Did you enjoy your two-month respite from local election news? I hope so, because that’s over now.
On the national level, people started sizing up 2016 almost the second the 2012 elections ended. Hillary Clinton can’t buy a pair of shoes without people reading ulterior motives into the purchase. “Hillary bought flats today — a sensible choice for someone who plans to spend a lot of time on the campaign trail!”
- FILE PHOTO
- Lovely Warren
Locally, though, we caught a bit of a breather after the mayoral chaos of 2011 and the big Brooks-Slaughter Congressional clash last year. That ends today with the announcement that City Council President Lovely Warren may run for Rochester mayor.
I’d been laboring under the presumption that if incumbent Tom Richards runs again — no means a sure thing — he’d have a clear field. After all, the general consensus is that he’s been a strong mayor, and the party seemed to be behind him, even after the rocky start.
Of course, more than one person — including Molly Clifford, the city’s director of fire administration, and City Council member Elaine Spaull put his or her mayoral dreams on hold in 2011 so Richards could run. And it’s been clear for a long time that Warren would go for mayor, the only question being when.
Questions about Warren’s connection to state Assembly member David Gantt are bound to come up. Some people feel that Gantt already has too much power and influence in Rochester and they’d undoubtedly be nervous about a Gantt protégé in the top job. But there have been concerns about Richards’ background, too. Richards comes from the corporate world and some people initially questioned whether he truly understood the poverty affecting Rochester’s inner city; they worried he’d lean in favor of business interests. This election could turn on whether Richards has done enough to dispel that perception.
Anyway, I’m betting that Warren’s announcement smokes out other wannabes and finally gets Richards off the fence.
This article appears in Jan 23-29, 2013.
Wow, thanks to Lovely Warren for giving everyone hints of a return to 2011 chaos! And for having the class to put this out there on a day when Richards is out of town representing Rochester before the state legislature on the needs of the city. Thanks to her actions, he got blindsided after his testimony by the Albany press corps asking not about the needs of Rochester, but about the possibility of getting primaried. Stay classy!
Perhaps she learned too well from her political boss, David Gantt, whose notable absence from the hearings today embarrassed Rochester — judging from the tweets from the Albany press corps, who noted that the other cities whose mayors were testifying had their entire Albany delegations present. Gantt being MIA at such an important moment for the city he represents couldn’t have had anything to do with her announcement — which Richards and the Albany press corps might well have asked him about — could it–?
In fact, it appears that she was so eager to take this opportunity to make this move when Richards was out of town that it even caught some potential supporters flatfooted. From tweets I saw today, many elected officials heard about this for the first time when reporters contacted them for reactions — saying things like, “so that’s why Lovely wants to meet with me next week.”
If this is how the Gantt team plans to do things for the rest of the campaign season, well…if you liked 2011, you’ll love 2013.
Which is why I love Rochester politics. Machiavelli’s got nothin’ on us!
I don’t believe that there’s a general consensus that ersatz Democrat Tom Richards has been a strong mayor. More like overall public apathy . Oh well, if nothing else we appreciatie that at least he’s not blown millions on an asinine Less-Than- Fast – Ferry like Bill Johnson, or proposed ripping out the Broad Street Bridge and replacing it with a stagnant frog pond like his old boss, Bob Duffy.
I think that Warren’s announcement is good for our city! We need a full blown debate on what the future is that Richards and Morelle did not want us to have in the past, with their attempt to simply coronate him (thank you Mayor Johnson for fighting back).
Tom Richards concept of being the Mayor is to be arrogant and bluster when he does not like something. He tried to stop MCC to protect the interests of an out of town developer rather than our children. He has made us a mockery with a giant hole in our downtown. He has done a sweet heart deal with his fellow Rump Group buddy, Dutch Summers to develop a project on Main and Plymouth.
He has been silent as the Philharmonic approaches bankruptcy and failure. He has encouraged RBTL to leave the city rather than help them develop a new theater. He has expanded the use of red light cameras to harass us. And, he has expressed no vision, no empathy, and shown no leadership!
Go for it Lovely…and jump in Molly, Elaine, Dana, and anyone else who cares about our city.