Last Thursday, Binghamton mayoral candidates faced off in one last debate before the Nov. 2 election.

At 8 p.m. on Oct. 21, WSKG hosted a debate between Jared Kraham (R), the current executive assistant to Mayor Richard David, and Joe Burns (D), who represents the fifth district on the Binghamton City Council. The mayoral debate was sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Broome and Tioga Counties, a nonpartisan group that encourages engagement within politics.

Candidates were given one minute for opening statements, beginning with Burns — who had won the deciding coin flip.

“As a city council member, I’ve had an active role in all of our departments, and I’ve worked on major projects like the sewage treatment plant,” Burns said. “As your next mayor, my priorities will be public safety, infrastructure, the department of public works and dealing with blight. But I have a vision that we can do more than just tear down blight — we can build affordable housing, and we can revitalize our neighborhoods.”

Next, Kraham gave his opener, highlighting progress he made as part of David’s administration.

“For the last 7 ½ years I’ve served alongside [David] as deputy mayor and delivered results for residents,” Kraham said. “We’ve cut taxes for hardworking homeowners and small businesses, rebuilt Binghamton’s infrastructure. We’ve knocked down dangerous blighted eyesores and provided new housing opportunities in every corner of the city. “

Kraham also mentioned the endorsement he had received from the Binghamton Police Benevolent Association, and said he was the candidate with the most relevant experience.

Questions were taken by WSKG the day prior to the debate. The first question, read aloud by debate moderator and WSKG News reporter Vaughn Golden, was by Rev. Rebecca Kindig, who asked how candidates would combat gentrification and Binghamton’s affordable housing crisis.

In Kraham’s response, he acknowledged the shortage in affordable housing, and emphasized the importance of collaborative, strategic initiatives taken during David’s administration. Kraham described Crandall Street as an example, stating it was initially in “derelict” conditions with constant drug and crime problems. Following the administration’s partnership with the First Ward Action Council to deliver renovations, the street had been transformed into what Kraham described as one of the “nicest neighborhoods in the West Side.”

While Burns said initiatives such as the project on Crandall Street were important, he said such programs need to find other, newer partners, and emphasis needs to be placed on building homes, not just affordable housing projects. Burns said the city should leverage funding money it receives through sources such as grants to get partners. He cited 50 Front Street as an example, where a successful project was completed after receiving a $5 million grant. Like Kraham, Burns said he opposed tax incentives for student housing.

Later, Golden read a question from Alexis Pleus, the executive director of Truth Pharm, a group that advocates for policy change to reduce the harms of substance use. Pleus asked how candidates would reduce Binghamton’s overdose rates, which she said were among the highest in Broome County.

Kraham discussed a decision made during his first few weeks working at City Hall, in which police officers were made to carry Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal medication. According to Kraham, the medication was placed in police cars, and working in conjunction with medics at least hundreds of lives had been saved.

“We also understand the great impact that addiction had on public safety,” Kraham said. “These folks need assistance, they need help and we want to provide it. For anyone that’s watching at home who has a loved one or family member who is facing addiction, you need to know that there are resources out there, and I would like to be an ally at City Hall and continue to fund programs that work.”

In his response, Burns said he has witnessed “firsthand” the effects of addiction on local families, but critiqued the current administration’s lack of financial support for groups like Truth Pharm, which he said had not received funding for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) due to David’s administration not supporting Pleus’ politics.

“She does more than most rehabs — people go into rehabs, they come out, they go in and out, [but] where [Pleus] gets them she really does help them,” Burns said. “I think we should be giving CDBG funds and grant money to people like [Pleus], so that she can continue to help people. And [regarding] the police, I was at the [Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative], and we set up an agreement with the [Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier], so that now if there’s a mental health problem, they can go there and the police don’t have to stay all night at an addiction problem, so I’m very proud of that. But there’s a lot of things that we can continue to do.”

In a follow-up, Kraham said the partnership with the [Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier] predates the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, but described it as an important partnership.

At the end of the debate candidates gave their closing statements, starting with Burns.

“I’ve gone along way in my life,” Burns said, “I started out as a dishwasher over at [UHS Binghamton] General Hospital when I was in high school and I ended up as an assistant director next to Martin Scorsese. My managerial skills, I had 25 years in the private sector and I was hired by the best directors in the world — Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Ron Howard — and they hired me over and over again because of my managerial skills. I’m going to take those skills in the city council, and just like I did for them keeping things on budget and on time, that’s what I am going to do for the city of Binghamton.”

In his closing statement, Kraham emphasized the importance of his experience, a track record that he said included passing “balanced budgets,” tax cuts for homeowners and small businesses, infrastructural improvements, the demolition of 120 “boarded-up eyesores” and investments in public safety.

“Look, this isn’t Hollywood, this is Binghamton, and experience on a movie set in the mid-’90s is in no way, shape or form preparation to run City Hall, to negotiate with unions, to make the tough decisions that matter that affect real people, the issues that are affecting neighborhoods across the city of Binghamton,” Kraham said. “It’s been my honor to serve as deputy mayor for the last 7 ½ years working alongside [David], and I humbly ask for your vote this election day to continue to serve as the next mayor of the city of Binghamton.”