A public-safety town hall meeting announced to include Rochester’s new fire and police chiefs likely would have included empty chairs, even without a social-media objection from a Rochester City Council member.
Fire Chief Eric Kerska said he was never scheduled to attend the meeting organized by mayoral candidate Charlie O’Connell last week. While his planned participation was cited in a Post Bulletin article, he said he never confirmed participation.
On Monday, Police Chief Jim Franklin told the city council he turned down the invitation after receiving more details. “When I learned the event was possibly, or could be construed as, politicized, I made the decision to back out,” he said when asked about the event by Council Member Michael Wojcik.
Wojcik had objected to the announced participation of the two chiefs in a Facebook post on the day the event was announced, noting he had contacted city administration.