From Sky news this is connections.

I'm Evan Dawson.

Our connection this hour will be made in about a month, when Democratic primary voters head to the polls to make their voices known for Rochester City Council.

There are 15 people on this year's primary ballot with five At-Large seats open.

The primary set for June 24th and will be followed by the General election in November.

But Rochester is like a lot of places around the country where the primary is often decisive, and we've invited all the candidates on the primary ballot to join us on this program so you can get to know them, to ask your questions about their qualifications, their priorities for office.

Part two.

In our five part series with all the candidates for Rochester City Council.

Let me welcome our guests in studio now.

Clifford Florence Junior is a candidate for Rochester City Council on Facebook.

And Clifford de Florence Jr. Clifford, welcome.

Thank you for being with us.

Thank you so much.

Also with us across the table from Clifford is Lashonda Leslie Smith, who is a candidate for Rochester City Council.

Lashonda Leslie smith.com.

Welcome back to the program.

Thank you so much for having me.

And Josie McCleary is a candidate for Rochester City Council McCleary for rochester.com.

Thank you for being here as well.

So glad to be here.

We're going to ask all three of you what we ask all of the candidates for office to do, which is introduce yourself to listeners.

Who are you?

Why are you running?

Why is this seat that you that you want right now?

And a little bit about your experience and I'll go around the table.

I'll start with Clifford.

Go ahead.

And Clifford, my name is Clifford Fortune Junior.

The reason why, I see potential in running is because we need housing and homelessness addressed in our city, along with so many other things.

the state of our city is in, an uproar for those things.

As we see with current events, there's a lot of things that's going on in our city.

that's not being spoken up for accurately by those, who should it be?

Such as our mayor, city council, mayor and other collegiate, excuse me, other, branches of government.

that shouldn't be speaking up.

That's not doing that.

So we need to fill in the gap with people who are, hungry for that same change.

Lashonda Leslie Smith, the floor is yours.

Yeah.

So, people ask me all the time, why am I running for a seat on council?

maybe I'm a little bit crazy.

I don't know, but I am a licensed and clinically trained social worker.

I have a doctorate in social work.

I've been working in neighborhood development and neighborhood revitalization for nearly the last decade.

And I believe with the combination of my experience and being people centered, person centered, and also seeing the change, the impact that, coordinated efforts can have at the neighborhood level.

I'd like to bring that experience to a seat on council.

Okay.

And Jose McClary.

So, many of you in the audience probably know me.

I worked for Monroe County for 30 years in the past, president of the 19th Ward community Association.

And I've, you know, just touched many communities and worked in various, initiatives with the community as Rochester Food Policy Council, as the Rochester Access Pharmacy Coalition.

So I, I know the strength between the city and county and, and what they can bring.

And, with my experience with community and working with local government, I feel that I can definitely, bridge that gap to help, those two entities, the city and the county, to continue to help, work together to bring the resources to the community.

Let me ask all of you what you think that your own life or work experience has done to help you prepare for this kind of work on City council that is often hard and thankless and long hours.

And I'll go back around the table and Jose, I'll start with you.

So what in your work experiences has helped you with this?

So 25 years I've worked in Monroe County Clerk's office and in in that I serve the community in various capacities.

whether it's, you know, them coming into the clerk office to file their paperwork or to seek out information.

I have always been community and engaged.

And again, as I mentioned, I I'm past president of the 19th Ward Community Association, a community led organization.

I have the experience that, know how to connect and bring the community voice to the table.

Okay.

Lashonda.

Yeah, like, Jose, I think this is really about being able to make connections.

I'm the executive director of Connected Communities.

I've been doing that for nearly a decade.

a big part of our work at connected communities is being a convener, a coordinator, a resource finder, getting the right people around the right tables and having the right kinds of conversations.

there's a lot that we have done, at connected communities to drive development at the ground level with residents really leading that change.

and so it is my hope, because I've had the experience of sitting at city council many, many times, at zoning meetings at city planning commission meetings, working directly with our local municipality, but from a very different lens, not from a political lens, but from a people centered lens.

I want to be able to help bring that to a seat and council that's now responsible for creating legislation.

And I do think that it is important to have a team of folks that are on council that can work collaboratively.

I've been able to, be in the rooms at some of the most, contentious, the most difficult, to come to consensus spaces and get people to agree.

most of the time we want the same things.

We just disagree about the journey to get there.

and I think that I could bring us some unity that's necessary, to council.

All right.

And, Clifford, there's no better example, than what my grandfather laid out to me.

Minister Franklin Florence, seeing it firsthand, how he addressed the homelessness, the housing, education in this community, I was able to sit at his feet to see how the blueprint was laid out.

I've been in rooms as well with many people who, don't really have, the know how, they want to have the ability, but they really don't know how to go about that.

So it's very important to have dynamic people around the table or who are ready to be courageous and take on those matters and don't mind challenging the people who might be in a way of doing that.

