Creating employment opportunities for youth, investing in small businesses and restoring entrepreneurship in Rochester are among the economic development priorities of Mayoral candidate and City Council President Lovely Warren.
Warren laid out her economic and community development proposal on Wednesday. Her plan includes reducing the city's unemployment rate, expanding its tax base and linking new public policy with job growth goals.
"I believe we can do this if we focus,” Warren says. “It's not about us or them; it's about we. And all of us have to be able to participate in this economic recovery, if we are going to see resurgence in our city."
If elected, Warren says her first priority would be to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions through her Green Rochester 2.0 initiative. She says it would recommit the city's pledge to protecting the environment, a project she pushed for on city council.
Warren says she commends her opponent, incumbent mayor Tom Richards, for his recent efforts in developing downtown. However, she says she doesn't believe Richards is doing enough to provide jobs for entrepreneurs and Rochester residents.
"This is about really putting your money where your mouth is," Warren says. "This is really about saying 'I will be putting some skin in the game.'"
Richards released a statement saying he has been creating jobs for Rochester residents throughout his professional career, and has invested nearly $1.7 billion dollars in city businesses and neighborhoods. Richards also noted saving more than 6-thousand jobs at the Eastman Business Park when future of the location was in jeopardy.
Warren is squaring off against Richards in the Democratic primary on September 10.
Read Lovely Warren's economic development plan here:
Mayor Tom Richards released a statement on Warren's plan: