Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said she needs a security team because she’s the city’s first female mayor and because of the things people are saying about her on social media.
Warren offered the explanation during her appearance this afternoon on the WXXI program, “Connections.”
Warren’s decision to hire a two-person personal security detail has caused an uproar, especially since the person leading the team is her uncle.
No other Rochester mayor has had personal protection. Combined, team members will make approximately $140,000 and are on call 24-7.
On today’s radio program, Warren said that former Police Chief James Sheppard advised her, and other mayors, to have bodyguards.
When asked by host Evan Dawson why she needs security, Warren said because she’s the city’s first female mayor, and because “a lot of people don’t think I deserve to be here.” She cited comments people have left about her on social media, including Facebook. She also said that she had received a letter, but didn’t go into specifics.
“We have some very serious problems when it comes to bigotry,” Warren said.
Warren said she hired her uncle because he’s qualified and he’s someone she can trust. Reggie Hill is a retiring State Police investigator, according to the Democrat and Chronicle, who provided security for governors when they visited the area.
The appointment of Hill and the other team member, former Kodak security officer Ceaser Carbonell, is temporary, Warren said, and the jobs will be posted. It’s not clear if Hill and Carbonell will officially apply for the jobs when that happens.
This article appears in Jan 8-14, 2014.
I believe Warren should have a body guard at all times as any Mayor should. It’s probably not a good idea for that guard to be a relative. This can be rectified by posting the job as she says she will do. Now can we let her get to the business of helping improve the city?
My goodness, she isn’t in office not a full week and the bigotry is in full force!
Typical liberal response, the mayor makes an unethical decision which is wasting taxpayer money that the city doesn’t have and anyone who calls her out on it must automatically be a racist.
Lets all make a pact…before we comment on the Mayor, we say whether we live in the city or elsewhere. That way our comments can be graded by who is paying for things in their taxes. I will start, I live in the city.
I have no problem with her being protected, in fact, I am glad she is. I want her to get guns off the streets and drugs sellers off the corners. I doubt they will do that voluntarily simply because she is a woman. And, I believe that if she was a white woman and asked for body guards this would not be an issue, sadly.
So, lets see who she selected…a state trooper retiree who also guarded the Governor and the former Kodak guy who protected Antonio Perez. Both good and valid choices! The fact that one is an uncle is in my view complete BS as an argument. There is only one question…is he qualified? In actual fact in life, we hire people we know and trust.
When did she ‘appoint’ Uncle Reggie? Was it before or after she was sworn in as mayor? Does she have the authority to create positions and fill them with anyone she chooses? You would think there would be an existing process for this rather than making it up as you go along.
Does the money exist to just create these positions? Any truth to the rumour that Lovely purchased two Chevy Tables for her body guards?
Mayor Warren probably does need this extra security, at least temporarily, but it was still unethical for her to hire her uncle, instead of posting the job. There are other equally qualified individuals who should have an opportunity to apply for this taxpayer-funded position. That is not difficult to understand, especially at this time when so many city residents are unemployed.
Plus, it can be argued that a relative will not be able to make the clear unbiased, quick decisions required of the role. A relative may in fact be a BAD choice.
Taxpayers need to know what the full job responsibilities are. It is said that these guards are available to her 24/7. Does this mean we have to pay to protect her family as well, when they are sitting in their own private home, after City Hall hours? It is not unreasonable to expect a full understanding of this function, since it would be a substantial new administrative expense added by Mayor Warren.
But, I chalk it all up to some awkward missteps as the new mayor builds her new team, some of whom seem eminently qualified to serve our city well.
She is correct in thinking she should have bodyguards because “a lot of people don’t think I deserve to be here” and that is true. I think she has her own personal agenda and is in this for the wrong reasons. When asked what she was going to do to bring more business downtown, she replied “I am not concerned with bringing businesses downtown, I am concerned with the people of Rochester”. Hmmm… last time I checked creating jobs actually helped people and a community to thrive! What an idiot!
