Monroe County legislator and former Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard offcially announced his run for city mayor this year, which potentially will set up at least a two-way Democratic primary.
Although earlier in the week Sheppard would only say he would announce his decision on whether he would run at the Workers United Building on East Avenue on Saturday, a release sent out Saturday morning by his staff was entitled “Sheppard Announces Mayoral Decision: We can get Rochester working again,” and the letterhead said “James Sheppard for Mayor, get Rochester working again.”
There also has been speculation former TV reporter and anchor Rachel Barnhart will run in a Democratic primary as well. Barnhart said this week that her exploratory committee will conclude its work shortly. Barnhart lost a bid to unseat Assemblyman Harry Bronson in a Democratic primary last year.
Mayor Lovely Warren is expected to run for a second term this year, but has not formally announced yet. If both Warren and Barnhart run, potentially, that could set up a three-way Democratic primary in September, and with the fact that Democratic candidates are usually dominant in city politics, a Democratic mayoral primary is often tantamount to determining the eventual winner in November.
On Saturday morning, Barnhart's exploratory committee released this statement:
"James Sheppard may be supported by one of the two Democratic political machines in our area, but there are serious unanswered questions about his past support of discriminatory policing policies, among other things. Voters deserve a candidate who will genuinely support policies that treat people of all races equally. Our friends and neighbors have an important choice to make this September and we look forward to helping them make an informed decision."