And and so in that regard, I want to ask a question that is not meant to be intentionally provocative or to spark an argument.

I want to ask all of you, though.

I mean, you're running for council.

My guess is people don't run for office unless they see possible improvement, or maybe things not getting done or not getting solved, that you think that maybe you can do better.

So, Clifford, I'll start with you.

And when you look at the way council, Council is working right now, why was this a place where you thought, you know, I'm seeing something missing here, and I feel like I can bring something that they don't have.

you see, Division, you know, if you look at things in a math term, you see division, I'm all about bringing additions.

I'm all about seeing opportunity to bring your niche.

That's just very simple to the table.

You know, people either want to do it or they don't want to do it.

And, with that comes division, because you have people who, feel like you're obligated to, certain individuals and that affects other people.

And when you don't have people sitting at that common table with the common idea to move things, that's where you're going to have the friction at the table.

How do you pull people together when when some of the divisions feel so entrenched and divides are so wide?

The key thing that you first do is listen, because people are tell a lot, to you.

And once you, get all the ideas on a table's like a sifter, once you sift everything to see what works and doesn't work, people can't have egos.

People can't get upset.

You know, these are little kid, things that we learned as children.

But grown people do it to this day, you know, they get upset, they throw grown tantrum tantrums, and it affects the community and people are hurting for that.

And when you have people like myself that's ready to get engaged right from day one, you know, you'll see things change.

Lashonda how do you feel about this current moment and maybe seeing something that wasn't quite to your to your liking with what you said?

You've been in a lot of council meetings.

You've seen that.

Can those contentious ones, well why why now?

And what do you see maybe missing that you want to to fill.

Well, a part of the reason why I, decided and by the way, I have been asked to run for some sort of political office for as long as I can remember.

And I always thought to myself, no, my my work is here on the ground.

I belong here with the people.

but recently I was, maybe last year, I think it was around November.

I was in a meeting where I heard, people who are in leadership, saying the same things over and over again.

that really made me want to turn over the tables, and I'm usually pretty calm.

I'm no shrinking violet, but I it frustrated me to the point where I thought, okay, perhaps, I can continue to be on the ground, continue leading the work of connected communities, but also in a position to help move legislation.

I do think that City council, has two main responsibilities, to work collaboratively together to move forward.

Good legislation that impacts the people of the city of Rochester.

And it's also their responsibility to hold our local municipality accountable as well.

you can't do that when you are self-motivated, by an agenda that doesn't really impact everybody.

and so and that's not to say anything against anybody who's, who's there.

you know, people also ask me all the time, who am I running, running against?

I believe I'm in a race all by myself.

and that's because I want to do this work for, purposes that are bigger than me.

It's not about my own internal motivations.

I feel like there is purpose behind all of the things that I've had the opportunity to experience, all the work that I've had the opportunity to lead here.

I'm a native Rochester man and have been working for decades in this community.

and I just want to bring a new lens, a fresh vision, to city council and work collaboratively with the folks who are there and the folks who are coming in.

when you say that, you're usually pretty even keel, not a shrinking violet, pretty even keel.

But when you get to the point where you want to just get up and turn the table over, my job is to ask you if you want to elaborate on what that was about.

I've said too much, Evan.

well, I mean, I'm not going to get into the specific details.

it wasn't even anything related to council.

It's just us in general.

I grew up in the inner city of Rochester in poverty.

And many people, in my own family, are still in poverty.

And, although I see a lot of great changes that are happening in our city and, and to Josie's earlier point, I see a lot of opportunity for the county and the city to work together, as well.

I just want to bring my personal experience to the table.

We need not just legislators, not just career politicians in these seats.

We need people with lived experiences, and folks who who are even tempered and emotionally mature, to be able to sit in these seats and work collaborative with whoever comes to the table.

All right, Jose, how do you see this issue?

So, I truly believe that first and foremost, the voice of the people is, is what needs to come to the table.

I was asked to run for city council because the relationship that I have in the community, bringing the community voice to the table and often times, you know, the voice is heard, but there's no impact that's being made by those voices.

So I seen first hand, how I organize when, Ryan Grantham junior was hit and killed on those same road, and how I was able to rally and organize the community and to pursue common safety measures on Thurston Road.

And now we have rapid beacon lights in a crosswalk.

So I see the power of the voice of the people and I am the one that can carry that.

And again, 30 years with Monroe County.

I've been around long enough to see and to know that the community voice and oftentimes get lost.

But I'm here to bring it to the table.

Why do you think?

I don't want you to weigh in on what the current council is doing or not doing.

I want to ask you in general, why is it so hard for, in your view, government elected bodies to consider the voice of the people?

Why isn't the voice of the people central?

it's to me that's a multifaceted answer to that question.

So one is, is that again, the egos, the pride.

