Koutsoukos adds his name to list of Rochester mayoral candidates
May 28—ROCHESTER — Dean Koutsoukos became Rochester's fourth candidate for mayor Friday afternoon.
The former Rochester Public Works engineer said he believes his experience can help address concerns currently facing the city.
"There are a lot of good ideas, but we might have to delay some to get people to catch up," he said of setting priorities for spending city tax dollars and other revenue.
He said the city needs to be responsible in its spending to make sure its residents can afford to live and thrive in the community.
"The cost of living in Rochester has gone really high, and it's getting hard for people to afford a lot of things," he said.
He said his 16 years as a Rochester city employee, along with experiences in other communities, offers him unique insights into city services, which could help operations run more efficiently.
"I've worked with the streets, the sewers, the water," he said. "I've been involved with a little bit of everything, including the emergency operations center, so I'm familiar with the police and fire."
Koutsoukos said he also wants to help the city address a variety of issues, from options for affordable child care to encouraging greater use of renewable energy.
He entered a race that already had two candidates challenging incumbent Mayor Kim Norton. Professional search recruiter Brad Trahan and local business owner Britt Noser filed for the office on Thursday after announcing plans to run earlier this year.
Filing for city elected offices continued until 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The current four-way race means a preliminary election for the mayoral seat will be held Aug. 9 to narrow the race to two candidates.The general election is Nov. 8.
