Speaking to a crowd of cheering supporters, Mayor Jared Kraham officially kicked off his reelection campaign on Thursday evening.

Held in the Phelps Mansion Museum, the event comes nearly a month after Kraham first indicated his intent to run for a second term. He was sworn into office as Binghamton’s 51st mayor in January 2022 after defeating Democrat Joe Burns, then a city councilman.

After people ate and mingled, Kraham’s wife, Lucy Spena MSEd ’18, introduced her husband, saying that he “is the spokesperson to sell Binghamton to the rest of the world.”

“As long as I have known him, he has never wavered,” she said. “Four years ago at a much different campaign launch than this one, Jared said, ‘Binghamton is a part of me. You can’t separate it.’ It was true then, and it is even more true today.”

When he took the stage, Kraham acknowledged the 16th anniversary of the mass shooting at the American Civic Association, which killed 13 people and wounded four during citizenship classes. Earlier in the day, he had attended a memorial service to honor the victims and their families.

After thanking his staff and city employees, he began to list a series of accomplishments he said were achieved over his first term, including “some of the lowest crime rates on record” in the past few years, thanking first responders for their work.

“We’re joined tonight by many Binghamton police officers and firefighters,” he said. “These men and women, to me, represent the very best of our community, and they must have an ally and an advocate in the mayor’s office, and we have to keep it that way.”

Turning to affordable housing, Kraham said last year had “set a record for residential construction value” in Binghamton and highlighted efforts to crack down on abusive landlords and demolish blighted property. After reaching a 2023 settlement with Isaac Anzaroot, who Kraham has called Binghamton’s “most notorious slumlord,” the city has demolished at least six of his former properties as of March 7.

He mentioned efforts to bolster the local economy, including $10 million secured from a state program to revitalize historic Clinton Street in the city’s First Ward and efforts by railroad giant Norfolk Southern to repair several privately owned bridges found to be structurally deficient.

“In times of crisis or tragedy, I, as mayor, have strived to be the type of leader that leads with both strength and compassion,” Kraham said.

“But all of that being said, the reason I’m running for reelection is very simple: it’s to continue the leadership I feel that Binghamton deserves, to reimagine our future and to deliver results for residents,” he added.

Kraham faces a challenge from Democrat Miles Burnett, a South Side native who launched his candidacy in February.

Several local officials attended Kraham’s reelection event, including Dan Reynolds, the chair of the Broome County Legislature. Former mayors Richard Bucci and Rich David, who announced a campaign for the county clerkship in February, were also in the audience.

Cody Reed ‘13, MBA ’16, a former assistant wrestling coach at Binghamton University, was at the campaign kickoff. Reed pointed to Kraham’s track record on housing as why he is supporting his reelection bid, saying he “aligned with a lot of his other opinions for the city.”

As he ended his speech, Kraham urged those in attendance to reach out to relatives and ask them to vote in the upcoming election.

“Thank you so much for having faith in me, having faith in the city of Binghamton and having faith in our future,” he said.

Editor’s note 4/9: This article was updated to include Lucy Spena’s graduation year.