I think we forget once we get to the seat, why we are there and who brought us there.

Right.

That's number one.

Number two is, is that when our own personal agendas are brought to the table, we lose focus.

We lose focus on the power of of community.

And we have to bring that unity of community back to the table.

And again, this is not just about city council.

This is also saying to the community is that your voice have to be heard, said it.

If it has to be heard.

And so we need folks to, to stand up and, and come and, and be willing to have those tough conversations.

But at the same time, to be able to really listen and to be able to work through those challenges, whatever they are.

Because I feel right now we allow the circumstances to shape us.

It is about time we shape the circumstances.

You're hearing Josie McCleary, Lashonda, Leslie Smith, Clifford Florence Jr. Three candidates for Rochester City Council, 15 total candidates for five At-Large seats on the primary ballot.

June 24th is primary Election day, but early voting in Monroe County starts on June 14th and runs through June 22nd, and you can find more information at the Monroe County Board of Election site.

If you want to vote early, we're bringing all the candidates to you in a series of conversations with the candidates for City Council.

So let's talk about some of the issues that, I would start with one that put Rochester right in the national news conversation recently.

You have, the head of Ice, Tom Homan, comes to Rochester as a guest of the Locust Club.

He is here because he says he wants to praise police who work with federal officers on detention and possible deportation efforts.

And the, Ice is suing the city of Rochester trying to strip it of sanctuary city status, saying that Rochester doesn't have leadership that respects law enforcement.

So let me start with this, and we'll go around the table again.

Joseph, would you have met with Tom Homan was when he was here.

And do you think the city has responded appropriately on the issue of immigration, undocumented immigration detention, working with police and federal agents, etc.?

So I would have loved to had met him.

And actually, I was there at the rally, that was right there on Lexington two is I believe the city of Rochester is a sanctuary city and should remain a sanctuary city.

I think people forget that this United States of America was built on the back of immigrants.

So I, I don't, I there's talk of a lawsuit, but I have not seen anything filed.

I'm not even sure.

But at the end of the day, I think the mayor had, I believe, and I'm going to say in my perspective responded correctly.

Okay.

and if you are elected to council, will you support new legislation?

I mean, there's talk of legislation in council now that would, ostensibly strengthen sanctuary city, status.

There's debate about whether it's legal.

The city attorney has said it's not.

But those on council who want to see this legislation say they believe it is.

would you support are you aware of that?

Would you support it?

Absolutely.

So I believe the city, right as it became a sanctuary city in 1987. and that's a long time ago.

Right.

And so I believe that legislation needs to be looked at again and it needs to be strengthened.

Absolutely.

Okay.

Lashonda Leslie Smith, same question for you.

Yeah.

similar.

I would meet with anybody.

you know, as I already articulated, I think a big part of our responsibility as, elected officials is to hear any group out.

that doesn't necessarily mean I agree or come into agreement with those individuals.

And I do think that our city responded, correctly.

I believe that we have policies in place on how, our police are supposed to respond, and we're supposed to uphold those policies.

And when we don't agree with the policies, whichever groups don't agree, we should come together and have some discussions about either why they should remain in place or why we should be looking at, resolving them.

we should absolutely remain a city, a sanctuary city.

We are, a community that values diversity.

We're a community that embraces our differences.

not to the extent that we should, because we see that in a lot of communities that have been segregated, that have been impacted by redlining and so many other policies.

So it really does require us to come to the table and have some real heart conversations outside of, Africans who were brought to this country against their will, and enslaved.

We are a country full of immigrants, as it was already stated.

And so for us not to protect that value, is really counter to who we are as Americans.

And so, you know, it's it's unfortunate what is happening with Ice.

It's unfortunate what's happening with our federal government.

And I stand with our mayor, and I stand with our city, and reinforcing the policies that we've put in place.

If we are going to bow to the federal government at this point.

My God, what what will we allow to happen to us as a community?

And for those who feel like it doesn't affect them right now, just wait.

This kind of thing impacts all of us and we all should be outraged.

Clifford Florence Junior I have no issues with meeting with people.

I have no issues.

We're having our conversations.

I've actually tried to have our conversations with our current mayor, who would, continuously ignore my efforts.

if I may drop my hat, I had to, visit him at his home to have a polite conversation with him, and he still wouldn't hear me out.

You went to his house?

I went to the mayor's house.

Exactly.

I did not, at his invitation, you know, just showed up on a bright Sunday afternoon, just showed up around the doorbell because he would throw me out of City Hall 7 or 8 times because he didn't want to hear some of the ideas that we're talking about today.

So I had to pay him a visit at his home.

He wouldn't meet with me.

He sent his wife to the door.

He wouldn't come and talk to me.

So, for him to, kowtow out the door, you know what he'll do in a community.

You know, if he has a hard time, just having a peaceful conversation, with us being a sanctuary city, everybody deserves the fact to be protected.

