Joe Powers: Bransford is the right candidate for Ward 2
To the Community —
My family has been in Rochester since the 1800s. I live in Ward 2 and my business is also in Ward 2. Throughout the years there have been many changes, nearly all of them positive for our community.
With Covid, we are living in uncertain times. We have to keep our community growing and moving forward. We can only do that with people who want to build others up, not tear them down. Civility, maturity and common sense have been lacking on our council lately. We need a change.
My vote is for Mark Bransford in Ward 2.
I have supported Michael Wojcik in the past because I thought he worked hard for the ward. But he doesn’t do that anymore. When he sought out my support a few months ago, I told him ‘no’ and I gave him my reasons:
Taking an almost 100 percent raise during the Covid-19 and then wanting city staff to delay their 2 percent raise is a truly stunning level of selfishness. At a time when so many of us have lost our incomes, taking more from us isn’t public service. It’s greed.
Kemps, Seneca, and AMPI all left town and no one on the City Council showed any concern. Worse, hundreds of people lost their good-paying jobs.
Mr. Wojcik has castigated colleagues on the Council, the County Board, Superintendent Michael Muñoz, the Police Chief, Ardell Brede, civic volunteers, Steve Kvenvold, senior citizens, women, Andy Chafoulias (who has never even met Mr. Wojcik) and now — only after I told him I wouldn’t support him politically — he is smearing me with misleading claims and innuendos.
When, in the middle of a pandemic, downtown businesses were starting to come back to life after the lockdown, our Council decided to tear up the downtown, making it impossible to get to a downtown business and killing any chance for these businesses to stay afloat.
All these reasons and a few others determined my choice not to support Mr. Wojcik again. I’ve had enough of his personal political agenda and his scorched earth politics. So, like so many others, I would have voted for anyone but Mr. Wojcik. Then I met Mark Bransford and was deeply impressed.
Mark Bransford has common sense. He genuinely listens to anyone and everyone, and he lets you know you have been heard. I felt it the very first time I met him and I’ve watched over the past few weeks as he hears from people in the Ward. He takes the information he's gathered, thinks on it, and formulates ideas that will help fix problems. Thoughtful consideration takes time, and includes putting aside ideology and doing what is right for the community.
Case and point, he has listened to Denise Welte, who also ran for the primary election Ward 2, and has now joined Mark’s campaign. I won’t speak for Denise, but her support speaks volumes about Mark.
I have no illusions that I will agree with Mark all the time. But I know one thing: when I disagree with him he will handle it with maturity.
Check out Mark’s web page and you’ll see a ton of information on his policies.
I support Mark Bransford. I hope you will, too. It is time for a change.
Joe Powers, Ward 2, Rochester
