With less than two weeks until the general election, both candidates running for mayor of Binghamton met once again this week on the debate stage.

Held on Monday in the Southern Tier Independence Center, the debate was hosted by the League of Women Voters of Broome and Tioga Counties. Mayor Jared Kraham and Miles Burnett, his Democratic challenger, were each given a few minutes for opening statements.

Kraham told the audience that he was honored to serve as mayor since January 2022 and highlighted his experience as someone “who has built bipartisan coalitions” to tackle issues facing the city. Burnett said he entered the mayoral race because he was “fed up” that “challenges I saw growing up here remain challenges that we’re facing today,” citing Binghamton’s high poverty rate as an example.

Both candidates were asked about how they would work with the Binghamton City Council and those with different political perspectives. Kraham, a Republican, pointed to the bipartisan budgets he successfully negotiated with the council, made up of seven Democrats, and said he has developed a “deep working relationship” with local Democratic officials like State Sen. Lea Webb ‘04, Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo MA ‘84 and Broome County Executive Jason Garnar ‘99.

Burnett blamed a rise in partisanship to the actions taken by the Trump administration that he believes are negatively impacting local residents. He criticized Kraham for vetoing the Good Cause Eviction law [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/mayor-kraham-vetoes-good-cause-eviction-law/163999/], which seeks to protect tenants from unreasonable evictions, instead of seeking further compromise. The council unanimously overrode [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/city-council-overrides-mayors-veto-on-good-cause-eviction-law/164647/] Kraham’s veto back in March.

At the debate, Kraham said some local nonprofits were opposed to Good Cause because it would “shrink the housing market,” adding that “less and less landlords are willing to rent to [Department of Social Services’] clients” because of the law.

He also claimed that Burnett attended a protest that featured activists who supported a city rent strike, likely referencing an August rally [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/binghamton-tenants-union-petitions-for-better-housing-standards-threatens-rent-strike/168871/ ] led by the Binghamton Tenants Union that demanded improvements for living conditions in city housing. Burnett was seen standing among the crowd of activists and local lawmakers gathered outside the Binghamton Housing Authority’s Canal Plaza office.

Burnett responded that he “never said” he favored a rent strike.

When asked what policies he supports from the Democratic Party, Kraham said he was pro-choice and gave “a lot of credit” to the protesters who attended last Saturday’s “No Kings” rally [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/community-demonstrates-against-trump-administration-in-second-no-kings-protest/171629/] for expressing concern about the current state of democracy and constitutional order nationwide.

Turning to economic development, Burnett said building more affordable housing is critical to promoting job creation and raising the city’s median income level. He added that he plans to create 2,000 new housing units over the course of eight years.

Kraham said expanding apprenticeship programs and filling manufacturing positions is key to building pathways to the middle class.

“That’s how we’re going to raise incomes here in the Southern Tier, here in the city of Binghamton, it’s by focusing on and connecting folks with trades as well as the manufacturing jobs that are not minimum wage — these are very high paying jobs,” Kraham said at the debate.

Asked whether the candidates’ personal experiences inform their desire to be mayor, Burnett said he grew up watching his single mother work several jobs while putting herself through school. He added that his experiences working in areas like retail and telemarketing taught him “what it means to be a working person in this world.”

“I feel like for so long, those folks have been left out of the conversation [and] that the same people have been at the decision making table, particularly wealthy people, who have interests in taking our municipal dollars to line their pockets and do the construction work and and have a vested interest in getting our taxpayer dollars, but they don’t have the real experience of what it means to live in this community and struggle in this community,” Burnett said. “And that’s what I’m doing. That’s why I’m running, it’s to fight for those who need to have someone at the table who understands them and their needs.”

Kraham cited the influence of his late father, who served as Broome County executive from 1997 to 2004, and a desire to give back to the city as his reasons for entering local politics.

With the recent resignation [HYPERLINK: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/binghamton-police-chief-to-step-down/170245/] of Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski, both candidates were pressed on their approaches to reducing crime rates and how they would go about selecting a new chief of police. Burnett described his “holistic approach” to improving public safety, which he said includes anti-poverty initiatives and investments in education and youth programming. When it comes to selecting Zikuski’s successor, Burnett said community interests must play a role in vetting nominees.

Kraham said his administration has delivered on reducing citywide crime rates and will follow New York state civil service law for selecting a new police chief.

The debate closed out with Kraham and Burnett explaining what transparency in government meant to them. Burnett said communication and accountability are core to his definition of transparency and pledged to be an “open door” mayor, while Kraham said his administration has prioritized media accessibility and public openness.

Early voting begins Oct. 25 and ends Nov. 2. The general election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 4.