Everybody deserves the fact to, have some place to call home.

So, I don't rubberstamp everything that the mayor does.

Like people on his slate does.

I, investigate, and I try to find, the reasoning factors for why we're doing what we're doing and the outcome from what we're doing.

so that's my outlook on it.

So do you want to see the city of Rochester change anything that it's doing in regards to this?

we need things looked at because, you can see how there's two different sides of the plate, so to speak.

So things need to be investigated and looked at to see what we can do to make these things better.

So when these things do happen, we have something more concrete where people can understand what's going on.

Okay.

Now let's talk about an extension of that question, which is just the size of the police force.

Mayor Evans has said acknowledge there's roughly 100 job openings unfilled, and they're working to change that.

Different city council candidates who have already appeared in this series on the show in the last month, have had different views on how big the police force should be.

So I want to ask you, I'll start with Clifford Florence Jr. Should the size of the Rochester Police Department be increased, kept the same diminished.

do you want to see more funding or less funding for police?

And do you think people want more or less police?

We absolutely need a bigger, police force.

when they started to take things away from the police department, that's where you saw crime rise.

criminals aren't stupid, you know, they watch the news to.

They see what's going on.

you see, multiple cars responding to, some calls, maybe A911 urgent matter.

Some may be, not so urgent, but when you have, people trying to do their job and there's not enough, to cover the ground, you're going to have a lot of gaps.

So I believe that the police needs the proper, funding that they need to do their job so that people can be safe.

We see that crime is at an all time high in Rochester.

People getting shot every day, cars getting stolen every day.

I think crime has come down a bit since the pandemic.

From what I've seen, depending on what some of the not not the Rochester I live in, you know, Sunday, just past Sunday, a young lady was just shot multiple times over 100,000.

So violence is down.

I'm not sure.

No disrespect to, what it is that you know or see, just a Rochester I live in and I just see violence every day.

Too much, too much.

Okay, so you want to see more police hired, correct?

Okay.

Would you make any changing, any changes?

Are you do you think the relationship police have with the community is sound?

Does it need to change?

we need a change because we need to have more of an interaction with them.

so they're they're familiar because I've had, multiple experiences with the police that aren't good because we don't really know who's who was what because of the familiarity and dressing and cars that we drive, music that we listen to.

sometimes the places that we live in, you kind of group everybody together.

But just like you can't say that all police are bad.

You can't say that everybody in the community is bad.

That's what we just have to just bridge the gap to so that everybody's familiar with everybody.

To Leslie Smith, what should be done about police in Rochester?

Yeah, I think this is another one of those, types of multifaceted issues, with hopefully a multifaceted solution, to it.

I do think that I don't know about the size of the police, but we are understaffed.

and we need creative solutions to recruit.

I do believe that it's important for us to create a pipeline of people who live in our communities to help police our communities.

That that doesn't mean that we shouldn't address the the root of where policing started from, how it was developed, and how we get some of the outcomes that we have.

I was actually just canvasing yesterday talking with a neighbor who had a fantastic idea.

there are other cities that provide an incentive to police officers financial incentive to police officers.

If they go back and get a second degree, like mental health or, in social work or in education, if we are solely looking at this issue from a criminal justice lens, then we will get criminal justice outcomes, which usually just increase recidivism rates.

so we and this is, again, back to me being a license and clinically trained social worker, wanting to help create legislation from a person centered lens.

our police department needs to be much more person centered.

I also do think that if there are opportunities and let me back up and say that it's always difficult for for me to say, here's what I would do, here's what I'm going to do without having had a seat on council, without having managed the budget and knowing what's actually possible.

And I'm the kind of girl that likes to under-promise and overdeliver, but I would love to see, police also be incentivized to to purchase homes in the city if I know who lives up the street, around the corner and in the communities, as Clifford already articulated, I'm probably less likely to put you in the back of my patrol car, but I'm going to go up the street to your grandma's house and have a conversation with her.

She's saying too many police live outside the city.

Too many of our service providers across the board live outside of our city.

Too many people who are services in our community.

This is why our dollars are not cycling in our communities, because they leave at the close of the work day.

And I'd like to see us utilize neighborhoods communities as economic ecosystems for breaking that cycle of intergenerational poverty.

If I'm living next door to a police officer, to a firefighter, to an EMT, not only do I see that as a possibility for me as a young, struggling young person, but my community is not just plagued with other people who are struggling like myself.

All right.

Josie McCleary, same question.

So I'm, excuse me, I'm a true believer of quality, not quantity.

So I believe that our police so our police force is is it is what it is, you know, yes, there's a lot of vacancies.

However, I truly believe that there is.

And we are at a good spot.

We are community and police officers should join together and work together for the common good.

and that's just my bottom line.

I just think that there's a lot of room for growth.

