The Democratic mayor of Rochester, New York, pleaded not guilty and vowed to stay in office after being indicted on felony charges related to campaign finance violations last week.
Mayor Lovely Warren and two of her political associates, Albert Jones Jr. and Rosalind Brooks-Harris, all pleaded not guilty to charges related to an alleged scheme between the campaign and a political action committee to obscure large donations to the mayor. Warren’s attorney, Joseph Damelio, submitted the not guilty plea on Warren’s behalf on Monday and said she would not be resigning because “her ability to govern has not been impaired.”
“She welcomes the opportunity for the public to see whether the district attorney’s charges hold water,” Damelio told reporters.
Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley accused Warren of using a PAC which was overseen by Brooks-Harris to funnel donations over the legal maximum of $8,557 to her campaign fund for which Jones Jr. served as treasurer. Doorley claimed Warren accepted “substantial” donations of as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars, far exceeding the legal limits.
Warren admitted that there were transfers between the campaign and the PAC account but maintained that the transfers were not intentional. Damelio said that Warren had not intentionally broken any campaign finance laws when he delivered the plea.
Doorley said there is evidence that the transfers were “not a mistake.”
Warren faces up to four years in prison if she is convicted. She would also be removed from her post as mayor and would lose her license to practice law. Her next court appearance will be on Jan. 12, 2021.
Rochester has been under the national spotlight following the death of Daniel Prude, a black man who died in police custody in the city in March. Many protesters have been demanding Warren’s resignation for her handling of his death.
