Webster is a RINO — a Republican (town) In Name Only.
Heading into this Election Day, all of the dozen or so locally elected offices still are filled by Republicans. But the voter rolls are no longer predominately red – or blue, for that matter.
The onetime Republican-stronghold is the first village, town or city in Monroe County to have a majority of its voters not enrolled with any established political party.
The shift has been dramatic and follows a trend seen locally and nationwide.
About 40% of Americans identified as independent in 2022, according to a Gallup poll, greatly outnumbering Republicans and Democrats. The gap has grown steadily wider since 2009. Locally, they edged ahead of Republicans countywide last year, and today hold a 5 percentage-point or 23,300-voter advantage, accounting for just over 30% of the electorate.
“As you govern, this causes you to always keep all of the people in mind as you make your decisions as an elected official,” said Pat Reilly, the newly installed chairman of Monroe County Republicans. “So there may be a silver lining to all of this.”
Independents outnumber GOP voters in other one-time Republican-majority towns like Pittsford and Greece. But nowhere except Webster have they gained a majority.
Why does it matter? You need to be enrolled in a party to vote in that party’s primary. And often at the local level, races are decided in the primary contests. That was not the case this year in Webster. But in Tuesday’s general election, most candidates across Monroe County are unopposed.
“When they peel the onion on this phenomenon, those no party affiliation voters still tend to lean either Republican or Democrat, even though they no longer want to carry the label,” Reilly said.
"Basically it's this concept of propensity, right? And Webster makes a great example, because … we still have the town voting Republican.”
The shift in Webster does not appear to be a case of Republicans being turned off by their elected leaders.
“What's driving this is actually new residents coming to Webster, because of all of the housing development,” Reilly said.
Those developments include The Meadows and Westwood Estates subdivisions, the Winding Creek apartment complex and the Creek’s Edge and Arbor Creek townhouse communities.
“So there's a demographic change, if you will,” Reilly continued.
Republican enrollment has inched upward by 5% since 2010. Democratic enrollment increased by 27%. And independents grew by 57% — taking big jumps during the last two presidential election years, but an even larger jump this past year.
“Good on Webster,” said Monroe County Democratic chairman Stephen DeVay.
DeVay recognizes the need for his party to do more. But he said the split in political alliance is a hallmark of the place “Where Life is Worth Living,” as the town slogan goes. One of the first elections he ever worked on was for Webster Town Board.
“We need to focus on the growth that’s happening up there,” he said.
For both Democrats and Republicans, that means building up the local committees and focusing on outreach and registration. But DeVay also expects that independents will only continue to increase in number, be it the national trend or what seems to be in Webster’s DNA.