I've been, through the Rochester Citizens Academy program, and I see the work that they do, and I see the hard work around work and workforce development and really trying to tap into the black and brown community to get police officers.

They are doing a lot of great job around that in and around the wellness to keep in our police officers mentally.

well, however, I just think the community can play a big part in this too as well.

And that is really, again, bridging that gap between police officers and community.

We can work together so we can thrive together.

So an extension of that jersey is the PAB, which our community knows.

recently lost court case.

the city is appealing.

I don't know how long the appeal will take, but the PAB was passed by voters in a referendum in 2019.

It doesn't have disciplinary power, and the court case means it won't have investigatory power unless the city wins an appeal.

And that remains to be seen.

So this is a $3.6 million budget.

Did you support the PAB originally, and would you vote to continue keeping the budget where it is, no matter what happens in court going forward, or should changes be made with the PAB Joseph, I support it.

I actually, applied to be on it, a part of it in 2019.

I didn't get picked, but that's okay.

I still support it.

I think they're doing a lot of great work that needs to be publicized a little bit more.

and as far as the budget, that's a lot of money.

But if it's going to push the PAB and give the PAB the power that it was created to do, then let's go for it, I support it.

Well, yeah, I know Leslie Smith.

Yeah, I definitely support, the PAB.

And as the leader of a nonprofit organization, I know, what it takes to actually run and $3.6 million is not really a lot of money.

so, if we're actually going to have impact and have real change, we need to ensure that people are qualified, that they're educated, that they're compensated.

Well, because it is a huge job.

We're not talking about a small thing when we're talking about, changing a police force or changing mindsets or changing culture.

and so it does require us to put our money where our mouth is to make sure that it moves along, even if they don't, the city doesn't win this appeal and the PAB doesn't have disciplinary power, doesn't have investigatory power.

Well, I think that what we have to cross that, we'll have to cross that when we come to it.

For one, I don't think that we should give up.

It's kind of like the ice question.

Are we just going to sit down and say, oh, well, that didn't work, or are we going to go back in and figure out another way around?

I think we should go back in and figure out another way around.

If it was important enough for us to establish this organization to begin with, it's important enough for us to figure out how we work in collaboration.

Okay.

Clifford Florence Jr, I support it, but we have to do exactly what the word says and be accountable.

You know, it's good to have accountability in the headlines.

But if there's no people sitting in the chairs that really care about what they're doing, it's going to affect the community, as I'm sure all of us have in common, we want to see the better good of the community, but we have to have accountability where we're supposed to have accountability.

So tell me more about where you want to see more accountability.

just being transparent, just being, transparent, letting people know where, we stand when things come up.

You know, how we're spending money.

What do we look like?

when the money is spent, what we have over to, have somewhat of an insurance policy.

An insurance policy?

Excuse me.

If A and B doesn't work, what does he look like?

What does he look like?

You know, there's 26 letters in alphabet for a reason.

So if we can explore our, letter, so to speak, I believe that we'll be in a good place.

Okay.

Did you support the PB when it was first proposed?

I did, but I, just saw some, issues with it because, my campaign manager who's in the other room, his brother was the one who died in the ambulance, back when that incident happened, and they haven't, receive adequate transparency from that board.

So without getting into too many details, it just hasn't been a lot of, transparency from that board that way.

help people understand what's going on down there.

After we take our only break of the hour, we're going to be talking about issues related to housing, homelessness, economic development and more, with three candidates for Rochester City Council Clifford Florence Jr Lashonda Leslie Smith, Josie McCleary.

Three of the 15 running for Rochester City Council in next month's primary election, which is on June 24th.

Early voting starts on June 14th.

We'll come right back with the candidates next.

Coming up in our second hour.

My guest is the author Lionel In Helped, whose book is called Rooted Life at the Crossroads of Science, nature, and Spirit.

She is challenging people to really get out and experience nature, not just on a short walk or a walk around the neighborhood, but to really immerse in it, to bathe in nature, to walk barefoot in the woods and more.

And she'll explain why it matters.

Next hour.

Support for your public radio station comes from our members and from Bob Johnson, Auto Group.

Proud supporter of connections with Evan Dawson, believing an informed public makes for a stronger community.

Bob Johnson Auto group.com.

This is Evan Dawson with WXXI news.

Join me for a voice at the voter debate with the three candidates vying for Rochester mayor in the June Democratic primary Malik Evans, Mary Lucien and Shashi Sinha will debate live on Wednesday, May 28th on ITV.

FM 105.9 and on Newstalk and the Sky news YouTube channel.

Join us Wednesday, May 28th at 8 p.m.. Well good gracious, that's tomorrow.

That's the mayoral debate tomorrow.

But this is not a debate.

This is a conversation today with the candidates for Rochester City Council.

Three out of the 15.

We are trying to bring all 15 to you in five different conversations so you can hear them at length.

