Rochester school board member James Patterson is considering an independent run for re-election after failing to get on the Democratic ballot line.
And longtime board member Cynthia Elliott did not file petitions to seek re-election.
That leaves four Democratic candidates in the running for three open seats, setting up a June primary with just one incumbent, board President Camille Simmons.
In Patterson's case, the Board of Elections ruled he didn't get the required number of voter signatures on his candidate petitions.
“I'm very dissatisfied with the Democratic leadership here within the Rochester area,” Patterson said. “If I ever run for office again, it'll be on an independent line.”
The incumbent board member is blaming the party because Monroe County Democratic Committee chairman Stephen DeVay raised the objections that got his petitions reviewed and, ultimately, tossed.
For the party leader to challenge candidate petitions is not uncommon elsewhere in New York state but is unusual for Monroe County. DeVay said he thinks the party should be more active policing the process and supporting its endorsed candidates — making sure that those who campaign under the Democratic moniker “are doing so in a way that represents our party.”
DeVay also successfully challenged petitions filed by mayoral candidate Minister Clifford Florence Sr. and City Council candidate Benjamin Cox. Florence and his son, who is also running for City Council, plan to petition and campaign together with Patterson on an independent slate.
The case DeVay made against Patterson went beyond having too few signatures from eligible voters. He also alleged that Patterson and school board candidate Trent Jackson copied and edited petitions after they were signed, adding one another’s names, in an effort to bolster signature numbers for one another — which would be illegal, if proven.
Patterson has said he and Jackson were following what they understood to be the board’s directions. The Board of Elections only ruled on the number of valid signatures, finding Patterson and Jackson both came up short.
“I've been a Democrat my entire life,” Patterson said. "But, you know, I just think that politics concerning the Democratic Party here in Rochester, (its) leadership needs to be looked at and reviewed.”
DeVay also raised initial objections but filed no formal challenge to City Council member Mary Lupien's petitions in her bid to unseat Mayor Malik Evans, the party's endorsed candidate. DeVay said he did so working with the Evans campaign.
