not at the expense of neglecting our residential areas. I will fight for legislation that is useful to our district.
Code enforcement
Code enforcement dovetails with the root causes of public safety and housing affordability.
Push for code enforcement data to be provided monthly to the city council the same way police data is provided.
Facilitate earlier notification of upcoming code related maintenance properties to the parks department to allow for the work to be planned to reduce its impacts on our parks and ensure timely response.
Borrow innovative approaches for code enforcement.
Catalyze the discussion to develop a plan to develop/train/retain homegrown decent landlords instead of absentee landlords.
Initiate transparent tracking for code complaints.
Restrict the purchase of auctioned property from landlords with outstanding [or] chronic code violations by working with the county.
Water issues, infrastructure and traffic safety needs
The South Side is diverse, and I will address the “hyperlocal” issues in various neighborhoods, such as additional stop signs and pothole repairs, unmaintained city-owned properties, water runoff, potholes in certain neighborhoods and speeders on particular hills.
As your city councilwoman, I will tackle these issues by:
Continuing to listen to all residents, communicating with stakeholders, researching what works [and] driving real solutions.
4. Many students and community members are concerned about increasing prices, including housing and household essentials. How do you plan to address these concerns?
Affordable housing is one of the top three big-picture issues. There are many pieces to this puzzle.
After the 500-year flood crisis, all levels of government worked together to rescue residents, rebuild infrastructure and work toward mitigation and resiliency. I believe that homelessness [or a] lack of affordable housing should be considered just as urgent, and I will work toward forming collaborative partnerships to combat this problem.
Our taxes should not be more than our mortgages!
Binghamton’s rent is not considered high in relation to other parts of the country — the issue is not the high cost of living, but low wages. Smart economic development, like through New Energy New York, is critical.
Affordable housing is not just about rent. Understand why landlords aren’t taking advantage of subsidized programs for heat-pump upgrades for low-income tenants, investigate how local non-profits or government can help them overcome what is holding them back.
As we incentivize building more units across the city, I will advocate for neighborhood architecture, public transportation routes, flood map, local labor and in-building — building in vacant lots — to be taken into account.
A vibrant downtown Binghamton is important, but not at the expense of neglecting our residential areas. I will fight for legislation that is useful to our district.
5. Why should students and young people vote for you?
From speaking with people at the door, I haven’t found a huge difference in issues between young people and older residents. The graduate students I had the pleasure of meeting struggled with the same housing affordability and quality — housing code — as local and older [residents]. Beyond the fact that I commit to working on these issues, I promise to listen, including to those have different ideas and opinions than mine. As I work on issues that impact students as a stakeholder, I pledge to be in communication and actively reach out. I will be honest, transparent and fiscally responsible.