Maybe she can pay for the $140k with a water park.
The Mayor stated that she hired them temporarily until she can post the position. That’s done all the time in the Government. So let’s not make it like she’s doing something different from other mayors. By the way, mayors in other cities have body guards. If she didn’t have body guards and something happened to her, the first thing people would say is, “She should have had protection”. To some of you she can win no matter what she does. And yes, she can create positions! All mayors have that latitude. Remember Duffy created that Fire Department position for Molly. Remember????
Because she should LIVE by WHAT SHE BELIEVES IN AND WHAT SHE SAYS WE SHOULD LIVE BY!! She says that the SAFE Act has made NY’ers safer, that we don’t need guns,and that the SAFE ACT has done this effectively. Why does she need body guards? She should be subject to the same limitations she has IMPOSED on us!
I wonder if her bodyguards have more than 7 rounds loaded in their magazines… Guarantee it. Lovely? comment?
Maybe we all should at least have a little sympathy for someone who was put in the extremely awkward position of having to decide for herself whether to spend money on her own security and all at a time of increased scrutiny.
Jim Sheppard wasn’t the best person to ask and it would have looked much better if someone else would have wanted it for her and did the work to get it. She must have been shocked to find out that the police didn’t have a convenient option for protecting her. However, because of her criticism of the police department, she shouldn’t have been much surprised.
I must still say that if someone else doesn’t want it for you, then you don’t get it. Therefore, if you use your power to get it, then you deserve the public outrage.
To Mayor Warren: This nonsense, fraud, waste, and abuse of this $140,000/year of taxpayer money needs to end immediately!! Forget Sheppard. He’s gone. You need to hire a driver WITH YOUR OWN MONEY, and work directly with the police for all other concerns. You are in charge of them you know.
As Mayor, you represent blacks, whites, women, men, bigots, racists, etc. All of the taxpayers whom you represent want their money back!!
I have a problem with the first reason she gave for hiring the bodyguards .. That she is the first female mayor. She wants to be a city politician but cant accept the risks that former mayors, as well as us ‘regular’ people accept every day. What else does she need ? I’m already a little sorry I voted for her.
$140k/yr is ONLY for salaries for 2 guards. Since they aren’t with a security company, there WILL be expensives: car’s, car maintenance, insurance. We’ll have to pay for weapons, uniforms, etc. Probably computers, gas. We’ll also be on the hook for overhead and administrative costs. Besides, she’ll look foolish walking around with armed guards. The mayor and Rochester will become a laughingstock.
Questions about this scandal are valid and reasonable and go far beyond the obvious nepotism involved. Question 1: is it appropriate for a newly sworn in Mayor to make her (or his) first act to be the creation of two new relatively well paid and previously unneeded positions without first receiving Council approval for said positions? There is a process by which new positions are created after all. Question 2: it is well documented that the City is once again facing a large shortfall this budget year; where exactly are the funds coming from to pay for these two positions? The true cost of these positions (salary plus overhead) is nearly $300,000 annually. Since these are new costs, we must assume that jobs, services, and/or investments will be cut to pay for these new positions. The public is entitled to know what we are losing in exchange for protecting our new Mayor from unknown threats that have never before been worthy of an expenditure of taxpayer dollars. Question 3: where did the black Chevy Tahoe come from? Is it a pre-existing City vehicle that our brave ex-Mayor chose not to utilize? If new, who authorized the purchase? If a new City purchase, see Question #2. Question 4: one of the Mayor’s most important duties is to be our chief cheerleader-in-charge, it is a duty that Richards, Duffy, Johnson, and Ryan all did fairly well (some better than others). Is it wise for this Mayor to publicly state that our city has a bigotry problem? Might this come up during future business recruitment efforts? It would seem to be a rather sad state of affairs when your own Mayor is bad-mouthing your city. And finally, Question 5: what happens to the Mayor’s parking spot in the City Hall parking lot since she will not need it?
