Jared Kraham is the Republican candidate for mayor of the City of Binghamton. Kraham, a Binghamton native, has served as deputy mayor of the city of Binghamton for seven years, and also chairs the City of Binghamton Traffic Board. In addition to this, Kraham is one of the co-chairs of the Binghamton University Town Gown Advisory Board and serves on the board of directors for the Binghamton Housing Authority.
1. In your opinion, what is the most pressing issue for the city of Binghamton and why?
“Public safety. Every resident wants — and deserves — to live in a neighborhood where they feel safe. When I go door to door talking to voters, safe neighborhoods comes up in almost every conversation. We can improve public safety by investing in 21st-century community policing, where law enforcement works alongside residents to build safe neighborhoods, and making sure our officers have the latest and best training available as it relates to important issues like mental health and substance use disorder.”
2. What motivates you to run as Binghamton mayor and public office in general?
“I love Binghamton. I was born and raised in this community, and it’s where my fiance and I are building our future. I’m running for mayor because I want to make sure we keep moving Binghamton in the right direction. What motivates me is the people. I’ve knocked on thousands of doors across the city and heard from countless community members. I know what’s important to them, what they’re worried about, what makes them want to put roots down in Binghamton and what leads some people to move away. As deputy mayor, I’ve seen firsthand how public office can make a difference in residents’ everyday lives. The decisions our next mayor makes will affect every resident. The endorsements that matter to me don’t come from Hollywood but come from local residents — the ones who have spent their whole lives here or our choosing to buy a home and raise a family here. I’m proud to have their support, and as mayor, I’ll work hard for them every day.”
3. What do you view as the biggest shortcomings of the previous administration, if any? What would you change and/or improve upon and why?
“When the current administration took office in 2014, Binghamton looked a lot different than it does today. Downtown [Binghamton] was full of vacant storefronts, the city’s infrastructure was crumbling after years of neglect, residents were feeling the burden of a 52 percent tax hike over the previous eight years and the local economy was hurting. There were so many urgent issues that needed to be addressed quickly, and a lot of our early focus went into getting things back on track. Now, Downtown [Binghamton] has obviously seen a major revitalization, we’ve delivered much-needed tax relief to homeowners and small businesses, and we’ve invested in infrastructure upgrades in every neighborhood in Binghamton. We need to keep that progress going, and turn our focus even more to the neighborhoods. Downtown [Binghamton] is a place where families, students and visitors want to be now, and that’s great. Now, we need to make sure every neighborhood is a place where people want to live. That’s how we retain young professionals and also invest in the families who have decided to stay in our community.”
4. Many Binghamton residents have concerns about housing. What would you do to address homelessness and the housing inequality residents believe is perpetuated by slumlords?
This is one of the most important issues facing our city. I recently released a Safe Housing and Code Enforcement Plan, which would, in part, crack down on the slumlords who are hurting Binghamton neighborhoods and putting families and students in danger with unsafe housing conditions. My plan would create a city prosecutor position focused solely on holding slumlords and serious repeat code offenders accountable in court. The attorney would also lead a new city task force focused on enterprise-level investigations of unsafe housing conditions and persistent blight. We also need to continue creating safe, quality supportive housing for families and individuals facing homelessness. As deputy mayor, I’ve played a key role in multiple homeless housing projects, including the 19-unit supportive housing development on Virgil Street on the North Side and the rehabilitation project on Pine Street that turned a blighted building into safe housing for veterans. We also need to continue funding the organizations that do critical street outreach work.”
5. Since the last mayoral election, the country has seen an awakening in movements relating to issues of race and police reform. How would you balance reform and accountability within the police force while also maintaining and further improving safety within Binghamton neighborhoods?
“When we talk about building safer neighborhoods, it’s not just about making sure the police department has enough officers to respond to calls. It’s also about making sure we have a police department that holds itself to the possible highest standard. That means the police department is accountable and transparent, has received the best training in key areas like mental health response, and has the trust of the community it serves. It means investing in the tools and technology that ensure transparency and accountability, like body cameras and dashboard cameras, which this administration has done. It also means working to make the police department better reflect the diversity of the community it serves. This summer, we created the first-ever position in the Binghamton Police Department aimed at increasing the diversity of the force and improving community engagement. There’s a long way to go, but it’s a critical goal and as mayor, I’ll be committed to it.”
6. What is your opinion on the current state of Binghamton’s infrastructure? What would you do, if anything, to improve the city’s infrastructure?
“When I started working in the Mayor’s Office almost eight years ago, we would get calls regularly from residents across the city about potholes and other infrastructure problems. Those calls are rare today. Our administration has invested millions in upgrading Binghamton’s aging infrastructure, from our streets and bridges to the underground water and sewer lines that provide residents with critical services. We’ve paved more than 80 miles of streets — more than half the city. Those investments improve quality of life for residents immensely, and they also support local construction jobs that drive much of our economy. There are still a lot of infrastructure improvements left to do, and there are other areas, like broadband access and clean energy upgrades, that need to become a central part of the conversation on infrastructure. As mayor, I’ll make sure we continue to invest in upgrading Binghamton’s infrastructure.”
7. As reported by WNBF Binghamton, Binghamton High School has seen a series of violent incidents from brawls to shoot-outs leading to the school being shut down multiple days and an increased police presence. What do you believe is needed to address violence among Binghamton youth and set them up with better opportunities for their future?
“If we want to invest in Binghamton’s future, we need to invest in our youth. Half of kids growing up in Binghamton live in poverty. That has major, sweeping effects on those kids and our broader community. We have to invest in them, and the opportunities available to them. We’ve made really great progress on that front in recent years, funding memberships at the [Boys & Girls Clubs of Binghamton], extending the hours of the Club’s Teen Center, partnering with [Community Advocates Restoring Educational Standards (CARES)] to provide kids with school supplies and more. Biggest of all, of course, is the new Youth & Community Center planned for Columbus Park. It’s the single biggest investment by the city ever in our youth. The center will give kids a safe place to go when school is out to socialize, play sports, take art classes, get homework help, spend time with positive role models and so on. My opponent recently voted against moving forward with the Community & Youth Center. It passed, and as mayor, I’ll make sure building it remains a priority. The futures of countless young people — and our city as a whole — are at stake.”
8. Students have had varying reactions to the “Social Host” ordinance. What is your opinion on it, and students partying in Downtown Binghamton overall?
“Last year, Binghamton joined other SUNY communities like Oneonta and Cortland with adoption of a social host ordinance. The goal is to reduce high-risk underage drinking and limit gatherings that disrupt neighborhoods. It gained support from the Binghamton Campus and Community Coalition as a science-based prevention strategy to reduce high-risk drinking. To be clear — the law does not punish students who attend parties. It’s shown to work for those other communities and here in Binghamton. As for legal age students patronizing our local taverns, we welcome the boost in economic activity. I’d be happy to make recommendations for 21 [and over] students who want to try Binghamton’s great eating and drinking establishments outside Downtown [Binghamton], too.”