‘I probably have pages and pages of ideas’ Rochester Mayor-Elect Malik Evans holds post-election news conference

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Malik Evans has officially won the race for Rochester mayor.

He didn’t have a challenger after beating Mayor Lovely Warren in the Democratic primary last June.

After Evans voted Tuesday, he told us he’s been working since June, analyzing the city departments and how they work. Evans held a news conference Wednesday morning where he said while he is anxious to get to work, he’s also asking for patience. He added he’ll start asking people to take on jobs in his administration.

He said personnel moves will start being announced by December.

"I probably have pages and pages of ideas and observations that people saw when we looked at various departments," Evans said. "And we did that first because wanted to first think about which structure that we wanted, and then we wanted to think what individuals could move that mission forward."

You can view the news conference in the player below.

When he was asked about the future he sees for the city, he said a city that his son is proud of and that he will reveal his vision for the city later on this week. At its core though, Evan stressed the future.

"Our vision is building the bridge to Rochester’s future," Evans said "The mission is to promote systemic and structural change."

In response to the Police Accountability Board, Evans says, “I hope that the PAB gets up and running. I am going to be counting on the PAB to help lead the community conversations.”

— Jenny Ly (@WHEC_JLy) November 3, 2021

Among other topics he addressed, were Rochester’s Police Accountability Board, and gun violence, an issue he’s previously outlined proposed plans for.

As Evans spoke on Election Night, a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed on Peckham Street in the city. Evans Wednesday called gun violence "out of control."

When Mayor Lovely Warren agreed to resign as part of her guilty plea last month, she and the district attorney settled on Dec. 1 for her resignation.

Evans’s term will start on Jan. 1, so James Smith, Rochester’s current deputy mayor, will become a one-month mayor for December.

He will become the 70th mayor of Rochester while mayor Evans prepares to take over.