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 Malik Evans, Rochester’s Mayor-Elect

By Anya Niven

As the campaign website of mayoral-elect Malik Evans loads onto my computer screen, I see bold blue text that reads “Building Bridges.” Along with Evans’s campaign statement, this text overlays a photo of Rochester’s Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.  A “Rochesterian” born and bred, Evans has been an active member of Rochester’s political community since his teenage years. At 16 years old, Evans was already making powerful contributions to his city by assisting in the formation of the City/County Youth Council. Evans continued his political contributions throughout his young adulthood and in 2003 became the “youngest person ever”[1] elected as a member of the Rochester Board of Education at age 23. Continuing his work within the Rochester City Council since his first election has made Evans a developed and familiar leader in the Rochester community.

Malik Evans announced his campaign for Mayor of Rochester in January of 2021 and constructed it around the idea of “building bridges” to mend the many divides faced in the Rochester community. This mayoral election was situated in the wake of many major economic and social changes in Rochester, including the effects of the Covid-19 crisis, the aftermath of the killing of Rochester citizen Daniel Prude, and citywide protests against police brutality. The people of Rochester were looking for change, especially in their leaders, and many found the qualities they wanted in Malik Evans’ message. Running on a platform based on establishing trust, transparency, and accountability among the City Council and political leaders in Rochester, especially in the climate surrounding the election, was extremely successful for the mayor-elect. Evans’ most popular proposed initiatives throughout his campaign were focused on the youth of Rochester. Rochester First detailed his proposed initiatives in an article in June, explaining three programs Evans intends to work on with his mayoral position. The first is his “Youth to Work Program” which aims to create thousands of jobs for young people in Rochester within months of his assumption of office. Evans also proposes a reinforcement of the “teen court” program, an innovative teen-based accountability program that teaches young people about the criminal justice system and is effective in reducing youth violence rates with education.

Both of these programs proposed by Evans will work together to build a connected and supportive network of young adults in Rochester and assist them as they become participatory members of local politics and the economy. In a press conference early in his campaign, Evans reiterated a famous quote of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, saying, “Douglass said it is easier to build strong children than repair broken men, and I’ll add women to that as well.”[2] Evans’ development of these missions and the promises he made to the people of Rochester gained traction throughout the spring and in the June 2021 primary, Evans beat incumbent Lovely Warren in the polls with 66.1% of the vote. Since Evans ran unopposed in the general election held on November 2nd, Evans officially won with 98.75% of the vote, with the other 1.43% being write-in nominations. Even before his victory, Evans was passionate about improving Rochester and was even more adamant that this had to begin with Rochester’s youth. His initiatives will promote youth employment, support, and stability to encourage the building of empowered young voices and a strong workforce. With his assumption of office on January 1st, 2022, Evans will “get to work” as promised and begin to put his plans in place to bridge the divides in Rochester.

 

 

Citations

 

Andreatta, David, and Jeremy Moule. “Malik Evans Trounces Mayor Lovely Warren in Democratic Primary, Paves Way to City Hall.” WXXI News [Rochester, NY], 23 June 2021, www.wxxinews.org/post/malik-evans-trounces-mayor-lovely-warren-democratic-primary-paves-way-city-hall.

 “‘Let’s Get to Work’: Malik Evans Savors Sound Victory in Rochester Mayor Race.” Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], 2 Nov. 2021, www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2021/11/03/rochester-ny-mayor-elect-malik-evans-wins-soundly-promises-collaboration/6232189001.

“Malik Evans – for Mayor.” Malik Evans for Mayor, The Committee To Elect Malik Evans, malikevans.org. Accessed 12 Nov. 2021.

“Councilmember Malik Evans, At-Large.” City of Rochester, City of Rochester, www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=21474836831. Accessed 11 Nov. 2021.

Driffill, Matt, and Olivia Doerr. “Mayoral Candidate Malik Evans Pitches Youth Programs as Solution to Violence in Rochester.” Rochester First [Rochester, NY], 13 May 2021, www.rochesterfirst.com/news/your-local-election-hq/watch-live-mayoral-candidate-evans-outlines-plan-to-address-violence-in-rochester.

 

 

 


[1] Andreatta, David, and Jeremy Moule. “Malik Evans Trounces Mayor Lovely Warren in Democratic Primary, Paves Way to City Hall.” WXXI News, 23 June 2021

 

[2] Driffill, Matt, and Olivia Doerr. “Mayoral Candidate Malik Evans Pitches Youth Programs as Solution to Violence in Rochester.” Rochester First, 13 May 2021

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