Michael Caputo (MC)>> What do you need to know?]How about why are four people running for mayor?]
Our Voice of the Voter panel will talk with two of them.] Stay right here for "Need to know."]
(MC)>> Thanks for joining us.]
I'm Michael Caputo.] It's only been since the 1980's that the mayor of Rochester
could be elected by the people.] Before that he was an appointee of the city council and only
one other time was there an open seat hotly contested by a number of candidates.]
That's why the Voice of the Voter partners, WXXI, the "Democrat and Chronicle," and 13 WHAM TV are focusing on the mayor's race.] And if you wonder why our citizen panel includes people not only from the city but the surrounding candidate, it's because the race for the person who leads Rochester impacts the surrounding region.] Our citizens conducted introductory interview weather advisory
each of the candidates.] This week they meet a former city councilman and a current
attorney John Parrinello.] You'll see him later.]The other candidate you'll meet now.] Is he a public school principal, Tim Mains.]
]
Davis Passmore (Voice of the Voter participant)>> What makes you qualified for the mayoral office?] What makes you qualified for this office?]
]
Tim Mains >> I have a long list of experiences that I think have helped me prepare for taking over the reigns of mayor ship.] It starts with 20 years on city council, and not just 20 years
of sitting on city council or watching city council, but being an active leader on council.]
In that time I have come to understand city government like nobody else.] 12 years as finance chair has acquainted me with the complexity of city finances in particular so, I'm very acquainted with the challenge that is we face financially and fiscally.] I believe in the time that I have been on city council a Natural affinity for issues that are urban in nature, but I have been able to refine those through that filter, that process of sitting on city council.]As I said, my work on city council, I think, has been very
clearly an independent voice, an active voice, an engaged voice, and one that has sponsored a whole variety of legislation that I think has helped move our community forward.] That's a big piece.] A very big piece.] Another big piece is my association with schools.] I think that this city today has its future tied directly with what's happening in our schools.] If our schools continue to drag and crumble and fall, then the
city will be dragged down with it.] If, on the other hand, working together we're able to lift our schools up so that they become not only successful, but a model for other urban districts, then I think that that not only guarantees success for our children and our schools, but that also means that the city is the kind of place that people want to come, want to move to, want to keep their kids in, and will help retain our tax base if we can help our schools.] No one in this race understands schools or understands the challenges and the opportunities in schools like I do.]
]
Tricia Nixon (VOV Participant)>> How do you feel your personal life involves and affects your
candidacy?]
]
Tim Mains >> My work life and personal life are intertwined.]
I actually define much of my life by what I do.]
I am one of those high achievement-oriented folks, so I'm
work-oriented and a lot of what I do for work, whether that's
at school or at city hall or even the volunteer work that I do
defines who I am.]
In private people who have known me for many years know that I
am very passionate about my work, that I engage and talk about
it when I'm away from it, weave it into the other things that I
do and that although I appreciate downtime and I think we all
need to take time for ourselves, make sure that we remain
healthy and focused, that work dominates much of what I do,
much to the dismay of my partner who puts up with that hectic
schedule.]
]
Beatriz LeBron (VOV participant)>> What makes you unique as a candidate for the race?]
]
Tim Mains >> I don't think that there is -- I have already talked about
my energy level, and I don't think -- I have a tremendous
regard for the other two Democratic candidates, but I don't
think either of them operates at the level that I do in terms
of attacking -- doesn't take a job, face the job, and then
wrestle with it the way that I do, and I believe that one
unique aspect that I bring to this is my work ethic.]
It's the level of energy that I have to keep on a job until it
gets completed.]
The second thing that's a unique piece that I think I have is
the tenacity that I -- with which I have approached almost
everything.]
Folks have watched my public life.]
My life -- my brother jokes that Tim lives out loud, you know.]
I think what he talks about is that I'm very passionate about
the things in my life, and I talk about them, and I think out
loud and process things out loud, and I keep working on
problems until they're solved.]
