Lovely Warren

Lovely Ann Warren (born July 1, 1977) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 69th mayor of Rochester, New York. She was previously the President of the Rochester City Council.[1] She is the first woman to serve as mayor of Rochester, as well as the second African-American after William A. Johnson Jr.

Lovely Warren
69th Mayor of Rochester
Assumed office
January 1, 2014
Preceded byThomas Richards
Member of the Rochester City Council
from the Northeast District
In office
2007–2013
Personal details
Born (1977-07-01) July 1, 1977
Rochester, New York
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Timothy Granison
Children1
Alma materJohn Jay College of Criminal Justice (BA)
Albany Law School (JD)
ProfessionLawyer

Early life and education

Warren was born and raised in Rochester, New York. Warren's parents worked for Kodak and Xerox.[2]

Warren graduated from Wilson Magnet High School. She graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and from Albany Law School of Union University with a Juris Doctor degree.[3]

Career

Warren began her career as a legislative assistant and chief of staff to New York Assemblyman David F. Gantt. She clerked for Rochester City Court Judge Teresa Johnson. She served as summer law clerk to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. In 2004, Warren was admitted to the New York State Bar Association.[3]

In 2007 Warren was elected to the Rochester's City Council. In 2010 she was elected as the fifth president of the Rochester City Council, the youngest in Rochester's history.[3]

In 2011, she was a participant in the We Live NY Summit at Cornell University. She has appeared on panels sponsored by Rochester Downtown Development Corporation and the Rochester Chapter of the League of Women Voters. She also hosts a youth event at City Hall for students of the Rochester City School District. She has been a guest speaker at events for young people in the Rochester City School District and colleges including, the University of Rochester, Albany Law School of Union University, Towson University and Howard University.[3]

2013 Mayoral election
Main article: 2013 Rochester mayoral election

She won the 2013 Democratic primary over incumbent mayor Thomas Richards 57 percent to 42 percent.[4]

While Richards endorsed Warren and ended his active campaign, he remained a candidate on the Independence and Working Families lines. The Independence Party created the grassroots Turn Out for Tom campaign in an effort to get Richards re-elected mayor. Warren defeated Richards in the general election 55 to 39 percent.[5]

Tenure
Warren in the 2014 Labor Day Parade

Warren was sworn in as Rochester's 69th mayor on January 1, 2014. She began her second term on January 1, 2018 after winning re-election in 2017.

Since taking office, Mayor Warren has focused on "job creation, fostering safer and more vibrant neighborhoods and improving educational opportunities for Rochester’s residents."[6]

Warren has launched several strategic initiatives, including the introduction of a Kiva crowd funding loan program, a Vanpool, support for ride-sharing such as Uber and Lyft, and a market-driven community co-operative called OWN Rochester.[7][8][9][10]

Under Warren's direction, the Rochester Police Department underwent a significant reorganization to implement a neighborhood-based patrol model that converted the patrol structure from two Patrol Divisions (each covering half of the city) to five smaller Patrol Sections.[11] The RPD also implemented a successful body worn video program during Warren's first term.[12]

Warren convened an early learning council to help expand Pre-K programs in the city.[13] She also developed a "3 to 3 Initiative" to help children to set three-year-old children on a path to read at grade level by third grade.[14] To help achieve these goals, she eliminated fines for children's books and materials at city libraries.[15]

In December 2016, Warren announced plans to eliminate the city's red light cameras. The insurance industry objected, citing its own studies which showed that cities that had used red light cameras between 2010 and 2014 had had a 21% drop in the number of fatal red light running crashes, while cities that had stopped using the cameras had had a 30% increase in such deaths. In response to these studies, Warren justified her decision to remove the cameras by saying, "I reached the conclusion the benefits simply don't justify a further extension... I'm very concerned that too many of these tickets have been issued to those who simply can't afford them, which is counter-productive to our efforts to reverse our city's troubling rates of poverty."[16]

Controversies

Warren's Facebook account was temporarily suspended on December 22, 2014, when pictures of a chat log were shared over the internet and social media.[17]

