What’s at Stake: Binghamton Mayoral Race

By James Kang, New York Politics

In New York City, the mayoral race has taken a dramatic turn, with former governor Andrew Cuomo attempting to close the gap against Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani. Despite being a newcomer to politics, Mamdani’s sudden rise has rocked the New York City political landscape, as voters ponder the possibility of a Democratic Socialist for New York City Mayor. 

However, just a few hours north in the city of Binghamton, another mayoral race reflects a similar sense of uncertainty as Republican incumbent Jared Kraham faces Democratic challenger Miles Burnett. Like Cuomo, Kraham emphasizes his experience as a primary reason to be the best choice for Mayor. In a similar vein, Burnett prioritizes a social media campaign and promotes a new approach to governance. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the candidates, listed in alphabetical order, and their policies for Binghamton. 

Miles Burnett

Miles Burnett was born in a Southside family of union members, which contributed to his interest in community engagement and leadership. Before launching his mayoral campaign, Burnett served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for State Senator Lea Webb, where he worked to advance legislation and secure funding for the Southern Tier. Burnett also managed municipal budgets while working as an aide to New York City Council Member Andrew Cohen and led economic development projects as the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization. Additionally, when he was Executive Director, Burnett worked on improving public safety and sanitation initiatives. Burnett is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts/Extension Studies (ALB) with a concentration in Social Sciences, a field of study in Government, and a minor in Sustainability at the Harvard Extension School. He is currently running as a Democrat and part of the Working Families Party (Burnett 2025).

Jared Kraham

Jared Kraham is currently Binghamton’s 51st and youngest Mayor. Before taking office, he served as Binghamton’s Deputy Mayor for nearly eight years. Kraham was born in a small-business family, which contributed to his first-hand experience of running small businesses and creating jobs. In college, Kraham earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Broadcast Journalism from Syracuse University. Prior to his time as Deputy Mayor, Kraham’s experience reflected his passion for baseball. In high school, Kraham worked as a public announcer for the Binghamton Mets and he later secured funding for NYSEG Stadium when he worked for City Hall. During his time as Binghamton Mayor, Kraham focused on projects transforming properties and housing, while supporting law enforcement and other first responders to lower Binghamton’s crime rates. He is currently running as a conservative in the Republican Party (Kraham 2025).

Binghamton Police Chief

For context, Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski has resigned, which took effect on October 6. Zikuski, who has been Chief of the Binghamton Police Department since 2008, was investigated as a result of an incident involving his girlfriend in Johnson City on July 18. A video surfaced on Facebook showing Zikuski’s girlfriend Susan Rice arguing with a group of people, including two teenagers. Despite being off-duty, Zikuski was present and didn’t stop his girlfriend from committing acts of violence. As a result, Rice was arrested and “charged with endangering the welfare of a child, harassment, and trespass in the second degree.” As previously mentioned, an outside investigation was initiated by Mayor Kraham, but results haven’t been publicized. Additionally, until Binghamton appoints a new chief, acting Police Chief John C. Ryan is leading the Binghamton Police Department (WSKG 2025). 

Thus, one of the concerns of the Binghamton public was the outside investigation and the appointment of a new Binghamton police chief. In response to these concerns, Burnett suggested considering four candidates who have taken the Civil Service Exam. He also highlighted that public opinion should factor into the appointment of the next chief. While Kraham shared Burnett’s sentiment, he did so with caution as he utilized Ithaca as an example to remind the public of the issues that can occur with the public appointing a police chief (WSKG 2025). Briefly, the Ithaca police chief “was selected after a search process involving interviews with representatives from the police department, the city’s Human Resources department, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center and the Community Justice Center” (The Ithaca Voice 2025).

Housing

Housing has been one of the most important issues associated with this election. After all, both candidates recognize that there is a housing crisis in Binghamton. For Burnett, he wants to make student housing providers pay their fair share, while holding absentee landlords accountable. Additionally, Burnett wants to establish affordable housing units while supporting first time homeowners. Burnett interconnects housing with homelessness and safety, proposing to fund emergency shelters and add more code enforcement officers (Burnett, 2025).

For Kraham, he believes that the COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted the housing crisis in various ways. During his tenure as Mayor, Kraham prioritized constructing affordable housing units in Binghamton and claimed that they would soon be open to the public. In addition to the project pipeline, Kraham wants to expand mental health resources in partnership with Broome County, but aims to partner with the state and federal governments as well. Kraham expresses his disapproval of the Trump administration and their shutdown of Community Development Block Grants (WSKG 2025).

Blue bags

Blue bags have been another primary issue associated with this election. For Burnett, he wants to keep trash collection public and collaborate with the Department of Public Works. Moreover, he addresses his plan to make trash collection easier and consistent while exploring waste management alternatives (Burnett 2025). For Kraham, he highlighted that the fairest, most environmentally-friendly method of trash collection would be to pay as you throw. Briefly, the pay-as-you-throw policy “charges people for the amount of trash they toss out” (World Economic Forum 2025). He also addressed that Binghamton had free recycling collection and yard waste, which saved taxpayers’ money (WSKG 2025).

Voting

The early voting period is from October 25 to November 2 and Election Day is on November 4. If you are registered in Broome County, you can visit the Broome County Board of Elections website for a full election list. Likewise, if you are registered in New York City, visit the New York City Board of Elections website for more information. All voters can visit Vote411.org to find personalized ballot information for wherever they are in the United States.

References

Burnett, Miles. “Miles Burnett for Mayor.” Miles Burnett for Binghamton. https://www.burnettforbinghamton.com/. 

Butler, Matt. 2025. “Ithaca Police Department Picks Cornell PD Head as New Deputy Chief.” The Ithaca Voice. https://ithacavoice.org/2025/09/ithaca-police-department-picks-cornell-pd-head-as-new-deputy-chief/. 

Kraham, Jared. “Meet Jared: Jared Kraham for Mayor.” Jared Kraham. https://www.jaredformayor.com/meet-jared. 

WSKG | By Celia Clarke. 2025. “Binghamton Mayoral Candidates Face off in Live WSKG Debate.” WSKG. https://www.wskg.org/regional-news/2025-10-16/binghamton-mayoral-candidates-face-off-in-live-wskg-debate.