Last two years of my career on city council, my colleagues very
visibly did everything they could to get rid of me.]
They, you know, made a whole big deal about conflicts of
interest after I think -- I'm making a positive contribution by
becoming an elementary school principal.]
They tried to turn it into a negative issue, and I think for
people who watch that, they got a glimpse of how I deal with
challenges.]
I don't believe at any point that I was disrespectful or
combative back for the people who were trying to do me in.]
At the same time I did not back down one minute.]
I'm the kind of guy that you can't knock down.]
I mean, I fall down, I stand back up.]
]
David Passmore >> What's your view for Rochester in the next four years if you
are elected as mayor?] What's your vision?]
]
Tim Mains >> You know, Rochester can be so much more than it is today.]
Let me talk in very specific physical pieces first.]
I believe that we -- all of us, and certainly if I'm the
leader, I'm going to be giving strong Voice to this, need to
look at revitalizing downtown, and I look at downtown as a
symbol for what we're able to accomplish as a community.]
Downtown used to be this dynamic place and what used to be a
bright star has turned into a black hole, and even though any
of us who are still active in promoting downtown, I can point
to a whole lot of successful things that are happening in
downtown and a whole lot of promising changes that are in the
works.] The vision that most people have of downtown is negative right
now.] I believe that a key element of my economic development
strategy is going to be focused on helping to revitalize
downtown, and to bring people together and to have public
participation in defining that vision and articulating the
specific developments that have to occur, to map out an entire
strategy and then to begin to implement that strategy.]
The other part of my vision has to do with the engagement that
we need to capture.] Right now in this mayor's race today there is incredible
excitement.] Bob and Wade and I are going all over the city talking to
people, and I have to tell you that excitement that I see in
this community doesn't have anything to do with us as
individuals.] It has to do with how much people care about our city.]
They're very invested about who is going to take over the
reigns and who is going to be the person at the helm to guide
us.] They recognize that this transition in government is a critical
one, and whoever wins -- and I sure hope it's me because I'm
prepared to harness that energy.]
]
Beatriz LeBron >> Every candidate has talked about how they will set forth
their agenda through their leadership.]
How do you personally define leadership?]
]
Tim Mains >> Leadership.]
You know, there's a lot of -- leadership wasn’t even a concept
until the latter part of the 20th century.]
I see leadership very differently than I think most folks.]
The traditional model of a leader is someone who has great
charisma and can articulate something and that people want to
follow.] There was a painting back shortly near the end of the
renaissance that had a picture of a crowd coming into Amsterdam,
and the title of the painting is "Jesus enters Amsterdam," and
you look at the painting, and you don't see Jesus.]
He is not there.] You have to really look.] It's almost like finding Waldo.] He is not in the center.]
He is not like where -- it looks like a carnival, and there are all these people, and he is just, like, in the mix.]
He is in the midst of all of these people, and finally if you
look and study the painting long enough, you find the image of
Jesus moving along, and he has a great sense of confidence and
composure, and he is not quite as celebratory as all of the --
celebratory of the Mardi Gras celebrators around him, but he is
moving with the group.] I used to teach a course when I was a social studies teacher
about the sociology of leadership and that a leader can only be
a leader if people recognize that what he or she says is
valuable, and if that person represents their values.]
My definition of leadership is someone who is so attuned and
spends time making sure that he stays attuned to what the ebb
and flow and the feel is in the community that he is able to
speak for that community in a way that they agree and that
resonated for them.]
And that he pushes an agenda that that community is willing to
embrace.]
]
Davis Passmore>> Have you had to fire anyone in another career?]
Tell me about that and how you had to do that as a mayor.]
]
>> Firing people is not fun.] Firing people is -- I take it it's not something I have taken
lightly.] I weigh very heavily the fact that I have someone's career,
someone's livelihood at stake.]
I'm very careful about making personnel decisions.]
