Rochester's Mayoral Primary Election 2021 and the Noble, Famous Queen
Flashback to the late 16th century. Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded on the orders of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England. A quatrain by an anonymous author, describing the event, was circulated throughout England, frightening the Virgin Queen. It served as an explicit example of the dangers facing political leaders everywhere. "The noble, famous queen, who lost her head of late Is proof that kings as well as clowns are bound to Fortune's fate. And that no earthly prince may so secure his crown That Fortune, with her spinning wheel, hath power to pull him down." Fast forward to 2021: Rochester's Democratic Mayoral Primary. Mayor Lovely Warren was defeated in her bid for a third term in office by a "landslide," although barely 25% of Rochester's registered Democrats bothered to vote at all. It was the worst defeat an incumbent mayor ever suffered since Rochester began to elect its mayors by popular vote forty years ago. Her opponent, Malik Evans, won sole