Following the 2017 Rochester mayoral election, in which two of Warren's opponents in the election filed separate complaints, the New York State Board of Elections found evidence that Warren's campaign violated finance and campaigning laws with her PAC and alleges that the mayor was directly involved. Warren's lawyer has denied the charges.[18][19]

In October 2020, Warren was indicted on two felony charges of breaking campaign finance rules.[20][21]

Though designated as an elector in the 2020 Presidential Election,[22] New York Assembly Majority leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, served as her alternate.[23]

Personal life

Warren is married to Timothy Granison, and they have one daughter.

In 2016 Warren put a red, white and blue sign next to Susan B. Anthony's grave the day after Hillary Clinton officially won the nomination for President at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. The sign stated, "Dear Susan B., we thought you might like to know that for the first time in history, a woman is running for president representing a major party. 144 years ago, your illegal vote got you arrested. It took another 48 years for women to finally gain the right to vote. Thank you for paving the way."[24]

References
  1. "City of Rochester | News Release - Lovely A. Warren Sworn-In as Rochester Mayor". Cityofrochester.gov. January 1, 2014. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  2. "Lovely Warren's hard-scrabble life resonates with Rochester voters - World & Nation". The Buffalo News. September 14, 2013. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  3. "An Inside Look at Rochester's Next Mayor, Lovely Warren". Minorityreporter.net. January 1, 2014. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  4. Louis, Tim. "Major upset: Lovely Warren wins mayor's race | News". Rochester City Newspaper. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  5. "2013 Rochester Mayoral Election" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  6. "City of Rochester | Office of the Mayor". www.cityofrochester.gov. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  7. "Leadership". OWN ROCHESTER. Archived from the original on September 5, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  8. "City of Rochester | Kiva Rochester Crowdfunded Loans". www.cityofrochester.gov. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  9. "City of Rochester | Commuter Vanpool Program". www.cityofrochester.gov. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  10. "City of Rochester | News Release - Mayor Warren Welcomes Governor Cuomo for Budget Presentation". www.cityofrochester.gov. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  11. "City of Rochester | News Release - RPD Reorganization is Successful, Will Provide Solid Foundation for Enhanced Community Engagement". www.cityofrochester.gov. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  12. "City of Rochester | Body Worn Camera Project - Rochester Police Department". www.cityofrochester.gov. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  13. "City of Rochester | Early Learning Council 2014". www.cityofrochester.gov. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  14. "City of Rochester | Mayor Warren's 3-to-3 Initiative". www.cityofrochester.gov. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  15. "City permanently lifts library fines on children's materials". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 5, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  16. "Mayor cancels red light camera program". Democrat & Chronicle. December 1, 2016. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  17. "Warren: Social media 'compromised'". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. December 22, 2014. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  18. "Sources: Elections investigation alleges wrongdoing by Mayor Warren and her campaign". www.msn.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  19. Andreatta, David (September 1, 2019). "Prosecutors to bring election case against Rochester mayor before grand jury". news.wbfo.org. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  20. "Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren indicted in campaign finance probe". cbsnews.com. October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  21. Craig, Gary; Brian, Brian (October 2, 2020). "Rochester, New York, mayor indicted on 2 felony campaign finance charges". usatoday.com. USA TODAY. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  22. Brehm, Robert A.; Valentine, Todd D. (November 3, 2020). "AMENDED Certification for the November 3, 2020 General Election" (PDF). New York State Board of Elections. pp. 5, 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  23. Cuomo, Andrew M.; Stewart-Cousins, Andrea; Heastie, Carl E. (November 5, 2019). "2020 Electoral College Results; New York Certificate of Vote 2020". National Archives. pp. 3, 2. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  24. Salinger, Tobias (2016). "Susan B. Anthony's grave decorated with 'thank you' sign". NY Daily News. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
Political offices
Preceded by
Tom Richards		 Mayor of Rochester, NY
January 1, 2014 - present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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