The reality is that any leadership position you cannot carry
out your job and not hurt feelings, not step on toes, not make
people unhappy.] That is part of the deal.]
You may make a decision and the people that you have had to let
go may not agree with you, may think you're being unfair or
unkind or in some way evil.]
I make decisions about firing in particular based on data,
based on facts.] Right now I have -- when someone is having difficulty, it's my
job to let them know they're having difficulty.]
If they have -- if they need help, then I try and make sure
that help is available to them.]
If in the end either they're not able to make and to bridge
that gap and make that improvement or sometimes they're making
the effort, but the resources have dried up and I can only keep
three people and two of you are going to have to go.]
In the current situation in the school district when two of
them have to go it's based on the seniority and the contract
covers that.]
It's also true in civil service, but as the mayor there are a
whole lot of people who are not in a bargaining unit, and
that decision is going to be based on merit and performance and
what someone is able to do.]
]
Michael Caputo>> Tim Mains talking with our Voter panel, give us your
thoughts on this discussion or any of the others in this series
of mayoral talks.] Email us at WXXI.ORG or you can call our response live.]
The number is 258-0250.]
]
Michael Caputo>> Now here is the Voice of the Voter discussion with former
councilman and current defense attorney Republican John Parrinello.]
]
Davis Passmore (VOV participant)>> What makes you qualified for the mayoral office, and from
experience and education, what makes you qualified to be the
mayor of Rochester, New York?]
]
John Parrinello>> Having lived in the city for 61 years, having been educated grammar school, high school, and college in the city, having lived in various areas of the city, having experienced different levels of education for my children, having worked in the court system with respect to various issues for most of my adult life.] That being since I graduated from law school in 1965.]
I have -- I am chairman of the board of Monroe community
college.] I have been on the city council for four years from 1970 to
1974.] I was vice mayor for two of those years from 1972 to 1974.]
I have been elected to two halls of fame for -- that is equines
and the Munroe county hall of fame, and I have always taken a
leadership role at any venture that I have been involved in.]
]
Davis Passmore>> The organization itself and being mayor and being qualified,
could you give me just a little bit more in the sense of the duties
of a mayor in the sense of -- if you could elaborate more on
that.]
]
John Parrinello >> Sure.] I have experienced poverty myself.]
For instance, what I was at the university of Rochester I
didn't have enough money to live on campus for two years.]
I was up at 6:30 in the morning buttering toast and then after
football practice I would wash pots and pans for my meals.]
When I was growing up, I would have been homeless had it not
been for my grandmother and my uncle who had a two-bedroom
apartment, and my grandmother slept in one bedroom.]
My uncle and I in another, and my mother, father, and
sister slept in the living room.]
I peddled papers.]
I have had a lot of character-building events in my life.]
I know I have leadership abilities.]
I know what it means not to have things in life.]
I know what it means to work your way up to the top.]
I know what it means to people that don't have things.]
I have always turned situations into positive experiences for
myself, so I think that me, more than any of the other three
candidates, have experienced more in my lifetime, my 66 years
of life, so that I can not only empathize with people that are
living below the poverty level, but people that are
experiencing success in their life.]
I know what the city needs.]
I know the city hasn't reached its pinnacle.]
I know that there are things to be done.]
I'm confident that I can do them, and I don't think there's any
doubt in my mind that I'm the best candidate.]
]
Tricia Nixon (VOV Participant)>> Sir, how is your family supporting your candidacy for
mayor?]
]
John Parrinello >> My family has always supported what I have wanted to do.]
That is not to say that I can dictate to them.]
They have their own ideas.]
Have I four children who have grown up to be successful, and I
would like to say that that's my doing, but it's not.]
It's their mother's doing.]
My wife left medical school to support me and to help me
through law school.]
She stayed home 20 years with our children.]
She then returned to school and got her master's.]
She's finishing her 22nd year as a nursery schoolteacher, and
she's retiring this year to volunteer to help with
disadvantaged children.]
She's supportive.]
