Binghamton mayoral race tests progressive appeal in key swing district
Binghamton residents are heading to the polls this November to elect a mayor, and they have two striking options: a Republican incumbent willing to buck his party on immigration and a progressive Democrat hoping to ride the same wave that led Zohran Mamdani to victory in New York City’s mayoral primary. Mayor Jared Kraham and state Senate staffer Miles Burnett each hope their attention to kitchen table issues can win over a city that faces the same Rust Belt issues as the rest of the country.
Kraham’s pitch to voters is relatively simple. He’s asking them to let him continue his efforts to make the city safer and more affordable. He’d served as deputy mayor under former Mayor Rich David for more than seven years before replacing his old boss in 2021.
Burnett, district director for state Sen. Lea Webbs, is touting the possibility of progress, claiming that Kraham is simply a continuation of leadership that has left some residents feeling as though the city is on the decline. Nearly 33% of city residents live below the poverty line, and 47% of metro area residents are rent-burdened.
Both Kraham and Burnett have their own ideas about how to tackle housing, which is often a resident’s largest monthly expense, with Burnett pushing to restart an initiative to track vacant properties with the possibility of bringing them back online and Kraham looking to incentivize housing construction and make adjustments to the zoning code. Kraham and the Common Council are often at odds over the scale and methods to do so, with the council recently pushing back against Kraham’s funding plans for the fire department, claiming that money would be better spent on affordable housing. The council also overrode Kraham’s veto of “good cause” eviction protections earlier this year.
https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/09/binghamton-mayoral-race-tests-progressive-appeal-key-swing-district/407914/?oref=csny-category-lander-featured-river