Bridget Monroe has all but taken the Northwest District seat on the Rochester City Council, after defeating Frank Keophetlasy in the Democratic primary.
With all districts reporting, Monroe had 65% of the vote, according to unofficial results released shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday by the Monroe County Board of Elections.
The Northwest District seat is currently held by Jose Peo, who has declined to answer questions about his political future, but has given no signal that he intends to mount a re-election campaign.
Monroe is a longtime resident of the Maplewood neighborhood, a former staffer for City Council, and, since 2018, the secretary to Brighton Democratic Town Supervisor Bill Moehle.
She is a proponent of pushing for more stable housing, as well as boosting public safety through what she calls "community-oriented policing." That style of public safety would include increasing the number of Rochester police officers while ensuring that they are actively patrolling neighborhoods on foot.
Turnout was low by any measure, with just 13.3% of enrolled city Democrats casting a ballot, according to the county Board of Elections.
Keophetlasy, a former County Legislator for the 28th District, was the youngest legislator when he took that seat at the age of 25, and was the first Asian-American elected to the body. He was a member of the now-defunct Black and Asian Caucus, a group of breakaway Democrats who often sided with Republicans. Keophetlasy was ousted from his seat in the Legislature in 2021, along with most of the other members of the caucus.
A native of the Lyell-Otis neighborhood, Keophetlasy's Council run was marked by plans of direct outreach to the community. He particularly saw immediate needs in housing, public safety, and economic opportunity in the city's most disenfranchised neighborhoods.
With no challenger in the general election, Monroe is expected to take office on Jan. 1.
