Mayor Lovely Warren: 'We can make things better'
- Lovely Warren%2C 36%2C is Rochester%27s 67th mayor -- and the first female to hold the office
In her father's arms backstage, 3-year-old Taylor Granison watched Mayor Lovely Warren take the oath of office on Saturday — then listened as her mother directed the inaugural address to her.
"My dear Taylor, you are 3 years old," Warren began. "Your world is small and secure and full of wonder. Your future will depend on many of the people in this room today, and our ability to work together to make a better city for you to grow up in."
She spoke to Taylor and other city children, she said, thinking they might one day look back on the historic inaugural of Rochester's first female mayor.
There were promises, "soaring language, lofty ideas and ... a few worn-out expressions" that Warren acknowledged are par for the course with such speeches. She talked of downtown and neighborhood revitalization, said she would fight to improve city schools "with the fierceness of a parent," and that her administration would help put people back to work and improve public safety.
Not discussed were specific policies or details on how she might accomplish these goals. Instead, her speech was more a personal message and sweeping vision of better days to come.
"We can't turn a blind eye to change," Warren told an estimated 1,500 who attended the noontime inauguration at the Auditorium Theatre. "We can make things better, and my eyes are wide open to the possibilities."
Among those on stage were Assemblyman David Gantt, her mentor; Ruth Scott, the first black woman elected to City Council and its first president; Constance Mitchell, the first woman elected to the Monroe County Board of Supervisors who, at that time in 1961, was the highest-serving person of color in the United States. Former Mayor Thomas Richards was in the audience, along with Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy, County Executive Maggie Brooks and other dignitaries.
Mitchell received a standing ovation after addressing the crowd, saying Warren is tough, courageous and is willing to roll up her sleeves: "Today, I pass on the torch to Lovely."
Warren is the 67th mayor in Rochester's history. At 36, she is the city's youngest mayor in the modern era and third-youngest overall.
Saturday's event was ceremonial. Warren officially took office during a private, deeply personal swearing-in on New Year's Day. Instead of a ceremony at City Hall, she gathered with about 70 family members at Strong Memorial Hospital. Her grandfather, Cecil McClary — described as her inspiration and her touchstone — had suffered a debilitating stroke on Christmas Eve. He died the morning after her swearing-in at the age of 87.
"We know, in spirit, his heart is even now rejoicing," Minister Haze McClary, his son and Warren's uncle, said during the invocation.
Warren arrives at City Hall after an upset primary win over Richards in September. The primary seemingly clinched the general election for Warren, but a last-ditch, grass-roots effort to re-elect Richards — without Richards actually campaigning — added intrigue to the race. Though the race was tight at times on Election Night, Warren again pulled off the victory by a wide margin. Her win came on Nov. 5, the same day Susan B. Anthony cast her illegal ballot in 1872.
"We welcome you to a day that many thought would not happen," said dt ogilvie, co-chair of Warren's transition team.
And from Sen. Charles Schumer, who was one of the ceremony's first speakers: "Lovely Warren, nobody put a silver spoon in your mouth. You got here the old-fashioned way. You earned it."
Among the program speakers was Scott Fearing, acting executive director for the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley. Warren upset some at the outset of her campaign last March, responding to a question about her support for same-sex marriage by saying only that it was the law and and, therefore, as an attorney, she would support it. She since has said she supports marriage equality.
When it came time to introduce Warren, that task fell to Gantt. He has been emotional in her success, referring to her as being like a daughter to him. On Saturday, he talked about her independence, saying anyone who expected her to be "a David Gantt clone ... don't know Lovely Warren." And whether he instigated her run for mayor? "What a joke."
He was reluctant, he said, having backed others for the office: "It's not good when you lose. People don't forget it easily, and I get blamed." But when it comes to Warren, he said: "Nobody can tell Lovely what to do."
City Court Judge Teresa Johnson administered the oath of office. There was some last-minute consternation. Whoever was to bring Warren's grandmother's Bible, on which she also took the oath last week, left it at home. The Bible was retrieved in time, however, and the ceremony went on.
"Let me promise you this," Warren said, "this is the moment in time when things began to change. ... We must lure our young people back home to a vibrant city that values them."
City Councilman Adam McFadden, the only Council member to join Warren when she announced her campaign, said her decision to speak to young people, and to end her address by bringing all her top staff onstage, "shows she has a focus for the future and ... recognizes this isn't just about her." Expectations are high, he said, and some are waiting for her to stumble, but "the only way to avoid criticism is to do nothing. ... I hope she goes out and tries things."
Now begins the real work. But Richards said Saturday was not the time for laying out specifics.
"This isn't the place to say how you are going to fix Tuesday," he said. Instead it was, as Gantt had said, a celebration. "I'm happy for her, and we all came to be supportive."
Warren and other speakers thanked Richards for his service, with Warren telling him that he had "planted the seed." As she ended her speech, she returned to her granddad, who she said she wished could be there, if only to tell her, "Well done." She dedicated the address and the day to McClary, but ended as she had begun.
"I say to you — and to Taylor — and to all the children, no matter where you start, you can finish strong. We can believe in ourselves. We can do better, and we will."
BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com
