(Rochester, NY) 11/09/05 -- Come January 1, 2006 former police chief Robert Duffy will succeed William Johnson as Mayor of Rochester.
Duffy won by a landslide with 72 percent of the votes; his Republican challenger John Parrinello got 16 percent.
Working Families party candidate Tim Mains won ten percent; Red, White, and Blue party candidate Chris Maj garnered only one percent.
Duffy told his supporters that he believes his positive outlook for the city earned him a huge margin of victory.
The mayor-elect said he will begin working immediately on putting together his staff. He stressed that he has not made a decision on whether to keep Current Interim Police Chief Cedric Alexander or appoint someone new to the post.
While it was a disappointing finish for Parrinello, who said he kept his promise to stick to issues and feels he got his message out.
He congratulated Duffy in person and wished him well at City Hall. Parrinello says he has no plans to run for public office again and will go back to his law practice.
Twelve years after he was first elected mayor, Johnson says he's looking forward to a smooth transition to the Duffy years.
Johnson first backed Duffy over a field of four candidates for the democratic nomination, including the party choice, City Councilman Wade Norwood.
The current mayor said improving the fast ferry operation will be a priority for the transition.
