This is an updated version of this story; June 4, 2013, at 9:10 a.m.
Monroe County Democrats have chosen their candidates, but
it’s a long way to the November elections. Many contenders who lost out on the
party’s endorsement intend to stay in the races for mayor, City Council, and
Rochester school board.
Each contender will have to collect signatures from 1,000
registered city Democrats and have those signatures validated by the county
Board of Elections before they can participate in the September 10 primary.
Primary winners go on to represent the party in the general election.
Lovely Warren is staying in the mayor’s race, intending to
primary the designated candidate, incumbent mayor Tom Richards. Warren is
president of City Council.
Democrats also designated all five at-large Council people
for re-election: Carolee Conklin, Loretta Scott, Dana Miller, Jackie Ortiz, and
Matt Haag. Some of the challengers have dropped out, except for the Rev.
Marlowe Washington, Lisa Jacques, Ann Lewis, and Anthony Giordano.
Washington is pastor of Christ Community Church, Giordano is a Rochester businessman, Jacques is
owner of Park Ave. Pets, and Lewis is a former special education teacher in the
Rochester school district.
Three seats are up on the school board, and Democrats have
endorsed incumbents Van White, Jose Cruz, and newcomer Candice Lucas. Lucas is
president of the district’s Parent Advisory Council.
Petitioning to challenge the designees are: Howard Eagle,
Ernest Flagler, Ronald Hall, Tim McCauley, Donald Hardaway, Liz Hallmark, Mia Hodgins, and incumbent Cynthia Elliott, who was not
designated.
Flagler is a city firefighter, McCauley is past president of
the Rochester Black Business Association, Hardaway is an MCC adjunct professor,
Hall is on the board of Genesee Community Charter School, Eagle is a retired
RCSD teacher, Hodgins is associate director of alumni affairs at RIT, Hallmark is an education researcher and advocate, and
Elliott is assistant to the executive director at
Baden Street Settlement.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2013.
Media Advisory
Howard Eagle & Ronald Hall Will Officially Launch Campaign To Challenge Democratic Party’s, Hand-Picked Candidates For School Board
WHAT: Press Conference
WHEN: Wednesday, June 5, 2013 … 4:00 PM … 4:00 PM
WHERE: In Front of All City High School (180 Ridgeway Avenue)
WHY: To officially launch their campaign to unseat incumbents, and help end the status-quo.
Ronald Hall was quoted as having said: “We sincerely hope that Rochester City School District parents, grandparents, guardians, and the general, tax-paying, public is ready to join us in declaring, and proving that enough is enough.”
Howard Eagle said: “We have out-worked (in the streets), and out-organized the Democratic-Party-Machine, and defeated it in the past. Indeed, we did so in 2011. It is our plan and intentions to do the job twice as well in 2013.”
Even the stodgy D&C acknowledged Green Rochester is contributing new energy and ideas to the campaign. City – given Fein’s longstanding hostility and inexplicable hardheadedness about the issues Emily Good addressed when she videotaped the arrest outside her home – simply ignores third party voices. They must complicate the (yawn) compliant, cop- and commerce-friendly tone you’ve developed in the last couple of years. City’s lead articles used to be a fount of info and hope. Now it’s a great guide to food, art and events. Oh yeah. And beer. Good beer coverage.
Fien here:
This piece deals only with the primaries. Other parties’ candidates will be part of our general election coverage.