That's one of the what we think is still one of the great values of public media is bringing you at length conversations before you vote on the issues so you can understand, not in a ten second sound bite, not in a 22nd AD.

So it's a great chance to do that this hour with Clifford Florence Junior Lashonda, Leslie Smith, Josie McCleary, Clifford said at the outset.

Housing and homelessness is at the top of the list for you.

So let me start.

Let's start with housing, and certainly homelessness relates to that.

this city is becoming a more expensive place to live, like just about every city in the country.

but Rochester is a very hard place to find anywhere.

If you want to purchase a home.

if you cannot purchase a home, it can be a very difficult place to find anywhere for rent.

There's been debates about, good cause, eviction legislation.

We saw a city council debate that and eventually pass something.

Give me a let's start.

In general, when you say housing in the city, what has to change what what should stay the same?

exactly what needs to change is, these people that come in from out of town that know nothing about Rochester.

And when you have these city auctions, they're buying up 50, 60, 70 houses sometimes at one time.

And me being the person that I am with the city working, houses and commercial buildings, you see firsthand how they're really just trying to, take shortcuts on just getting their cfo's of occupation, and then the rest is on, the individual who lives there to kind of figure it out.

so if that's not addressed and change from the higher ups on down, we'll never get, you know, Rochester housing, homelessness.

correct.

It will never get those things changed because we're just letting anybody come in and just frivolously do what it is that they want to do with no checks and balances.

So there's outside of the city, sometimes outside of the state corporations, individuals buying houses.

Correct.

And then just trying to profit off them, do what with it.

basically they'll just come into the auction and just buy, I had the opportunity to go to the auction.

and when you have individuals that come in and they just buy 50 houses at one time, you don't have enough manpower to cover those houses.

So you just try to get, I like to call them your backyard barbecue guys.

You know, that's all I know how to do this.

I know how to do that.

And they just throw something together to get you what you need, but is really not adequate, for living.

So that needs to change immediately, because it's definitely affecting the ability to find something.

Can city council ban, outside of the city purchases of of these homes at auction?

I wouldn't use the word ban because I believe everybody has the right to make money anywhere.

That's what makes this country great.

And you can make money anywhere, and you don't have to necessarily be there, but there needs to be a strong check and balance on, a length of time.

You have to get a property up and running.

there needs to be people who, come out on a regular basis to check these things out, to make sure they're up to par so that people just have a fair game, on both ends of the stick, because you want to, take care of the consumer, and you always want to take care of the customer.

Okay.

Well, Shannon, Lesley Smith, when you look at housing in general, what do you see in the city?

Well, we have an aging housing stock.

So that is a and a huge issue, particularly as we're talking about, low income homeowners, people who want to age in place.

we have to do something as a community to help those folks.

I also think that we have been re concentrating poverty.

Oftentimes, developers in this community will get what's called a boost, to build affordable housing in low income communities.

And on the one hand, that's great because we need affordable housing and low income communities.

On the other hand, it just really concentrates and continues to segregate people because now I can only live there, but also everybody else in this housing community, this large complex is experiencing the same sort of, issues that I might be having, and there's no feeling of getting out.

I just simply have a roof over my head.

So I'd love for us to, really address this through our zoning code, which I do believe that zap, is allowing for us to have, higher density projects and, and and different types of housing.

projects available in the city, townhomes that, you know, not just large, housing complexes, but mixed income projects that really help to build communities.

Same question for Josie McClary.

excuse me.

so housing it's a it's an issue.

And it's one thing to have affordable housing, but there's another to have safe, affordable housing.

So yes, we can talk about the zip, but then we also need to talk about code enforcement.

So what we see now is individuals are paying in high rent for houses or for homes that are not, passing code enforcement.

And so it's dangerous.

And so the landlord if, if the, if the tenants say, and you know, and they have the right to say what, I'm not going to pay rent because this, violation this violation is on record.

and but you asking for $2,000 rent, right.

And they withhold that, then they become homeless.

Right?

So I am grateful that, good.

Cause eviction was passed because we need to protect the tenant.

But two is is just like my brother.

Clifford Florence mentioned is that we also need to cap off and stop allowing the outsiders to come in and buy up the property that has no relationship with the community.

And then they flip sell.

And it is just a vicious cycle.

And the ones that are in poverty or need the housing are the ones that are left out.

How do you stop them?

How do you stop the outsiders?

So again, capping them right.

So you hit them in the pocket.

So if they look looking to buy 15 they only can buy five.

Then they you go right.

You're hitting them in the pocket capping putting a maximum amount that they can purchase of the homes.

Yes.

Of the house.

Yes.

Okay.

when it comes to good cause eviction legislation, the city debated it in different flavors.

Would you have voted for good cause eviction legislation?

Are you satisfied with what the city has done?

There?

Yes.

Okay.

Lashonda Leslie Smith.

Yes, I believe in good cause eviction.

