At a press conference this morning promoting his campaign for Rochester mayor, County Legislator Jim Sheppard released an extensive platform that focuses on a broad range of challenges facing the city. Sheppard will face incumbent Lovely Warren and former television reporter Rachel Barnhart in a September primary. Among Sheppard’s proposed initiatives: In economic development: Sheppard […]
Rochester Democratic primary
Posted inNews & Opinion
Primary warfare
Monroe County Democrats are a soft target for the media and local political junkies, mainly because they just make it so easy. The discord — essentially a power struggle between warring factions of the party — appears to be manifesting in some of this year’s primary election contests, particularly in the Monroe County Legislature races. […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
How much do we really care about democracy?
Do you suppose Rochester voters will do their civic duty and show up at the polls on November 5? Participation in city elections has been low for years, but I was astonished at the dismal turnout in the September primary. The people who have fessed up about not voting say they figured Tom Richards would […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Theories and questions for a post-Richards race
He’s still on the November ballot, on the Working Families and Independence lines, but Mayor Tom Richards ended his campaign for re-election on Tuesday, citing serious health issues of a family member. Presumably if he had won last week’s Democratic primary, Richards would have continued to the general election, facing the Green Party’s Alex White. […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Feedback 9/18
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. For our print edition, we select comments from all three sources; those of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
ENDORSEMENT: For Rochester mayor: Tom Richards
This year’s mayoral election could be a turning point for Rochester. Like many other cities, this one faces serious, escalating problems and shrinking resources. And the candidates for mayor – incumbent Tom Richards, City Council President Lovely Warren, and Green Party candidate Alex White – offer different paths to Rochester’s future. Richards and Warren compete […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
ENDORSEMENT: For Rochester school board: White, Cruz, Lucas
As unimaginable as it seems, the state of Rochester’s schools is worsening. Only 5 percent of city students in grades 3 through 8 were proficient in English on recent state exams. Academic performance of black and Latino males is the lowest of any major urban district in the US except Detroit’s, according to a report […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Week ahead: Forums on Lake Ontario health, school board candidates
The Lake Ontario ecosystem will be the subject of a public meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Port of Rochester terminal building, 1000 North River Street. The forum is being put on by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and New York Sea Grant. A DEC press release says […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Choosing a mayor in a challenging time
For anyone who follows Rochester politics, there was little doubt that City Council President Lovely Warren would run for mayor. The only question was when. Last week we found out: it’s now. And so we will have incumbent Tom Richards, a 69-year-old white male lawyer and former corporate executive, and Warren, a 35-year-old African-American woman […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
RBJ poll heavily favors Richards
Ninety-two percent of readers responding to a Rochester Business Journal poll said they prefer Tom Richards for Rochester mayor over possible challenger Lovely Warren. Warren, who is president of City Council, is weighing a primary challenge to Richards, the incumbent. Richards announced his intention to seek re-election earlier this week. FILE PHOTO Tom Richards About […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
For the School Board
Overshadowed by the governor’s race is an important local Democratic primary: for Rochester School Board. Given the city’s heavy Democratic voter registration, the winner of the September 12 primary is virtually certain to win the November 7 general election. The two Democratic candidates — attorney Van Henry White and financial manager Allen Williams — are […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Voters’ tough choice: the School Board race
The biggest hurdle for the Rochester School Board candidates in the Democratic primary may be getting voters to see their differences. Both are solid candidates, well-educated and well-informed. Van Henri White is an attorney in private practice with a law degree from GeorgetownUniversity. Allen Williams is a TIAA-CREF financial manager with an MBA in finance […]
