Rochester is struggling with high property taxes, housing crisis, crime, and an education system that’s failing families. I’ve got a plan to turn things around. It’s time for BIG changes. Let’s build Rochester the best mid size city in the country! |
Hypergrowth market combined with a strong social safety net
Housing |
Stop tax foreclosure auction
My tipping point to run for mayor happened last year in November, when I saw the city putting almost 2,000 homes into tax foreclosure to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Including homes of seniors on Social Security who had lived in those homes their entire lives, getting kicked out of their homes over a few thousand dollars in back taxes. Met one lady living on $1,100 social security. How is she going to pay thousands of dollars in taxes? She got to have food, pay high utility bills on a drafty house, pay for car, gas and insurance…how is she going to pay almost $500 per month payment plan for back taxes that city is offering? That’s not policy. That’s cruelty. Think about this… not only it makes life further difficult for struggling people and families, taking their home away makes them homeless, which makes the problem worse for the city. And taxpayers and city end up paying a lot more in the end. As mayor, I plan to put a stop to this practice of blindly doing tax foreclosure and kicking struggling people out of their homes. Any foreclosure auction will be a rare exception than the norm. I will also work with the county to amend their practice. Build 4,000 affordable units for ownership over 4 year to address the housing crisis Homeownership in Rochester is shockingly low, just at 37.2%, while renters make up over 62.8%! We know that this level of high renter-ship leads to many issues. This includes properties being bought up by investors, increased rent, decline in maintenance, lower level of civic participation and general degradation of the neighborhoods. While a good mix of renters and homeownership is healthy, the current situation is hurting our renter residents and the city. I want more families to be able to own homes.
Focus on rehabbing and fixing the old housing stock
Address Homelessness
40% property tax reduction over 4 years
Revise zoning and cut red tape to create a faster and simpler process for development
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Public Safety |
Drastic reduction in violent crime through targeted deterrence and smart deployment
Rebuild the foundation of public safety Crime cannot be reduced just by reacting. We need to prevent it by fixing the root causes. That means building trust, creating opportunity, and giving young people a path forward.
Focus on police responsibility and accountability
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Education
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Fixing our broken school system
RCSD spend is one of the highest in the state, but our schools rank near the bottom. As Mayor, I will work closely with RCSD and realign city support to drive results. Leadership & Accountability
Align school with the need of families
Refocus on teaching and results
Establish a City & University Education partnership to bring in RIT, U of R, Nazareth, and other local Universities to:
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Hypergrowth |
Start large scale city run construction. Build workforce to develop housing
Make Rochester a tourist destination In addition to small businesses, bring big company presence to Rochester Eliminate red tape and make it easier for businesses to start and succeed Bring people back to living in the City (city continues to lose people) Bring a professional sports team to Rochester |
Reform
Support a vote on term limits for city elected officials
Institute listening sessions on a monthly basis Ensure fairness and openness at all levels of government |