I can't say she's enthusiastic because she knows that
she's going to lose part of our companionship that we've had
for the last 43 years, but she has not discouraged me in this
effort, and she has always supported me, and I owe a great debt
of gratitude to her for having while I was away practicing law
or coaching football or coaching C.Y.O. basketball or Little
League, she's always held the family together.]
]
Beatriz LeBron>> So far every candidate has described how they would use
their leadership skills to set forth their agenda.]
How do you define leadership?]
]
John Parrinello >> By having people recognize.]
Leadership, you can't tell somebody you are a leader without
actually demonstrating that you are a leader.]
That is by seeking out.]
That is by participating in debate.]
That is by interacting with people.]
My record speaks for itself in terms of all the awards I have
gotten, and you don't get that.]
It comes naturally from the community.]
]
Davis Passmore>> If you are elected as mayor, what is your vision for the
next four years as mayor?]
What is your vision for Rochester?]
]
John Parrinello >> My vision is to take responsibility for the leadership of
the city, the development of jobs, the economic health of the
city to make the fast ferry, which we overpaid for, a damaged
item, to make it work.]
That and to make Rochester a destination city for people
traveling on the fast ferry and not a pass-through city.]
That's why I think it's vital that we have a casino downtown,
that we have the Sibley building.]
Those are the only two buildings downtown from Alexander street
to Plymouth avenue that are needed to complete center city, and
with respect to drugs, my expectation and my goal is to shut
every drug house down.]
Now, Bob Duffy has been a police chief for seven years, and we
still have drug houses operating.]
He has to take some accountability for that.]
I am going to have a car with a spotlight and a camera on every
drug house that is known in the city.]
That is employing to discourage people from using those drug
houses.]
I am going to -- I am going to as far as schools -- you know
the propositions I have made about wearing uniforms in
elementary school.]
I am not running for the school board.]
I am not like mayor Johnson going to drive the superintendent
out of town with some nasty dialogue.]
I don't think that's healthy for the school district.]
With respect to let's paint -- lead paint poisoning, there's
1,000 children a year that are poisoned by lead paint.]
1,000 a year.]
It has not been a priority of the Johnson administration of
which the other two candidates that sit on the city council.]
We have 80,000 houses in the city that have lead paint, and it
infects children, and it affects their whole lives.]
Lead paint poisoning elimination will be the center point or
the beginning point with respect to my administration.]
I am going to immediately eliminate the net organization.]
I am -- that will do two things.]
One, the net organization has not -- is not focusing on what they were put
together to focus on.]
They are harassing small businesses.]
They are causing small businesses to go out of business, which
is not what they were created to do.]
They were created to address nuisances in the city.]
In addition to that, the net organization has a lot of police
officers being paid a lot of money to sit in that net offices,
and now we're told we can't have neighborhood precincts because
we don't have the manpower.]
Well, we have the manpower.]
We take them out of net.]
I want neighborhood precincts.]
I want them into the neighborhoods because then the resident
and the police officer will learn to interact.]
They'll know each other.]
It will decrease the response time.]
It will improve the city.]
]
Tricia Nixon (VOV participant)>> Sir, what character traits do you find most troublesome?]
]
John Parrinello >> My character traits?]
]
Nixon>> Not yours.] In a work force, per se.]
]
John Parrinello >> Disloyalty.]
Disloyalty.]
People that are not loyal to the needs of the city.]
People that aren't doing their jobs properly.]
We will have a complete reassessment of the work force.]
Those people that are not covered by unions, they will be
re-evaluated immediately.]
There will be a restructuring because we need to set priorities
to attack things, like lead paint poisoning.]
Also like drug houses.]
I mean, we have to set priorities and attack things that are
hurting people.]
So I think loyalty is something that I would look for
immediately.]
We need people that are going to give us an honest day's work,
and I'm a hard driver.]
I'm not easy to work for, but that's -- I'm as hard on myself
as I am on other people because I am not afraid to do what I'm
asking them to do, and I will do that.]