And I also believe and making sure that our landlords, if you look at the research, we do have people coming in from out of town.

I'm struggling with an investor near one of my commercial properties right now that is in Vietnam.

and but many of our landlords are mom and pop landlords, and they don't have the discretionary income to make critical repairs to their homes.

They don't have the discretionary income to do health and safety improvements or esthetic improvements.

and so one of the things that we've created and connected communities specifically for, landlords within the Beechwood and Emma neighborhoods is a of landlord fund, the forgivable loan.

so these are there are always two sides to this coin.

I really want to, try to change this narrative, the US versus them between landlords and tenants and really try to, make sure that, that the situation is good for everybody that's involved.

The landlords obviously are entrepreneurs and they want to make money, but they really should not be making money off of the backs of folks who need safe, affordable housing.

so we have to come together to come up with solutions that really make our community safe and the only way that we we can do that is if we incentivize what I like to call for landlords.

These are mission minded individuals.

They are not simply in it just to make some money.

We do preserve affordability in our community and we have safe, attractive and affordable places for our tenants to our residents to live.

Okay.

Clifford Florence Jr. good.

Cause eviction legislation.

Would you have supported it?

Excuse me.

Okay, here we go.

I definitely would support it because I believe that, the tenant is not always right.

You know, you have people who come in and destroy things and tear things up because they don't see the value and or appreciate, what's been done for them and provided for them, so to speak.

so we definitely just need, just fair game for everybody to have a fair playing ground.

Okay.

when it comes to homelessness, is there anything more that the city can and should do?

Clifford.

Oh, absolute.

Oh, absolutely.

Absolutely.

Where do I start?

as I was riding here today, we were looking around.

Our avenue in Tent City is empty right there on Lisle.

And I forget the cross street.

Do we, do we do we?

Avenue.

Thank you so much.

tent city, that's a very, empty big building and all you have on that whole entire strip is just people who's begging for help.

And I don't know how, as any governing official, you see that part of the city.

Excuse me?

And you don't do anything to, try to infuse energy into that area because all you see is poverty over there.

So if we can get these zombie buildings, which is a plan of mine to do, if we can get these zombie buildings up and running.

And what I call zombie buildings are just buildings that's not occupied.

If we can get these up and running with programs in there to get people on their feet, because when you give people guidelines and expectations, they're going to fulfill them.

Because honestly, if you ask somebody that's on drugs, that's a drunk, that's homeless, they don't want to be in that condition.

Of course they know something is wrong, but they just want something adequate to, help them kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Okay.

Let's General Leslie Smith on homelessness.

Yeah.

very similar.

Homelessness is not simply about having a lack of resources.

There are often underlying factors that are at play, whether it be drug addiction, whether it be mental health issues, whether it be trauma.

we have veterans who are experiencing homelessness.

And so we have to as as I've been saying over and over, I have a multifaceted solution to a multifaceted issue.

so, yes, we need more places where people who, because there are members of the homeless community that do not desire to live indoors, and we need safe places for them not only to reside, to live, to have a personal space, but we need to infuse that with the support, the counseling, the extended services that are necessary for them to live safely.

I've seen many plans in many programs where, we just put people in a space or in a place, and they're not service.

Well, they're not, qualified service providers to really address the root causes of, homelessness.

And those just turn into more unsafe spaces.

And so I definitely do think that we need to create lines of funding that addresses that multifaceted issue.

Okay, Josie.

So I agree with all that was said.

Thus far.

So again, extending the arm of resources out to the homeless or houseless individuals, we we have a we have great organizations that are already out there, but we have to continue to fund them to, to allow more, resource sources, more individuals to get into those places, those hard to reach places where there's not so beautiful to go into, to have those conversations where individual and hope to build relationships, to pull them out of their situations.

Because if you when you deal with, houselessness or homeless individuals, you have to build relationships with them first.

They have to feel that you mean them well and they can trust you and therefore be able to give the resources to them that could fix their situation.

You can't just go in there and bulldoze them and expect for them just to, you know, walk hand in hand, la la la into a, you know, house.

These they have some issues that they need to work through.

But you folks have to build relationships.

And oftentimes I see it that that it's the surface that's being in touch.

We got to get down to the root of the problem.

We're across the street here from some of our Kodak was headquartered, and, 65,000 people working at Kodak is not the story of Rochester anymore.

I know times change.

I don't know that there's another Kodak coming, but when you think about the future of where people are going to work in the city, of what the economic heart of the city might be, what do you see, Jose?

Hope.

And and first and foremost, I most recently had been really thinking hard about that question.

And I truly believe that we have to look at the living wages versus minimum wages.

So I live in wages in here in Monroe County, somewhere about $23 an hour.

But at minimum wages 14, 95, $15 an hour.

So how do we how do people work through that?

And, just to get the bare essentials to live and then and then to work.

Right.

