What was all of this for?

Your annual warning never to click because these articles almost never include Monroe County 😂❄️

This is why I keep saying Hochul needs to just fund SNAP.

"We're tracking about 30 white clergy who are running for office as Democrats around the country. That's shocking."

“Venezuelans left without TPS may now be forced to return to a country plunged in a humanitarian crisis and economic turbulence, exacerbated by political repression — and now also facing the possibility of war with the world’s largest military superpower.“

Light Sunday morning reading

"Among first-time buyers, the average age was 40 — an all-time high....First-time buyers accounted for only about one in five homes sold during the 12 months ending in June. That's a record low and half the share of first-time buyers a generation ago."

"Under the new plan, I would go up to $338 every two weeks, so we're looking at a per-pay-period increase of over $220, and annually that's going to be an over $5,700 difference."

Hochul’s communication on SNAP has been incredibly deficient. The lack of clarity could be resolved if she would just commit to using reserve funds no matter what happens.

“Death by Lightning” is so good. I suspect the villain is uncomfortably familiar to many elected officials.

Wouldn’t insurers…get the money anyway? Just do Medicare for All already…

“New York had said access to full SNAP benefits should begin by Sunday.…Whether people actually will receive those benefits on their EBT cards remains unclear.” Confusing because of court back and forth.

This was a fun interview. I loved the part on Rochester accents. ⁦‪Evan‬⁩ is right that Rochester is pronounced Rahshter among natives.

I've just directed state agencies to fully fund federal SNAP benefits for November. President Trump's actions have been senseless and un-American. I'll never stop fighting for New York's families.

"Rochester is especially sensitive to shifts in the H-1B visa system. With 751 approved workers through the third quarter of 2025, the area hosts more H-1B employees than any other part of the state outside New York City."

Democratic legislators were invited to private briefings about the 2026 budget. But not the legislators Bello doesn't like. All good- we have public budget forums so everyone can hear the questions and answers. It's better that way.

In this moment, this is where RMAPI shows it's not a true advocacy organization, but in the pocket of the politicians who give them tax dollars to stay afloat. RMAPI should have been the first organization calling on Hochul to fund SNAP. Instead it's crickets.

Great to see my E. Main St. neighbors Carroll's and Main Place make the list. Cheers! 🍻

This is the way 💪

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s CEO started as a prep cook in Rochester when he was 18.

“When you go semi-auto you start to lose quality. (Making donuts by hand) is what sets us apart. We are still making donuts like they did 30 or 40 years ago. Nobody is doing that anymore and that’s why we have such a great product.”

A right wing guy filed a complaint against me for conduct unbecoming an elected official relating to my comments about ICE. The Monroe County Board of Ethics actually investigated. Needless to say, I'm pretty disturbed. rachbarnhart.substack.com/p/bellos-eth...

The graphic here is incorrect. WFP did not endorse in the Rochester mayoral race. cc: @nysfocus.bsky.social And Evans is progressive on some things, but he's considered a firmly Establishment Dem.

Food banks alone simply cannot meet the need. Governor Hochul should fund November's SNAP benefits.

Excellent story - this is accountability journalism. Shame on ⁦Democratic chairman ⁦‪Stephen DeVay‬⁩ for not condemning this hypocrisy.

Congratulations to Onondaga Dems!

The other thing about undervotes is the new voting system flags under voting to the voter and gives them a chance to fix it. Lots of people said no thanks.

Merry Christmas

My dogs are Democrats. 🐾 Good morning.

Bello/Morelle/McCann traded a water authority seat for the C Party line to help McCann win the Greece supervisor race. He didn’t even need the line to win. Turns out boys you just can be Democrats and it will be okay.

A Republican tried to tell me that national politics doesn’t matter in local elections. Our polarized time makes that untrue. People can’t bring themselves to vote GOP during Trump 2.0, the damage to our country is so severe. If GOP didn’t realize it before, they do now.

There was no need to make any corrupt deals with the Conservative Party. Democrats really need to run on their values and trust voters. open.substack.com/pub/rachbarn...

Thank you, Monroe County BOE, for a great new reporting system for results. Love the map. Here you see the Sheriff, who ran unopposed on D & C lines. Westside precincts voted for him on C line. Thousands of people skipped the line, many in protest of the C endorsement, I'm sure.

I wonder if running for governor still looks like a good idea to Stefanik...

Really happy to see this. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...

Looking at turnout data in some of these races, it's pretty clear blanks banked left and voted D. By a lot.

A blue wave in Monroe County. Ticket-splitting NOT a thing in P-Towns. It IS still a thing in Greece. McCann's victory only cost us a water authority seat. Dems may pick up two legislature seats, one of them thanks in part to a GOP civil war. GOP is toast in Monroe.

Snazzy new election results website in Monroe County.

Post of the day

Monroe County tonight - is ticket-splitting still a thing in Trump era? More D's voted than GOP in P-towns - will any towns flip D? More GOP voting than D's in Greece - will McCann's C-Party dirty deal pay off? Any other race, he'd be toast, but my crystal ball is cloudy.

NY lej needs to have a special session ASAP.

Highly recommend both candidates!

I have been screaming about this for months. Couldn’t get local media to cover. It’s an absolute disgrace. open.substack.com/pub/rachbarn...

Voting complete. Find your polling place and get out and vote: www.monroecounty.gov/elections-vo...

If Maryland can do it, so can NY.

Glad this is getting coverage - media simply accepted that NY couldn't do more.

Exciting pick at the right moment

Dear Rochester media, It’s not fair to candidates to cover a presser/complaint the day before the election. Can you really do a good job researching claims, finding a legal expert and giving accused candidates time to respond? There used to be ethics rules about this in newsrooms.

"But even if partial or full payments reach families in November, the funding lap could stretch on."

Should be illegal. You want voters to vote based on whom they want in office, not making money on bets.