I will walk with people.]
I will visit people.]
I will visit businesses.]
I will not be in my office much.]
I will be loyal to my word and I expect that people working for
me and working for the city to be loyal to the city residents.]
]
Michael Caputo>> John Parrinello with our Voice of the Voter citizen panel.]
Now here is the business section with the "Democrat and
Chronicle."]
]
Julie Philipp (JP)>> With us is Ellen Rosen, the editor of the business section for
the "Democrat and Chronicle."]
Big news on Kodak this week.] We have Daniel carp resigning June 1st.]
]
Ellen Rosen (ER)>> Is he stepping down as C.E.O. and staying on as chairman. It's kind of a transition.] First giving (Antonio Perez) a little time in the C.E.O. job and then he will take over as chairman.]
]
(JP)>> A long history with Kodak.]
He has so far spearhead some big changes there.]
Not always with a blessing of stockholders.]
What's his legacy?]
]
Rosen >> Well, basically he really joined Kodak straight out of
college.]
A kid from West Virginia and came here.]
He has been a long-time Kodak employee, and he has basically
been part of Kodak's top management for about a decade now,
having been C.O.O. and other thing.]
I think his legacy will be one of -- it's mixed, but I think
it's largely positive.]
Basically he has led the company through some of its most
turbulent times.]
He is the one that will be credited with bringing Perez here, and
Perez is credited with being the major architect that's getting
them digital.]
]
(JP)>> How much of what's happened in the last couple of years is
Carp, and how much is Perez?]
]
Rosen >> Well, they really feel Perez is really the brains behind.]
Is he the master plan, but you have to give carp credit for
bringing him in, and, B, seeing this was time to have this
happen, and orchestrating the plan he has in place.]
Perez said the other day and when they announced his new
position that he is going to actually move even faster.]
That Kodak needs to move even faster to this digital market if
it's going to keep up with the ups and downs of the rapidly
changing market.]
]
(JP)>> Perez will keep moving forward on the plan that they're on.]
There's not going to be a real surprise.]
]
Rosen >> The analyst we've talked to and Perez himself have said
they're not looking for a major change in vision.]
Now, the pace of how that vision is exacted may be something
else.] As Perez said, he feels this is changing rapidly.] Technology is changing rapidly.]
All the cameras and things that are out there, customers are demanding more.]
The company will have to be more nimble and move faster into
the arenas.] Basically it's the same vision that they're cooping, which is to be dominant in the digital market.
(JP)>> They're starting to make inroads, first quarter results.]
Rosen >> This really is the first time in four quarters that the
results haven't been better than they were supposed to be, but
they do remain the number -- in the number one spot of the
seller of digital cameras.]
]
(JP)>> Let’s move on to another topic… Garlock is staying.]
]
Rosen >> They're one of Wayne county's largest employers.]
It keeps something like 450 jobs there.
The workers had to make concessions, but the company that owns Garlock will invest
about $35 million to -- ]
]
(JP)>> Two other stories really quick.]
Irondequoit mall has a new look.]
]
Rosen >> Yes, it's called Medley Centre ---The new owner says he plans to make this something we have not seen in Rochester filled with retailers and restaurants and we currently don't have.]
]
(JP)>> And Constellation Brand is making news...]
]
Rosen >> Constellation is looking to buy one of the biggest companies
in the spirit line where constellations has said it wants to
grow.]
]
Julie Philipp>> Thanks so much.]
If you missed any of the mayoral discussion weather advisory
Voice of the Voter panel, there is a way to see them.]
If have you time, Warner's video on demand service, can you go
to on demand, and then look up WXXI news.]
There can you find previous need to know broadcasts.]
Michael Caputo>> That's our report.]
Next week we'll take a look at the talk of the business world,
fuel cell technology and the impact it might have on the
Rochester area.]
It will begin our occasional series "The economics of green."]
We'll see you then.]