So, I mean, people just working just, over their head and sometimes have to choose on whether it's going to be roof or food, right, or health care.

So we have to be able to be creative and to getting initiatives into the city of Rochester for the people of Rochester, that's going to create jobs.

and I have a great idea.

Now, let me say, talk about, you know, our youth.

that's right.

That can't we all watch our kids go off to college and university?

But all of our kids are not meant to go to college and university.

So what about, you know what?

Why can't the choice?

My husband's out of funding his university and colleges so they can learn and do carpentry, electrical, electrical work, plumbing, just all of those different trades that our unions are now really having difficult times on getting young.

What I can to get enlisted into into, you know, the union jobs.

So again, when you create jobs, right, for the youth that yes, I have my homemade granola and then and and then on top and also of course, take my honey like tenacity.

Right.

And I do a training and work program.

Okay.

So they learn in okay.

They learn the electrical work.

They get in.

Okay.

Perfect.

Okay.

Really embracing that trade.

unions could now enlist them.

No, but the only thing I have to say is that I.

The.

You have a housing.

You take care of these camps, you'll be able to.

And I have to leave my boy open so that they can get in, and otherwise I'll kick them, and then up I'd lets to know, what do you see as the future of economic development in the city?

Well, I don't see a Kodak coming back, that's for sure.

I don't agree with them.

I can also, if I left them out and get it, other than for the sake of you calling them.

there are many people with many, many great ideas, home based businesses that are need, friends and family network, if you will, to wrap around them.

that's okay.

We're trying out connected communities in the Beechwood and in and neighborhoods, raising up entrepreneurs who maybe have been baking cookies in their home or, you know, the the the young lady down the street, they're selling juleps, whatever the idea is, bringing them into our commercial facilities, making sure that they have access to the resources they're building, their business acumen.

We're breaking down these barriers and giving access to capital.

we have even acquire commercial properties within the Beachwood neighborhood.

And our hope is to identify, entrepreneurs that we can help grow with, place them in these commercial properties, and then eventually, after 1 to 3 years of profitability, sell them the commercial property.

Not only are we helping them to build their own businesses and closing the racial wealth gap that way, but we're also giving them an opportunity to earn equity, contributing to the closing of that racial wealth gap.

That's just one, I think of many different solutions.

We should be looking at to address our economic issues here.

Okay.

Cliff Florence junior, the future of economic development in the city looks like.

What?

I don't think Kodak or Xerox coming back.

I think granddad squeezed those those guys, he he got the best out of them for the for the community.

But, I'm just a big believer.

Entrepreneurship.

you know, once you teach people how to do something, you'll never be jobless because the opportunities are so great.

I'm a firm believer that, there needs to be things put in place for people to have the ability to do things.

And it starts with education.

When the city school district decided to, make the inaccurate move of taking things away from the schools, taking things that, home ec, sewing classes to firefighters program at East, we had the cooking program at East, we had the Joe RTC program at East, we had so many things that you want it to be in school for, because you didn't want to miss these things.

You had the Home ec, program at Doctor Freddie Thomas at the time over on Iowa Street, 97, 98. when I was there, you had so many things to prepare us as young people for what we were going to face.

But now education system isn't really preparing things because like, my, my good friend said, everybody isn't made to go to college.

I didn't go to college because I'm just a firm believer.

I don't need somebody to stand in front of me to tell me what I can learn on my own.

So, you know, I just believe that, just a slow, slow, slow way of doing it.

I'm not knocking education because everybody needs a part of me.

But I'm just a firm believer that if you just teach people how to fish, then I never go hungry.

We've covered a lot of ground, but I want to let these candidates, as we close, tell you where they want you to learn more about their own candidates is Clifford Florence Junior.

Where can people learn more about you?

simply on Facebook.

I'm, just running it off of what I have.

no more, no less.

And, people can follow me there.

Clifford de Florence junior, number three on the ballot, number three on the ballot with General Leslie Smith.

lashonda.

Leslie Smith, dot com.

but also, if you want to learn a little bit more about my background, connected communities rock.org is what I've been doing the last decade and Josie McCleary McCleary for rochester.com.

And just open up your eyes and see me in a community because that's where I'm at.

I suppose you're all probably knocking on doors, talking to people and out there in the community, you'll probably see them and you're going to see a lot of candidates.

15 candidates for Rochester City Council, five At-Large seats, the primary, the Democratic primaries coming up on June 24th.

But early voting starts on June 14th, runs through the 22nd.

Monroe County Board of Elections has you covered on their website to tell you where you can vote, when you can do that, when those early polling hours are to try to make it more convenient for you.

I want to thank these candidates for taking the time.

Josie McClary, thank you very much for being here.

Thank you for having me.

Lashonda Leslie Smith, thank you very much.

Thank you so much, Clifford.

Florence Junior, appreciate your time.

Pleasure of mine.

And we've got more connections coming up in a moment.

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