Former Binghamton mayor Matthew Ryan ‘82 recently announced plans to run for Broome County Sheriff, challenging incumbent Sheriff Fred Akshar.

In a March 12 call with WNBF Radio, Ryan said he was in the process of collecting signatures in preparation for his announcement. Candidates running on a major party ballot line need a minimum of 1,000 valid signatures before they can formally declare their candidacy. Ryan told Pipe Dream in a written statement that his campaign has “collected hundreds of signatures so far without any formal announcement and the number continues to rise.”

“The big elephant in the room is this sheriff and how many things he’s done, they’re just totally, and I think in the view of the community, inappropriate — his embrace of ICE and a number of other things I’ll outline as the campaign goes on,” Ryan told WNBF during the call.

While he has not formally declared his candidacy, Ryan expects to make the announcement sometime in April after collecting the necessary signatures.

This would be Ryan’s second campaign for Broome County Sheriff. He previously ran for the position in 2018 as a candidate for the Working Families Party and was defeated that November by Republican David Harder. (3) This time, Ryan hopes to run as a member of the Democratic Party.

Ryan’s announcement comes as Akshar, a former Republican state senator who was elected as sheriff in 2022, has been criticized by some in the area for his participation in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program. The current agreement with ICE allows for state and local law enforcement agents to partner with federal immigration agents, who “train, certify and authorize state and local law enforcement officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on aliens in their agency’s jail,” according to ICE’s website. Akshar signed the agreement in March 2025.

Since then, local groups have rallied in response to Akshar’s participation in the program. Last week, student organizations held a protest in front of the Broome County Jail demanding an end to the partnership between the sheriff’s office and ICE.

Ryan has voiced his opposition to the agreement and, if elected, has vowed to end the partnership. He has also called for the passage of the New York for All and Dignity Not Detention Acts, two bills that would ban officers from inquiring about residents’ immigration status and terminate contracts statewide that allow individuals to be detained in immigration detention facilities.

“Sheriffs have tremendous power, yet nearly 75 percent of the races for sheriff go uncontested,” Ryan wrote to Pipe Dream in a statement. “Without electoral and legislative checks, that power can quickly devolve into corruption, bullying, and authoritarianism, just like we see happening in Broome County. Our current sheriff unilaterally aligned himself with ICE and their troop of masked thugs.”

“He is proud to call himself Trump’s man in Broome County,” he continued. “I’m running for Broome County Sheriff to kick ICE out of Broome, expand reentry and job training programs, and invigorate our democracy.”

A representative from the Broome County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.

In a March 12 Facebook post in response to Ryan’s plan to run, Akshar shared that his campaign had received $1,500 worth of donations in the hours since Ryan’s announcement.

“Tired of politicians like Matt Ryan with zero law enforcement experience putting radical political activism before the safety of law abiding citizens?” Akshar’s campaign post read. “Help send a message that we won’t let him gut public safety in Broome County like he did as Mayor of Binghamton.”

Ryan was the mayor of Binghamton from 2006 to 2013. Before his tenure, he served as a public defender for 15 years, a pro bono attorney for 10 years and a youth counselor for nine years.

“My campaign looks forward to discussing plans to make Broome County safe with every voter in the county,” Ryan told Pipe Dream.