Who's on the ballot in Rochester for the 2023 election?

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Updated ·4 min read

On election day, Rochester residents will cast their ballots for eight city positions and other local offices. Polls close at 9 p.m. and we will post the election results for Rochester and the rest of Monroe County as they become available.

Early voting is available to all voters in Monroe County from Saturday, Oct. 28 through Sunday, Nov. 5. Polls are open for regular voting from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7. You can look up where you can vote on Election Day at voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.

We sent questionnaires through the party chairpersons to all candidates. Those with expanded information and photos responded to the questionnaire.

The previous employment and political background have been edited for consistency.

Rochester City Council - East District

Mary Lupien (Democrat, Working Families)

  • Email: marylupienroc@gmail.com

  • Previous employment: Fundraising & software engineering at Catholic Family Center; Assistant Director at St. Peter's Soup Kitchen; Educator at RCSD School #28 since 2016

  • Political background: Rochester City Council East District representative, elected by her peers to the post of Vice President in 2022.

Rochester City Council - NE District

Michael A. Patterson (Democrat)

Chiara "Kee-Kee" Smith (Working Families)

Rochester City Council - NW District

Bridget Monroe (Democrat)

  • Email: Bridgetmonroe2023@gmail.com

  • Previous employment: I have nearly 25 years of experience in local government, with most of that time working as staff to Rochester City Council and then on the former mayor's senior management team. I currently work as the Assistant to the Brighton Town Supervisor.

  • Political background: Lifelong Democrat

Rochester City Council - South District

LaShay D. Harris (Democrat)

  • Email: lashay4citycouncil@gmail.com

  • Previous employment: EMT for National Ambulance, the Rural/Metro and American Medical Response predecessor. She became a paramedic in 1997; Became a real estate agent in 2002 and worked as a sales agent for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Discover Real Estate, formerly known as Prudential Discover Real Estate; In 2003, she took a full-time position at Irondequoit Ambulance as a Paramedic and was later promoted to Deputy Operations Manager, where she served until her 2008 appointment as the Public Information Officer (PIO) of Rural/Metro Medical Services, now American Medical Response (AMR), Rochester; Currently, she works at the Rochester City School District as the Coordinator of the Career Pathways to Public Safety Program.

  • Political background: City Councilmember - South District; Chair of the Council's Recreation & Human Services Committee and serve on the Neighborhood & Business Development and Public Safety Committees. Most recently served on the Finance Committee; Served the 19th Ward Community Association (19WCA) as the past president, and 1st vice president, and currently a member and chair of the 19WCA annual Square Fair.

Barbara J. Rivera (Working Families)

Rochester City Court Judge (2)

Jack Elliott (Democrat, Working Families)

  • Email: elliott4judge2023@gmail.com

  • Previous employment: Monroe County Public Defender 1990-2003. Rochester City Court Judge 2004 - present

  • Political background: Democrat

Constance Patterson (Democrat)

Campbell Roth (Working Families)

Rochester Commissioner of Schools (4)

Ricardo Adams (Working Families)

  • Email: ricardo_ppu@yahoo.com

  • Previous employment: Youth Transitional Housing Overnight Supervisor, retired, Center For Youth

  • Political background: Serving fourth year as RCSD school board commissioner.

Amy Maloy (Democrat, Working Families)

  • Email: maloy4students@gmail.com

  • Previous employment: Social Studies teacher, Brighton Central Schools

  • Political background: Incumbent Commissioner

Beatriz LeBron (Democrat, Working Families)

Isaiah A. Santiago (Democrat, Working Families)

Jacqueline D. Griffin (Democrat)

Other offices on the ballot in Rochester

Find information here on other Monroe County races including Monroe County Legislator seats, District Attorney and several judgeships.

Who is on the ballot in Monroe County towns and villages?

Monroe County | Brighton | Chili | Clarkson | East Rochester | Fairport | Gates | Greece | Hamlin | Henrietta | Irondequoit | Mendon | Ogden | Parma | Penfield | Perinton | Pittsford | Riga | Rochester | Rush | Sweden | Webster | Wheatland

What questions will NY voters answer on November ballots?

New York voters will decide on two proposed tweaks to the state constitution in November, each dealing with the amount of debt that local governments and school districts can accrue.

One proposal would remove a relic from the 1950s that set lower borrowing limits for small-city school districts than for all other school systems. Approval by voters would end that disparity and give 57 districts more spending leeway for construction projects.

The other referendum would extend for 10 years a key exception to the debt limits for counties and municipalities. If approved, their limits would continue to exclude bond debt taken on for costly sewer projects.

Learn more about the proposals here.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who's on the ballot in Rochester NY? Candidates for 2023 election