Rochester — Labor backed candidate for Rochester Mayor Malik Evans scores big win over the incumbent in the Democratic primary election on June 22. Photos by Ove Overmyer, CSEA ©2021
Rochester – On election night, CSEA and AFSCME endorsed candidate Malik Evans won in convincing fashion in a primary vote over incumbent Mayor Lovely Warren.
By midnight, unofficial results from the Monroe County Board of Elections had Evans leading Warren 66.03 percent to 33.83 percent with all election districts reporting.
Warren does not have the endorsement of any other party. This ultimately means her mayoral term will conclude at the end of the year.
With a lingering narrative of scandal and corruption plaguing Warren throughout her campaign, Rochester voters and the labor community looked to Evans to repair the city’s image and sooth the high anxiety that comes with questionable leadership. The win by Evans was a lopsided victory in which voters embraced his message of trust, transparency and accountability while “building bridges” at City Hall.
Evans declared victory at 10:30 p.m., springing onto the stage in the top floor penthouse at the downtown East Avenue office building that doubled as his campaign headquarters.
“This is some party,” Evans said. “Tonight is the true beginning of our journey together to put Rochester in the upper echelon of U.S. cities, where it belongs.”
Evans, a City Councilman who was first elected as a Board Commissioner to the Rochester City School District at the age of 23, praised his volunteers and advocates for getting him over the top.
“I am so grateful for the support of CSEA and all of organized labor,” said Evans after the vote. He added, “The labor community was key to my victory and will have an instrumental role in our agenda to create a city that thrives.”
YOUR VOTE MATTERS — Rochester Mayor-Elect Malik Evans gives impassioned thanks to the labor community and to hundreds of volunteers and supporters on election eve. Photos by Ove Overmyer, CSEA ©2021.
-Ove Overmyer
