Broome County voters will choose a new county clerk in November, after Joe Mihalko, the current clerk, announced he will not run for reelection after 8 years in the position.
The county clerk is in charge of filing and storing all court, property and business records. The clerk also oversees the local Department of Motor Vehicles.
Former Binghamton Mayor Rich David recently announced he is running for the seat. David, a Republican, served as mayor of Binghamton for two terms until 2021, when he was term-limited. In 2022, he made a bid for New York’s 52nd Senate District, but lost to Democrat Lea Webb.
David said he would bring experience to the position.
“As mayor, you already work with the towns and villages, the county, the state of New York and the federal government. That's an inherent part of the job on a regular and frequent basis,” David said. “So I'm not somebody that has to start from scratch and build relationships and learn. I have all of this in place, so I'm in a great position to hit the ground running.”
But he added he is interested in the county clerk position in part because it’s a very different job than being mayor.
“Almost everything is dictated by the state of New York, with regards to what you can and can't do in the role of county clerk,” David said. “And so one of the things that I think I would be interested in is working on enhancing and expanding the level of service to more people across the region.”
David said he would like to expand access to county services, especially DMV services in the more rural parts of the county.
Mihalko, the current county clerk, has endorsed David. It is unclear whether any other candidates will run for the seat.
Republican Aaron Martin, clerk for the Broome County Legislature, told WIVT he was considering a run. That would mean a primary between the two candidates. Martin did not respond to WSKG’s requests for comment.
This month, candidates will start collecting petition signatures to get on the ballot.