While Mayor Malik Evans faced the proverbial slings and arrows during his first term in office, Democratic voters gave him a strong endorsement as he coasted to a big primary election night lead over progressive Mary Lupien.
Unofficial results give Evans a lead of nearly 3,200 votes over Lupien, a Rochester City Councilmember. Information technology entrepreneur Sashi Sinha finished the evening a distant third, with 1,329 votes. The winner of the June 24 primary will face Conservative Louis Sabo, who owns a photo design studio.
Evans alluded to the criticism both local and beyond, including on the city’s violent crime rates, to a jubilant crowd of supporters on election night.
“Because we knew we had to put aside childish things to focus on the larger community, and that is what we did for the past six months,” he said.
Mix of incumbents, new faces emerge in primary
The Rochester City Council will have familiar faces next year based on the unofficial results from the Monroe County Board of Elections. Incumbents Stanley Martin, Miguel A. Melendez Jr. and Mitch Gruber all made the cut of five candidates from a field of 15. Newcomers Lashunda C. Leslie-Smith and Chiara “Kee Kee” Smith will join them in the general election, along with Conservative Marcus C. Williams.
In the Rochester Commissioners of Schools race, incumbent Camille Simmons was the top vote-getter. The other two candidates moving on will be Kareem McCullough and Heather Feinman.
Turnout remains low in primary races
When comparing to the 2021 totals, most Monroe County Legislative districts saw lower turnout. The 8 p.m. voter turnout report saw lower percentages of Democratic voters than four years ago, when citywide turnout was just 28.6%. Polls were open until 9 p.m.; all figures from June 24, 2025, are preliminary.
Legislative District turnout (2021 figures in parentheses)
— Steve Howe reports on weather, climate and the Great Lakes for the Democrat and Chronicle. An RIT graduate, he has covered myriad topics over the years, including public safety, local government, national politics and economic development in New York and Utah.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Takeaways from Rochester’s primary elections
Reporting by Steve Howe, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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