Lovely A. Warren
Ms. Warren was sworn in as the 69th mayor of Rochester, New York in 2015 (including interim mayors), and as the first female mayor of Rochester. She was previously the president of the Rochester City Council. (List of mayors of Rochester) Her administration immediately faced issue with her grandfather dying the week of being sworn in to office.
There was controversy with the disclosure of her husband's (Timothy Granison) juvenile arrest record, conflict of interest questions involving her corporation counsel, and an ethics investigation into her creation of a security detail managed by her uncle, which followed her uncle being stopped on the Thruway for speeding twice. The speeding controversy: Several days after Warren's visit to Albany for the State of the State address, an Albany newspaper reported that her car had been pulled over for doing 97 miles an hour but was not ticketed.
Warren's uncle—who is also her security guard and in the middle of a nepotism investigation—was driving. Warren initially would not comment on the stop, then eventually said that he was doing "maybe over 80 but not more than 90". Warren denied that they were stopped on the way down to Albany, only on the way back. While there was still some chatter on the media and on social media about why anyone doing 97 miles per hour was let go, it was reported that they were indeed also stopped on the way down.
Not long after, the city ethics committee investigated, admonished Warren's uncle suspended him without pay. Warren then held an interview in which she blamed the early troubles of her administration on a combination of her being distracted by her grandfather's death and opposition in the media trying to bring her down. She has approved many projects included CityGate and getting a grocery store in downtown Rochester (which closed in 2019).
Black Lives Matter protests, 2020: "Outsiders – and I do mean outsiders – not from our city, not from our community, decided to set police cars on fire," Mayor Lovely A. Warren said Saturday, May 30, 2020, referring to violence following Black Lives Matter protests. Over the next several days, the Democrat & Chronicle reported the arrests of several suspects, all Rochester area residents. Events surrounding the Killing of Daniel Prude, 2020: On September 2, the general public learned of Mr.
Prude's death. Ms. Warren initially announced her support for the police, including chief Le'Ron Singletary. On September 8, following public protests and Singletary's perceived mistreatment, Singletary announced his retirement along with the departure or demotion of most of the police command staff.
Mr. Singletary planned to serve until the end of September, but was fired on September 14 by Ms. Warren following a report detailing a prolonged coverup by various city officials. The report was unclear about when Ms.
Warren learned of Prude's encounter with the police. Indictment on campaign finance violations, 2020: On October 2, 2020, a grand jury indicted Ms. Warren on charges of "scheme to defraud" and an election law offense concerning coordinating activities and expenditures. The charges are related to Warren's 2017 mayoral re-election campaign.
Also indicted were two associates of Warren during the campaign, Albert Jones Jr. and Rosiland Brooks-Harris. House searched, husband arrested, 2021: On May 19, 2021, Ms. Warren's house was searched by the New York State Police, and Mr. Granison was arrested, as part of a sting on a drug ring (referred to as "mid-level" by Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley).
The overall evidence (for the whole drug ring, not just Granison) includes drugs, cash and weapons. At this writing, Granison has been arrested and has pleaded not guilty (no trial, yet). Warren claimed the timing (three weeks before a mayoral primary) is politically motivated, and Doorley has denied any political motivation. On July 16, 2021, Ms.
Warren and Mr. Granison were indicted on charges of illegally possessing weapons and child endangerment. The couple were married but estranged while living in the same house with their 10-year-old daughter. Primary defeat, 2021: On June 22, 2021, Ms.
Warren and city council member Malik D. Evans were on the ballot for the Democratic Party mayoral primary. Evans won 66% to 34%. Resolution of criminal charges, 2021: As noted above, Ms.
Warren faced multiple charges related to political campaigns, weapons and child endangerment, some of which were felony charges. On October 4, 2021, her trial on the campaign finance charges began. Ms. Warren, Mr.
Jones and Ms. Brooks-Harris all pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of knowingly exceeding allowed campaign contribution limits. All other charges were reported to be "resolved". Ms.
Warren agreed to resign her position as mayor by December 1, 2021, and the three were subjected to a conditional discharge that expires after one year if they avoid additional charges (in progress as of this writing). Ms. Warren retained all earned benefits, such as her pension. Note that since Ms.
Warren would be absent from the ballot for the November, 2021 mayoral election, she would leave office on January 1, 2022 in any case. Warren resigned December 1, 2021.