With the general election just one month away, incumbent Republican Mayor Jared Kraham and Democrat Miles Burnett debated on Friday for the second time this cycle.

Dozens of community members attended the “Meet the Mayoral Candidates” event, held downtown at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator. Hosted by the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, the debate focused on issues ranging from local economic development to infrastructure and public safety.

Stacey Duncan, the CEO of the Leadership Alliance, a group that partners with the Chamber of Commerce and the Broome County Industrial Development Agency to promote local business activity, thanked both candidates for agreeing to come and discuss their vision for the city’s future.

“I want to thank both of you for stepping and staying into this arena, because in the world we live in today, with intense public scrutiny, it’s not an easy thing to do, and I don’t think anybody takes this kind of work lightly,” Duncan said.

The debate was moderated by Brooke Warpus, a news anchor on FOX 40 News. A student from Vestal High School kept time. Both candidates were given three minutes for opening and closing statements, two minutes to answer questions and one minute for rebuttal if requested.
Burnett told the audience he entered the race in February because he was “fed up” at seeing the city face continued challenges, citing its high poverty rate and challenges with homelessness and vacant properties.

A South Side native, Burnett served as deputy chief of staff to State Sen. Lea Webb ‘04 from 2023 to 2024. He also worked as an aide to a former New York City councilman and the executive director of a nonprofit advancing economic development projects.

Kraham said the city undoubtedly faces “great challenges” and that he spent his first term in office working to tackle some of these problems.

Alluding to the current federal government shutdown, Kraham said he wants to be a “problem solver” who will ensure that “we keep our services up and running and our government open,” adding that shutdowns are “not an option for local leaders.”

When both candidates were asked about their biggest achievements, Burnett pointed to his time advancing new development projects and “revitalizing commercial corridors.” He added that as mayor, building new housing units would be a major focus of his.

Kraham said his public safety record is what he has “been most proud of” and highlighted that both the Binghamton Police Benevolent Association Local 2737 and the Binghamton Professional Firefighter Association Local 729 endorsed his reelection campaign. Burnett responded by saying he would implement a “team of mental health experts” to help address some nonviolent incidents and tackle a mental health crisis.

When asked about attracting new investment to the region, Burnett voiced his plan to create a local council of small business owners. Kraham pointed to a Sept. 24 article by the Albany Times Union that found the Binghamton metropolitan area to be the only region in the state that increased its share of 18 to 34-year-olds since 2019.

Turning to infrastructure, Kraham highlighted his work to get Norfolk Southern to begin repairs on decaying railroad bridges across the city. In August 2023, Kraham’s office released an over-900-page report that found a majority of surveyed bridges were in “poor” or “severe” condition. Norfolk Southern announced that it would begin repairs on seven of its bridges that October.

Both candidates were also asked about their plans to tackle poverty and rising housing costs.

“Thirty-three percent of our community lives in poverty because they cannot find a safe, affordable place to live,” Burnett said. “That’s three times the national average right here in Binghamton. And I know my opponent is talking about childhood poverty not growing, but it’s at 42 percent in our community, we have almost 400 Binghamton city school kids that are homeless.”

Kraham pointed out that several housing projects were currently under construction, including the Town and Country project in the city’s North Side.

When the debate shifted back to public safety, Kraham directly asked Burnett about his plans for police staffing. Burnett responded by saying the department should be “fully staffed.”

Asked about how they envision the city over the next decade, Kraham said he would continue to facilitate partnerships with Binghamton University to drive more local investment in the healthcare and technology sectors.

In closing statements, Burnett stressed that the community should “stop pretending that the problems don’t exist” and the changes he would make to Binghamton’s economic development. Kraham said that while there is “a lot of work to do,” his track record demonstrates how he would address the city’s most pressing issues.

“If we’re going to rebuild this city, we’re going to face the challenges we have and really have a bright future,” Kraham said in his closing statement. “It’s going to take experienced leadership that knows how to get stuff done — that represents my candidacy.”