Legislative Achievements 2022-2023

• Currently serving as Vice-President of the Monroe County Legislature. (1/2024)

• Currently serving as Legislative representative to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Greater Rochester Board. (5/2024)

• Unanimously elected to serve as Assistant Minority Leader

• Serves as the  Vice Chair of Human Services (1/2024)

• Serves as member of the Ways and Means Committee (1/2024)

• Serves as member of the Public Safety Committee (1/2024)

• Sitting member on the Fire Advisory Board (1/2024)

• Serves on the Consortium for Safe Communities Committee (2023)

• Prior service on both the Monroe County Ways and Means and the Recreation and Education committees. (2023)

• On January 11, 2022, Legislators Roman and Vazquez Simmons co-sponsored a bill to extend Residential-Commercial Urban Exemption (RESCUE) Program.

• Created an Inaugural Memorial Day Parade in 2022 for the County by Legislator Roman, Baynes, Burgess, Maffucci, Vazquez Simmons, and Vecchio

• On June 14, 2022, County Executive and the Democratic Caucus sponsored a bill that provides $1.00 admission to Seneca Park Zoo, to families receiving SNAP benefits.

• On July 12, 2022, the Legislature passed hybrid videoconferencing for all legislative meetings.

• On July 12, 2022 all 29 legislators enacted a Local Law Entitled, “Monroe County School Bus Stop Arm Demonstration Program,” which will help ensure the safety of student bus riders.

• On August 9, 2022 all 29 legislators enacted a bill that provides $5.00 admission to Seneca Park Zoo, to Veterans and their family members accompanying them.

• Advocated to remove the “Reawaken America Tour” stop at the Main Street Armory in Rochester, scheduled for August 12, 2022.

• On September 13, 2022 the Climate Action Plan – Phase, which was sent by the Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee and was approved by a unanimous vote.

• On November 15, 2022 a special meeting was called to appoint Julie Cianca as Public Defender with a majority of members voting to appoint her for the remainder of the current two-year term.

• At the December 13, 2022 Full Legislature meeting and months of advocacy by the Democratic Caucus and the community, an ASL interpreter was provided, with the intention of providing this at all Full Legislature meetings going forward.

• Passed legislation for ARPA Funding to support Non-Profit Agencies in Monroe County
   

In all 40 organizations and projects were chosen to receive funding.

These include:

•  $7.1 million for the Community Resource Collaborative to create wraparound services and neighborhood outreach for better collaboration between well-known community organizations in the City neighborhoods historically referred to as the “Crescent” that have the highest levels of poverty in the City of Rochester.

• $5.5 million for the Transformational Community Care Coordination Project, to pay skilled nursing facilities and home health care agencies for the successful recruitment and training of certified nursing assistants, home health aides, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses.

• $2.2 million for the Healthy Baby Network to create a doula program to reduce Black maternal and infant mortality and to mentor and work with fathers — with a focus on previously incarcerated individuals.

• $2.1million for Providence Housing Development Corp. to provide wraparound services for deaf and hard of hearing individuals fleeing domestic violence or human trafficking.

• $1.3 million for the Research Foundation for the state University of New York at Brockport to develop a mobile welding lab to provide training to those with significant barriers to employment including at-risk youth, inmates and individuals on probation.

• $1.3 million for Volunteers of America of Western New York for a hydroponic farm that will provide healthy food to vulnerable communities alongside job training and educational opportunities for county residents.