Selecting the New Mayor

Thanks to WXXI Radio news, those of us who didn't attend Rochester City Council's kabuki dance last night know that members of the public who spoke in favor of a General Election next November outnumbered those favoring a Special Election by two to one.   Thirty-two speakers versus sixteen.

The General Election route would allow City voters to choose the Democratic nominee.   A Special Election means that Democratic power brokers would choose the nominee behind closed doors.

The Democrat and Chronicle, which favors behind-closed-doors selection for Mayor Duffy's replacement, reported today only that opinion was "divided:" "Noticeable divide for mayoral plan" its headline read.   You'd never have known the divide was 2 - 1 against the position favored by the D&C.

The Special Election favored by the newspaper and by Democratic officialdom would bypass a primary.   The Democratic Committee would choose the nominee.   Understandably, the Committee wants to pick the Mayor itself, without interference from those troublesome voters.

Remember that in 1993 the organization chose County Legislator Kevin Murray for Mayor.   Democratic voters upended that choice and picked Bill Johnson in the primary.   History repeated itself in 2005.   The Democratic organization designated City Councilman Wade Norwood .   Democratic primary voters chose Bob Duffy.

So last night, it was Democratic officialdom that supported the Special Election route, aided and abetted by Democratic fellow travelers like the Rochester Business Alliance led by Democratic shill Sandra Parker, and the "Faith Alliance."

City Council Member Carla Palumbo spoke bravely in favor of letting the voters have a say in the Democratic nomination, in this election in which winning the nomination is tantamount to winning the election, but she sounds like the proverbial voice crying in the wilderness.

It comes down to a vote of City Council and we think the Democratic Committee has enough muscle to get them to go along with the desired result and cut the voters out of the process.

All that would be left, then, would be to see if it's Tom Richards or Molly Clifford who has the most political chits to call in, to win the backing of the City Democratic Committee.