Former City of Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan is challenging Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar for his position in the upcoming election.
Ryan, who served as Binghamton mayor from 2006 to 2013, said on March 30 he is currently collecting signatures to run on the Democratic ticket for sheriff. He is challenging Akshar, who was first elected sheriff in November 2022 after representing New York’s 52nd Senate District for seven years.
Ryan, who also worked as a public defender for 15 years and a youth counselor for nine years, previously ran for sheriff in 2018 and lost to former Broome County Sheriff David Harder. He ran again in 2023 for Broome County district attorney and lost to current Broome County District Attorney Paul Battisti.
With Akshar running for his second term, Ryan said he “wasn’t going to run,” but decided to join the race because he believes the sheriff has not “earned the right to run unopposed.”
“You’d be surprised how many people on both sides of the aisle are very happy that I’m running,” Ryan said. “They want to hear alternative views on how to make our county safe.”
Ryan’s objectives in running for Broome County sheriff
Another part of his reason for joining the race, according to Ryan, is the budget of the sheriff’s office. The money, he said, has been given to the office “at the expense of every other agency in the county government.”
“I think we can do a lot better on providing a safer county, a safer community and do it in a way that respects humanity more and actually prevents incarceration and crime in the first place,” he said.
Part of his plan is to use resources to focus on prevention tactics like youth programs which reach out to the younger generation in Broome County. The Broome County Youth Bureau, which provides “services, support and opportunities” for disadvantaged children, is something Ryan believes is “way underfunded.”
“A lot of that money could be used to prevent crime in the first place instead of just throwing money at an incarceration model that is, quite frankly, not working,” he said.
By refocusing on crime prevention, Ryan said he sees a “path forward” for reaching “poor, young men” who he said commit the majority of gun crimes. Another aspect of his plan to redirect funding is to reduce recidivism.
“The people who are in jail will be coming back to our community in a short period of time, so we want them in a better position as they reenter our community − to have a chance to thrive and not commit crime, to not have a high recidivism rate as is usual in this county,” he said.
How ICE in Broome County plays a role in sheriff’s race
Akshar announced in March 2025 that corrections officers working in the Broome County Jail would be assisting ICE by participating in the warrant service officer portion of ICE’s 287(g) program. The program, according to ICE, authorizes state and local law enforcement to perform “specified immigration officer functions” including executing administrative warrants within the jail.
The sheriff’s office does not participate in any active immigration enforcement activities in the community, rather the program applies only to individuals already incarcerated in the jail, according to the sheriff’s office. The jail has housed federal detainees for the U.S. Marshals, ICE and the FBI for over two decades.
Since the announcement, various protests, including a recent “No Kings” rally, have been held by residents across the county to voice concern over the collaboration with ICE and the housing of immigrants in the Broome County Jail.
Ryan said the sheriff’s involvement in the ICE program was one of the “biggest reasons” he got in the race.
The Broome County Jail is a 600-bed facility, a number Ryan said is “twice as big as it needs to be.” The size, he said, is justified by Akshar through the housing of ICE and other federal detainees.
For a 600-bed facility, New York State requires a full staff regardless of how many beds may be empty. If there are 400 detainees and 600 beds, a full staff is still required, Ryan said.
“That’s blowing a hole in the budget,” he said.
Ryan said if elected, he plans to “get rid of the ICE affiliation,” a collaboration he says is “immoral,” and potentially downsize the jail to save on funding.
“I think if we get rid of (ICE) completely and take a look at the federal detainees as well, downsize our jail, then we could save millions of dollars,” he said. “Some of that money can go towards programs and we will truly be a safer community.”
Akshar responds
In a video posted to his Facebook on March 27, Akshar responded to Ryan’s plan to run against him in the upcoming election, saying that Ryan is looking to “cut $10 million in public safety funding.”
Akshar said in his statement that Ryan, the “failed former mayor,” cut 30 police officers, 16 firefighters, closed a fire station and raised taxes on “the very people that he was supposedly representing by nearly fifty percent” during his term.
“That is who Matt Ryan is, that is his record,” Akshar said. “I just want to remind folks that it’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve in this role and we will never, ever apologize for prioritizing public safety.”
Akshar said he and the sheriff’s office will “continue to work incredibly hard to earn your vote.”
“We are going to continue to support the men and women who wear the uniform every single day and go out in the community to protect people who live, work and raise their families here,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Why former Binghamton mayor is planning to run for Broome County sheriff
Reporting by Jillian McCarthy, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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