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James Smith, former mayor for a month, to be Council chief of staff

James Smith, deputy mayor under Mayor Lovely Warren, was sworn in as mayor on Dec. 2, 2021, and will finish out Warren's term through the end of the year.
JACOB WALSH
/
CITY
James Smith, deputy mayor under Mayor Lovely Warren, was sworn in as mayor on Dec. 2, 2021, and finished out Warren's term through the end of the year. Starting Jan. 24, he'll be the chief of staff for City Council.

James Smith, who served as Rochester's mayor for a month, has yet again found a long-term home at City Hall — this time as chief of staff for City Council, a job he’ll start Jan. 24.

Smith submitted an application for the position in December as his one-month mayoral tenure came to a close. Among the internal applications Council received, Smith’s rose to the top of the pile, and rather than looking to hire externally, Council President Miguel Meléndez opted to hire Smith.

“The more I thought about it, the more I realized how uniquely positioned I am at this point in my career to make, I think — and I’m happy that City Council thought so as well — a good fit in that role,” Smith said in a phone interview.

City Council’s president typically appoints its chief of staff, though generally the president does so after closed-doors vote of approval from Council members. Council Vice President Mary Lupien said Council approved Smith by a 5-4 vote.

“We had a very small number of internal applicants, and they had been waiting since December to hear back,” Lupien said. “The president decided to interview internal candidates, and we were still talking about looking externally, but James had a majority support.”

Smith, 52, has been a fixture in local politics for over a decade. A longtime Republican operative, he for a time served as deputy county executive to County Executive Maggie Brooks and an aide to House Rep. Tom Reed.

 After Mayor Lovely Warren resigned on Dec. 1, the duty of filling out her term fell to her deputy mayor, James Smith.
JACOB WALSH
/
CITY
After Mayor Lovely Warren resigned on Dec. 1, the duty of filling out her term fell to her deputy mayor, James Smith.

He switched parties in 2015, registering as a Democrat, and joined Mayor Lovely Warren’s administration as her chief spokesperson.

In 2019, he was elevated to deputy mayor. He became mayor in December 2021 after Mayor Lovely Warren resigned. She agreed to step down at the start of the month as part of a plea deal she accepted to resolve felony campaign finance violations. Smith automatically became mayor when she resigned, as outlined by the city’s succession plan.

His term was historic, both because of its brief duration and because he was the first openly gay mayor of Rochester.

Moving to Council, Smith sees the opportunity to work with a diverse, politically charged legislative body.

“I think there are some incredibly talented folks on City Council and, I think, make collectively for what will be an activist City Council,” Smith said. “It’s one that I think will be a strong partner with the mayor.”

“It’s an exciting time, I think this is going to be a more activist City Council and a more active City Council,” Smith continued.

Salary for the City Council chief of staff starts at $114,067, but ranges up to $147,239, depending on several factors.

Gino Fanelli is an investigative reporter who also covers City Hall. He joined the staff in 2019 by way of the Rochester Business Journal, and formerly served as a watchdog reporter for Gannett in Maryland and a stringer for the Associated Press.