Rochester, N.Y. - City Council President Lovely Warren said she's exploring a run for mayor. The election is in November.
"Well I’m thinking about it. You know, I think that’s something that has to come from the community. It’s not something that comes directly from me. But I can tell you I’m giving it consideration," Warren said. "I’m just going to listen and talk to people and see what they have to say and we’ll see what happens."
Warren said she will consider a campaign even if Mayor Tom Richards decides to run. Richards has not said if he will run for his first full term.
Richards, the city's former corporation counsel, won a special election in 2011.
Warren said Richards has done a good job managing the city's finances, but she is thinking about moving the city forward.
"Fiscally, we are right on track and I think (Richards) did exactly what he said he was going to do," Warren said. "We handled what was going on with Midtown. We handled what was going on with Sibley. We handled what was going on at the Port of Rochester. So working together with City Council we’ve done the things he said he was going to do."
Warren is also legal counsel to Assemblyman David Gantt. Mayoral control of schools, which Warren has supported in the past, could become a hot topic in a campaign. But when asked about it today, Warren said mayoral control is a state legislature issue.
Richards is in Albany Monday testifying in a budget hearing and is not immediately available for comment.
Because Rochester's party enrollment is overwhelmingly Democratic, elections are typically decided in primaries.
The 1993 race for mayor featured six Democratic candidates. The 2005 race featured three. If Warren decides to run, it is likely others will jump in.
"I think if Tom decides not to run, I think it’s an open field," said school board member Van White. "I think there will be a lot of people who probably will decide that this is their time."
Alex White, who ran on the Green Party line in the 2011 mayoral election, said he had not decided if he will run this year.