And yes, I am a proud City resident who voted for the other guy. However, I get no joy whatsoever out of the comedy of errors that has been this Administration’s first 10 days. I do truly hope that things start to turn around soon.
Bonus question: is there a process by which City voters may recall a sitting Mayor?
Less than two weeks into her reign and the Mayor is using her comatose grandfather for a prop in her photo op, hiring relatives, buying cars and putting questionable people in importance positions which may be tied to paying back her supporters for financial support. Where did that sudden support of $80,000 come from with the Gaddy/Gantt connection? We have her hiring a man who lied about his drinking and driving conviction that was reduced from a higher conviction. She claimed that she had no knowledge of it but if you lie on a job app you don’t get to keep your job. Now is she moving more experienced employees out of positions and filling it with cronies, friends, relatives, financial backers ???
If she feels unsafe leaving City Hall get an escort . She had always walked to her car when she was a City Council member. If she feels unsafe in her neighborhood maybe she can move into a gated community or a bigger house with a locked gate and a security booth for her bodyguards. No other Mayors had all that security at our expense. Who does she think she is that we need to pay for her security? She wanted this job and she got it so deal with it. This is not that big a city that we have to waste money on her whims. We are now so much closer to becoming Detroit, thanks Mayor. As another person asked Can we do a recall? As another person said, can we call for an investigation with the Attorney General?
Lovely Warren stated in her best legalese and “literate” defense of her bodyguard decision “We don’t do anything for no reason”.
Let’s hope she straightens herself out, takes her role seriously and corrects the mistakes she has made and apologizes to the taxpayers. As far as the water park she needs to concentrate on developing jobs for the poor rather than one more waste of money like the $20 mill Marina that she and the other city council members approved for Mayor Richards.
I’ve known Reggie Hill in a professional capacity for over a decade. He’s a well-qualified and solid law enforcement officer. I don’t know Carbonell but I presume he’s qualified. Part of why Warren may feel she needs protection are some of the comments on sites like this one. You people wouldn’t question if Bush or Cheney or even Richards needed protection. Why about Mayor Warren? To Willie Drinks: Warren did not have anything to do with the SAFE Act; the State Assembly and Senate pass state laws, not a single city council member in one city. She has to enforce the law. Get your con. law straight. And to MAT: Recall elections are not permitted under NY law. Maybe b/c the framers of the state Constitution had the interesting idea that a majority of votes in a regularly scheduled election according to the legal form should be binding. Of course they didn’t realize we’d have so many trolls 75 years later.
Sean Anonymous raises an interesting point. He says that Warren needs protection because comments like those found on City Newspaper’s comment page constitute real and credible threats of physical violence toward Mayor Warren to that extent that it is necessary to hire bodyguards to protect her.
If that is the reason that she needs protection, I don’t buy it. And the Editors would remove such comments if they did.
So does she really need bodyguards to protect her from City Newspaper, where such comments are expressly forbidden?
If that is the case, it seems that that she is trying to use bodyguards when better communication with her community may be the real solution.
And Mayor Warren please understand: Your fear creates more fear. Your courage empowers us all.
This is why we really need more information.
Sean, there are no threats against anyone among these comments. All I see are criticisms of how things have gone thus far. Are we at a point in our city’s history where citizens cannot criticize our elected officials? And why would you assume that those who are critical of the Mayor’s choices must be white and/or Republican? That’s a fairly bigoted mindset. But since you care, I am indeed white but I am a progressive Democrat.
I like Lovely Warren. I liked James Sheppard as police chief. However, I don’t think he gave her the best advice to hire private security. Sheppard is 100% cop and is blind in areas where Warren needs vision. Warren just kind of went with it, and this I find troubling. I hope things get better. I really think she has the courage to do without the extra protection.
Thank you for your participation, but we are closing comments on this thread. They’ve become personal attacks among readers, and that’s not the purpose of our comments section.
— Mary Anna Towler, editor