Former Mayor Lovely Warren allowed to remain on Democratic primary ballot, judge rules

Former Mayor Lovely Warren can stay on the Democratic primary ballot in her bid for a City Court judgeship, a judge has ruled.

Warren, who resigned her mayoral office after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor crime, is scheduled to face Michael Geraci, a local defense lawyer and the Democratic committee's choice for the judgeship.

Geraci had sought to have Warren removed from the ballot after petitions were circulated for her for both the judgeship and a Democratic committee seat. Past court precedent likely would preclude her from simultaneously seeking both the committee seat and a judgeship because of the prohibition on judges or judicial candidates stepping into political activity.

However, at both a hearing and in court papers Warren made the case that she was unaware that others were circulating the committee petitions with her names. And there was testimony that Warren had not been approached about the committee position; instead, she was included on petitions because she previously held committee positions.

In his ruling Monday, state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Doyle said that Geraci had failed to show "clear and convincing evidence" that Warren "committed a fraud on the voting public."

"Warren established that she was unaware that she was on the designating petitions for the party position of Member of the Democratic County Committee," Doyle wrote.

In 2021 Warren admitted to knowingly exceeding campaign contribution limits. That misdemeanor plea also resolved other outstanding criminal charges, including criminal possession of a firearm.

With a misdemeanor plea, she was able to keep her law license. She agreed to surrender the mayor's office as part of the plea.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Former Mayor Lovely Warren allowed to remain on primary ballot