City Council votes in Lampron, Grassie to replace school board members who quit

Samuel Oliver, left, takes the oath of office from City Attorney Terence O'Rourke as new school board member Anne Grassie looks on. (City of Rochester screenshot)

Editor's note: Samuel Oliver and Anne Grassie won seats on the Rochester school board on Tuesday. The Rochester Voice misidentified one of the winners in an earlier version of this article. We apologize for the error.

ROCHESTER - Anne Grassie and Samuel Oliver each won seats on the Rochester school board on Tuesday, replacing Karen Stokes and Paul Cormier who abruptly resigned in July.
Both races were decided on a second vote after ties on the first ballot.
Grassie ultimately won her Ward 4 seat after defeating Jerry Gregoire, while Samuel Oliver defeated Shawn Lampron in their second ballot to win a Ward 5 slot.
The two were immediately sworn in by City Attorney Terence O'Rourke.
Both Stokes and Cormier stepped down from their school board seats on July 10.
In her final comments, Stokes ripped into board chair Shane Downs over how he had led the board down what she viewed as a dangerous path.
"For the chair it's all about power," she said. "This board now operates like the wild west: no rules, no guardrails."
After Stokes' resignation speech, Cormier announced he was also resigning due to the board's "backstabbing."
"I cannot continue with the personal vendettas, holier than thou attitudes, backstabbing and double talk, which seem to be the norm from the board," he said.