Tarik Abdelazim has officially announced as a candidate for Binghamton Mayor. In announcing at Sunflower Park in the First Ward, Abdelazim said, "
My work has brought me to communities all across the country that struggle with the same problems we face here in Binghamton: factories closed and jobs gone; empty grocery stores and vacant homes dragging down our neighborhoods; working families and seniors struggling to get by; an epidemic of addiction; too many youth lost to gangs, drugs, and crime….
Our neighborhoods face threats as well. From the East Side to the First Ward, hundreds of homes and business corridors are still vulnerable to floods, and the coming high costs of flood insurance could literally devastate entire housing markets. Vacant properties are harming our housing values and introducing safety hazards to our children, families, and first responders. Low workforce morale and high turnover rates in the police department limit our ability to think creatively and comprehensively about how to tackle crime and drugs in a meaningful way.
The current mayor and his Republican Council don't get it. They almost seem proud of sticking to the basics, which so far means doing the minimum and failing to prepare for the challenges ahead. And the current mayor spends far more time managing his public image than he does managing public business. As many of us know, things aren't what they seem with this mayor.
I am running for Binghamton Mayor because we deserve better than the basics."
In the 2018 race for Congress, there are two confirmed candidates. Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi and Patrick Madden will face off in the primary to oppose Claudia Tenney.