News Blog

The Big Day. The City of Rochester will pick a mayor, five City Council members, and three people to sit on the city school board during this week’s elections. The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5.

Incumbent mayor Tom Richards, City Council president Lovely Warren, and local business owner Alex White are vying for mayor. Richards has the Working Families and Independence lines; Warren has the Democratic endorsement; and White is the Green Party candidate.

Richards lost the Democratic primary election to Warren, and is not campaigning. But a group of his supporters has continued the campaign without his cooperation. 

Nine people, including five incumbents, are competing for five seats on City Council. They are Democratic incumbents Jackie Ortiz, Matt Haag, Loretta Scott, Dana Miller, and Carolee Conklin; Working Families candidate, the Rev. Marlowe Washington; and Green Party candidates David Atias, Drew Langdon, and Dorothy Paige.

ROCHESTER SCHOOL BOARD

Deciding who will fill the three vacant seats on the Rochester school board has been contentious. Incumbents Jose Cruz, Cynthia Elliott, and Van White are on the Democratic Party line. Cruz and White are also running on the Working Families and Independence lines.

While the situation looks good for the incumbents, voters do have additional candidates to choose from. Lori Thomas is on the Green Party line; Mia Hodgins is on the Republican line; Candice Lucas is on the Independence and Working Families lines; and Howard Eagle and Ronald Hall are on the Freedom Party line.

SUBURBS

Henrietta Supervisor Michael Yudelson faces a challenge from Town Board member and Gro-Moore Farms owner Jack Moore. The two have already faced off in a Republican primary, which Moore won. Yudelson has continued his campaign on the Conservative and Independence lines. And he has since joined the Democratic Party.

In Irondequoit, Republicans and Democrats are fielding full slates for town office. Sitting Republican supervisor Mary Joyce D’Aurizio is being challenged by Democrat Adam Bello. Republicans Bill Brongo and Paul Marasco, an incumbent, face Democrats Dave Seeley and Lorie Barnum in the race for two available Town Board seats. The candidates have touched on topics including town finances and taxes, and the way the town has handled both the Medley Centre and I Square projects.

In Greece, Supervisor John Auberger is term-limited, so Republican state Assembly member Bill Reilich and former County Legislator Dick Beebe, a Democrat, are battling it out for the top job. Both candidates lead full town slates.

In the Town Board races, Democrat Timothy Holler challenges Republican incumbent Mike Barry in Ward 1; Democrat Wendy Wright challenges Republican incumbent Brett Granville in Ward 2; Democrat Rita Garretson challenges Republican incumbent Andrew Conlon in Ward 3; and Democrat Norma Cummings challenges Republican incumbent Kirk Morris in Ward 4.

Much of the campaign has focused on the string of scandals that the town has faced. There’s also been talk about making town government more open and responsive to the public.

In the Town of Pittsford, Democratic candidates Terry Steg and Pam Cooper-Vince are running against Republicans Mary Gehl Doyle and incumbent Jared Lusk. Steg and Cooper-Vince have built their campaigns around transparency in town government. Current Town Board member Bill Smith is running for supervisor, as is Democrat Craig Raisner.


A written decision in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the City of Rochester’s use of red-light cameras may come down on Friday.

Local attorney Lawrence Krieger filed the suit claiming that the cameras violate the Fifth Amendment right to due process.

UPDATE: A decision upholding the City of Rochester's use of red-light cameras was issued today — Monday, November 4. 


The City of Rochester will host two public forums on the early design concepts for the Inner Loop East Transformation Project. The forums are also opportunities for public comment on the project.

Removing nearly a mile of the loop between Broadway and Charlotte Street in the heart of downtown has been discussed by several Rochester administrations. The general idea is to remove the mostly sunken section of the freeway to reconnect the residential neighborhoods outside the loop with inner city neighborhoods. Proponents say that this would allow for redevelopment, improve public safety, and increase tax revenue.

Preliminary design work is scheduled for completion by January 2014. The forums will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and again from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, November 6, at Manhattan Square Lodge, Manhattan Square Park, 353 Court Street.

Anyone who is not able to attend the forums can submit comments to Erik Frisch, city transportation specialist, at [email protected] by November 15. Information about the project: www.cityofrochester.gov/innerloopeast.