Student Association President Matt Landau may be broadening his political endeavors beyond Binghamton University.
While no formal decision has been made, Landau has announced he is considering a run for mayor of the city of Binghamton next year.
“If I ran, it would be for mayor in the 2009 elections, with the Democratic primary happening in the fall of 2009,” Landau said. “But I want to make it clear, no decision has been made, and I personally just do not know yet what I will do.”
“We’ve made great strides in making Binghamton more vital and more vibrant through economic development initiatives, smart government reforms and a commitment to partnerships with local businesses, community organizations, the arts and the University,” said current Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan.
Landau said that he is contemplating running for the position because of his belief that the mayor of Binghamton should work closely with the University, a belief he feels that Ryan does not share.
“Ryan has refused to meet with me and ignores me on issues when last year he embraced the SA president on various issues throughout the year,” Landau said. “In my opinion, he is doing so because of political reasons.”
In his State of the SA address to the Student Assembly on Oct. 6, Landau announced that one of his primary goals was to unify the SA so that it worked for every student. He spoke of swift improvement to the SA, which he said had not successfully represented the greater part of Binghamton students.
Ryan promised in his 2007 State of the City address last February to “continue government reform efforts” and to “restore Binghamton as the Home of Innovation.”
“I’m surprised that Mr. Landau is considering running for mayor of Binghamton, given that he has never lived in the city of Binghamton and doesn’t live here now,” Ryan said. “I’m planning on running for re-election, and look forward to doing so.”
Among the catalysts for Landau’s consideration was the fact that Ryan said he would be unable to participate in a discussion with Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader Nov. 3, at BU because of scheduling conflicts. Ryan is set to be campaigning for Barack Obama in the days leading up to the presidential election. The SA proposed the event to the mayor’s office Oct. 22.
In addition to this, Landau feels that the current mayor does not work enough in conjunction with the BU community.
“We need a change in the city of Binghamton,” he said. “We need the city to work with BU students, and work together so that students get incorporated into the city and get them Downtown to the local businesses.”
Catalysts for Intellectual Capital 2020 (CIC2020), a group on campus dedicated to retaining 20 percent of BU graduates in the Binghamton area by the year 2020, does not endorse candidates, but does encourage BU students to get involved in the Greater Binghamton community, according to Adam Amit, the group’s president.
“We think that it’s great that a student such as SA President Matt Landau has taken such an interest in the city that he is considering running for mayor,” he said. “There are many other jobs and opportunities in Binghamton and we hope to encourage and see many other students take an active interest in them.”
Landau hopes to make a formal decision in the upcoming months on whether or not to run for the position.
A senior political science major, Landau ran for SA president on the platform of providing a better Binghamton University experience for all students.
Ryan was elected mayor in 2005 on a grassroots campaign. He received a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Binghamton and earned his law degree from CUNY School of Law at Queens College.