Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren has formally announced the elevation of City Communications Director James Smith to the position of Deputy Mayor, starting in the New Year. Deputy Mayor Cedric Alexander is retiring after less than two years to look after his ailing elderly mother in Florida.
Smith previously served as a deputy Monroe County executive, and as county manager in Seneca County.
Alexander is a former Rochester police chief, then served as public safety director in DeKalb County, Georgia, before returning to Rochester last year to become deputy mayor.