Not that this was a campaign in search of a narrative,
but if there was any doubt, it was settled this
morning by Lovely Warren’s choice of settings to launch her mayoral campaign:
the Fight Village Apartments on Ward Street in northeast Rochester — one block,
Warren pointed out, from the flashpoint of the city’s race riots in the 1960’s.
It’s clear that there are segments of the community who
feel left out of the conversation when officials talk about Rochester’s
economic recovery and revitalization. It’s also clear that City Council
President Lovely Warren has been planning this bid for some time: there were
signs, a banner, literature, and a campaign-style video playing at this morning’s
press conference.
Warren, sounding much more confident than she did at a
meeting of Democratic insiders earlier this week, said elected officials need
to “focus on families, not just buildings,” when they talk about bringing the
city back.
“I believe that neighborhood development is just as
important as downtown development,” Warren told the exuberant crowd. “Some have
said to me, ‘It’s not your time.’ It is not my time, it is our time.”
Attendees at the press conference included City Council
member Adam McFadden; Monroe County Legislator Willie Lightfoot; Rochester
school board member Cynthia Elliott; Allen Williams, who sits on the board of
trustees of Monroe Community College; and State Assembly member David Gantt,
Warren’s boss and mentor. Standing at Warren’s side, Gantt wiped away tears
during the press conference.
Warren’s entry into the race puts the total of official
mayoral candidates at two. She’ll have to primary incumbent Mayor Tom Richards,
and Rochester businessman Alex White is looking to enter the race on the Green
Party line.
This article appears in Mar 20-26, 2013.
ANY PREDICTIONS???
My prediction is that, who ever wins, the city will lose. And after 6 months of posturing, finger-pointing and infighting between now and the primary the public won’t really care who wins.
I hope that at some point the media will ask Richards and Warren to cite their accomplishments and qualifications for office. In both cases I anticipate a VERY short list.
All we need now is for Mr. Fast Ferry, Bill Johnson, to announce his candidacy.
Here is my predictions…Lovely Warren will put together a great campaign and others may jump into the primary. If this gets to be a 3 or 4 way, Tom Richards will not stay in because, he is not one to run in a tough race. Sadly, though Mr. Richards is a good man, he has not accomplished anything but arguing with people (except Dutch Summers) in his time in office. MCC, a wonderful jewel of our community, has become the cause of strife. The Philharmonic is on the brink of failure, and he is silent. RBTL is leaving. Midtown is a hole in the ground. Crime is rampant.
As a result of the Richards withdrawal (or losing in a two way election), Joe Morelle will leave as chair of our party. City will endorse Richards. The teachers union will support Richards because they can control him on Mayoral control. By the end of the race, the division within the Democratic party will be terrible!
Our best chance to clean up things is a new broom!
I don’t really see Warren or Richards being of particular use to this city. Sure, Lovely is young, energetic, and feels “new” but she is a Gantt underling. Gantt embodies the democratic disfunction of NY. Anyone who associates so closely with him I can’t imagine being much different. Richards is just an old, rich guy. He’s fulfilled the monopoly man accusations that were brought against him in the campgain. He panders to big business while giving away money and tax breaks, but brings nothing of value for the citizens. Now he’ll turn around and cut workers and services because he gave away tax base. Alex White is probably the city’s best chance. He’s inexperienced and a little further left than I’d like, but he is good at talking in facts and supporting his view. He can show where the city has given away tax breaks, where there is trimmable fat in city hall, and how to balance a budget. He’s the only real business person of the 3. Warren is a life long political creature (we have too many of them in city hall already), Richards is a white collar businessman who just hooks up his other white collar businessman buddies then bails with his golden parachute, White actually owns a small business. I hope White is given a serious look. Anyone who sees him at the voice of the customer sessions the next month should talk to him, you’d be surprised how smart he is and in tune.
Predictions? Easy – Richards by a mile. Gantt has already pulled the race card and this thing just got started. Whites vote and they dont like being called racist. There is also no love lost between Gantt and our growing Latino community. Frankly, it is an absolute wonder that Gantt has survived this long. He destroyed Wade Norwood’s chances years ago and he has already torpedoed Lovely’s. When you bring incompetent failure Cynthia Elliott to your announcement, you’ve said more than enough about where your priorities lie.
Lovely is as lovely as her name implies, and for better or worse, she’s one of the more competent Council members, but she has minimal executive leadership qualities. The only vision she has exhibited is a desire to steer City contracts to minority-owned businesses, not necessarily minority workers, regardless of whether or not they’re from Rochester. She makes a valid point about getting more out of developers and businesses that are subsidized by the City, but Richards has already been making that point. Her insinuation that Richards has ignored the neighborhoods is disingenuous at best. From the marina in Charlotte, to the FIS Areas, El Camino Trail, upcoming investments on La Avenida, Portland Ave, and Thurston Rd, to Brooks Landing, Collegetown, Erie Harbor, Culver Rd Armory, Eastman Business Park, and Susan B Anthony, Richards’ administration has been doing good things all over our city. And besides, anyone who doesn’t understand that we cannot have a strong city without a vibrant downtown should not claim to have vision.
Basically, this comes down to an unaccomplished lawyer / politician who feels entitled to be Mayor versus a highly successful lawyer with years of executive experience and private sector knowledge. Is there anything more to discuss? Yes, what the Hell is Lovely thinking?
We have many serious problems, both in Rochester and nationally. Statistics suggest we’re becoming a third-world nation.
This didn’t happen by accident. It happened because public policy is now controlled by big-money special interests, corporations treated as people. It’s absurd and would be funny if the resulting pain and suffering weren’t so sad.
This is class warfare, instigated and promoted by a small subset of the rich against society at large, using elected officials, both Democrats and Republicans, as tools. Ordinary people are sold out and preyed upon.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We, as a people, can make a different choice. And make no mistake, it is a choice. We can choose to reclaim control of our public policy. We can choose to have public policy serve our needs, the needs of ordinary people, rather than the needs of big-money special interests at our expense.
Will voting for establishment candidates, Democrats and Republicans, change this? No. They are constitutionally unable to forge public policy to benefit people at the expense of big-money special interests.
If you agree, then we must stop wasting our votes on Democrats or Republicans that come pre-bought and paid for by big-money special interests. Our past voting behavior has brought us here. By voting for candidates from other parties, like Alex White, the green party mayoral candidate, we can reclaim public policy for ordinary people.
Our posterity will thank us.