Simmons, two newcomers win city school board primary

The current board president was the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for three seats on the Rochester City School District Board of Education.

Unofficial results from the Monroe County Board of Elections show that Camille Simmons received 8,881 votes. Youth workforce developer Kareem-Ba McCullough received 8,314 votes, and Parent Leadership Training Institute alum Heather Feinman earned 6,235.

Former county lawmaker Vince Felder fell short in his second attempt at a school board run, receiving 4,726 votes.

Simmons says she wants to maintain the progress already made during her short tenure as board president. At the top of her issues list are navigating federal education changes both financially and policy-wise, and continuing to strengthen literacy acquisition, mental health services, and parental engagement.

McCullough wants to expand student leadership opportunities and alternative pathways for students, while also enhancing the board’s responsiveness and transparency. Feinman, who has a deaf child, hopes to expand language access for deaf and limited English proficient children, as well as support LGBTQIA+ student rights, enhanced recess and play, and mental health services.

Due to several surprising dropouts from the race, only four candidates vied for the three board seats.

Cynthia Elliott, an incumbent with more than two decades of experience, did not file a petition to run after previously indicating she would. Both incumbent James Patterson and newcomer Trent Jackson Jr. were forced to drop out of the running after their paperwork was reviewed and rejected by the Board of Elections.

Patterson and Jackson were both upset by the decision and indicated they were considering an independent or write-in campaign for the general election in November. No candidate for commissioner in the Board of Elections records has ever won a seat after failing to secure a Democratic primary win.

For example, after Beatriz Lebron-Harris lost in the 2017 Democratic primary, she mounted a general election campaign with the backing of the Working Families and Independence parties. Her 6,600-vote total on those party lines was well shy of the totals of the victors, all of whom ran on the Democratic line and received at least 16,000 votes.

In the 2019 Democratic primary, however, LeBron-Harris handily won a spot and received the most votes of any candidate in both the primary and general elections.

Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist.

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