We wanted to endorse one of the candidates running for Binghamton mayor next week. We couldn’t. Here’s why.
Teri Rennia, the Democratic candidate, is running a high school campaign, without the promises of free soda in the water fountains and field trips every Friday. She includes motherhood as relevant experience, and her platforms for what she’d like to see in Binghamton are non-existent. Her proposals are padded with vague visions of economic development and cleaner streets with no concrete plans for action. Although she cited the importance of Binghamton University students in the Binghamton community, when Pipe Dream questioned her about whether the election results will impact BU students, particularly those who live off campus, she acknowledged that she was “Not really sure.”
At the same time, we aren’t crazy about Rich David’s campaign. We worry that David will put the wants of business owners over the needs of citizens by putting business owners on committees regarding zoning, potentially giving them undue influence in city government. While we agree that a grocery store would do much good on the North side of Binghamton, David’s mention of “one stop shopping” conjures images of big chain stores. The last thing Downtown needs is a Walmart; we need small, locally owned groceries peppered through residential areas that make the city more walkable.
It’s not difficult to find issues over which the candidates’ visions diverge. One issue we’ve focused on in particular is crime. David has proposed gradually increasing the city of Binghamton’s police force by 20 officers. Rennia, in contrast, has raised doubts about the efficacy of hiring additional officers, proposing instead greater collaboration with extant community watch groups.
For students who live Downtown, additional police officers could not come at a better time. The city has seen a 30 percent increase in crime over the last year, and we would feel safer and more comfortable with more police, not ambiguous “community groups.”
Uncomfortable endorsing either candidate, we look to current Mayor Matt Ryan’s eight years of leadership. We like Ryan. He is openly anti-fracking, present in the community and has saved the city millions of dollars by balancing the budget. Some of his critics have argued that Ryan has become complacent in recent months. Another term would cure this senioritis perfectly.
Binghamton currently has a two-term limit for mayor. But how fixed is that? In October of 2008 Michael Bloomberg persuaded the New York City Council to extend the term limit for the position of New York City mayor. In 2009, Bloomberg took over for his third term.
While we aren’t exactly planning on protesting outside Binghamton Town Hall, we wouldn’t be upset with a third term for Mayor Matt Ryan. We’re proud of the work he’s done, and proud to call him a fellow Bearcat.