Democrat Rebecca Rathmell will begin her term as city council member representing Binghamton’s 6th district in January, after winning a special election for the seat. She said she’s setting her sights on improving housing stock and access to public services in Binghamton.
Rathmell beat out Republican Phillip Strawn in a rematch after the two tied last year. Following that election, a judge determined that the city council would appoint a Republican to the seat until a special election could be held. The council then appointed Mike Kosty, who did not run for re-election this year, to represent the district.
Rathmell said the major difference in this race was her ability to go door-to-door, speaking with more residents.
“Those were all really important conversations that I felt I needed to have,” Rathmell said. “I don't want to build this work or a policy agenda of any sort without meeting and knowing and listening to and hearing from the neighbors who are going to be impacted.”
Rathmell said based on what she heard from residents, she plans to focus on reducing food insecurity and improving access to mental health care. She also wants to increase affordable housing units and reform the city’s housing code enforcement system.
“The complaint-based enforcement approach that we've been relying on for decades has more than proven itself inadequate,” Rathmell said. “We also need to build more housing that is affordable for residents with incomes between about $15,000 and $40,000 a year.”
Rathmell said she’d like the city to require that a rental unit pass an official code inspection before the owner is allowed to rent it out. Currently, the city usually only inspects units after a tenant files a complaint. She said the city should also have a rental registry system that keeps track of code inspections and violations. She noted that other cities, like Syracuse, have taken a similar, “proactive code enforcement” approach.
Rathmell said revamping the code enforcement system would require more funding. However, she said that money does not have to come out of the city’s general budget because grant funding could help fund the process.
With Rathmell elected, the city council will now be made up entirely of Democratic members.
