Political changes rated top stories of 2021

While COVID-19 continued to dominate the landscape in 2021 as it did in 2020, the RBJ’s readers selected political leadership changes in New York state and Rochester as the top local business stories of 2021.

Andrew Cuomo’s resignation as governor amid a sexual harassment scandal garnered a vote from 71 percent of respondents, narrowly edging Malik Evans’ mayoral victory over incumbent Lovely Warren (70%) as the top story of the year.

Rounding out the top stories were the labor shortage caused by the “Great Resignation” (59%), COVID-19’s continuing business disruptions (55%), rising inflation (38%) and Constellation Brands announcing a headquarters move to downtown (31%).

Here is a closer look at these top local business stories for 2021, as selected by RBJ readers.

Andrew Cuomo’s resignation

After years of rumors that Cuomo’s tenure as New York’s governor would end because of his presidential aspirations, it instead ended this year because of his scandals.

Just a year after being praised as a hero for leading New York through the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuomo resigned in August after a sexual harassment scandal led to an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James’ 165-page report concluded that Cuomo sexually harassed nearly a dozen women, including current and former government workers, throughout his three terms. The report found that he engaged in unwanted touching and made inappropriate comments, and that he and his aides unlawfully retaliated against at least one of the women for going public with her complaints.

Amid the sexual harassment investigation, Cuomo was also dealing with other accusations, including that his administration intentionally misreported COVID-related deaths at nursing homes to make the state’s response to the virus look better, and that he illegally used state resources to write a book about leadership last year.

Cuomo announced his resignation a week after the report was released and with the state Assembly considering impeachment proceedings.

Kathy Hochul of the Buffalo area was sworn in Aug. 24 as the state’s first female governor.

Malik Evans’ mayoral victory

Evans launched his campaign for mayor in January, challenging Lovely Warren in the Democratic primary as she sought a third term in office.

Evans had served as a local elected official for nearly 20 years before launching his mayoral campaign. He was elected to the Rochester City School District’s Board of Education in 2003 and served as board president from 2008-13. He was then elected to City Council in 2017.

Warren easily won the Democratic primary in her re-election bid in 2017, but faced multiple challenges in seeking a third term this year.

Her administration’s handling of the death of Daniel Prude after an interaction with Rochester police drew significant criticism. The revelation of Prude’s death and the circumstances surrounding it, which did not come to light until months later, led to weeks of protests in the city and the resignation or termination of several members of police leadership, including Chief La’Ron Singletary.

Warren also faced campaign finance felony charges, including illegal coordination between political committees for the purpose of evading donor limits and participating in a scheme to defraud in the first degree.

Evans won the June primary with 65 percent of the vote and, with no Republican candidate in the race, became the presumptive mayor-elect.

Warren pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor campaign finance charge in October ahead of her trial and agreed to resign from office by Dec. 1 as part of her plea agreement. Her deputy mayor, James Smith, served out the rest of her term. Evans will assume office Jan. 1

The ‘Great Resignation’

Many workers who left jobs during the pandemic did not return to them, and the resulting labor shortage gave workers power to negotiate for better pay and benefits or to confidently leave their job and find a new one.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 4 million people quit their job each month from July through October with a high of 4.4 million in September.

A recent survey by ESL Federal Credit Union showed that worker shortages were cited as one of the reasons some businesses did not meet their 2021 expectations, and staffing was listed as one of the top three business challenges that will be an area of focus in 2022.

The labor shortage has had an effect on Rochester businesses as well. As New York gradually works its way toward a statewide minimum wage of $15 per hour — the minimum wage in Western New York increases to $13.20 per hour Friday — many Rochester-area organizations have voluntarily increased their minimum wage to $15 per hour or higher this year.

As of September, the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative announced that 40 organizations had committed to a $15 per hour minimum wage. That includes Rochester’s two largest employers: the University of Rochester and Rochester Regional Health.

COVID-19

Vaccines for COVID-19 became available at the end of 2020 and inoculation rates steadily increased over the first half of 2021. As vaccination rates shifted and new variants emerged throughout the year, the rules regarding vaccinations and masks changed frequently.

Companies of all sizes and in all industries struggled with how to encourage — or whether to require — their employees to get vaccinated.

In August, just before his resignation, Cuomo announced a vaccine mandate for health care workers in the state, requiring them to have their first dose by Sept. 27.

President Joe Biden issued executive orders for vaccine and testing requirements for federal employees and contractors and for private businesses with a certain number of employees. Both have been challenged in court.

Rules and recommendations for wearing masks continued to shift throughout the year, as well.

In mid-May, the CDC said that fully vaccinated individuals didn’t need to wear masks in most settings, whether indoors or outdoors. By the end of July, with the Delta variant on the rise, that guidance changed and the CDC again recommended that everyone wear a mask indoors in public settings.

Starting Dec. 13, all New York businesses were required to choose between requiring all employees and customers to be vaccinated or requiring all employees and customers to wear masks. The measure is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Jan. 15.

Rising inflation

Inflation awoke from a long slumber in 2021. The U.S. government’s consumer price index skyrocketed 6.8% in the 12 months that ended in November — the sharpest such jump since 1982. The speed of the global economic recovery surprised businesses, which had lain off workers, let shelves and warehouses go bare, and cut factory output when the coronavirus pandemic first hit. They’re still struggling to catch up with demand, creating supply bottlenecks and higher costs for raw materials and finished goods.

Many companies have raised prices to offset higher input costs and keep profit margins steady. Consumers are paying more for everything from diapers and detergent to cereal and household appliances. It’s unclear exactly when the supply bottlenecks will ease, so further price increases could be in the picture for 2022.

With U.S. inflation nearing a 40-year high, Fed policymakers this month announced plans to shrink the central bank’s monthly bond purchases twice as fast as earlier planned. That puts it on a path to begin raising interest rates within the first half of 2022.

Constellation’s move

Victor-based Constellation Brands announced in September that it is investing $80 million to move its headquarters to the seven-building Aqueduct campus that sits along Broad Street and the west bank of the Genesee River to create a new home for around 340 employees.

The state will provide $4 million through the Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit program in exchange for job creation commitments.

Another $5 million in state money will be directed to the city for work on Aqueduct Reimagined, a project that will strip off the roadway of the Broad Street bridge and expose the original aqueduct framework constructed in 1836. The project is the cornerstone of ROC the Riverway and work is expected to begin later in 2022.

Constellation will maintain a presence in Ontario County, with up to 200 employees working in Canandaigua. That facility currently houses the firm’s finance, IT, facilities, transportation, and insights & analytics departments.

“We’re creating a modernization program in a building that dates back to the 1880s and will have over 500 jobs in the Rochester area,” Constellation President and CEO Bill Newlands said.

The Rochester headquarters is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2024.

Said Newlands: “A move to downtown Rochester provides opportunity to recruit and attract from a broad and diverse talent pool from the region that will help us achieve our long-term business ambitions, while also contributing to the positive momentum and vibrancy growing in the city today. We look forward to continuing to foster the economic development and job creation in Rochester for years to come.”

Ben Jacobs is the editor of the Rochester Business Journal. Contact him at [email protected] or (585) 232-6922. Includes reporting by Andrea Deckert, Kevin Oklobzija and The Associated Press.

How readers voted

RBJ readers voted on the top local stories of 2021 in a poll conducted Dec. 15-22. Each respondent was allowed to select up to five choices from a list of 13 options.

Here are the stories that received the most votes:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigns amid scandals — 71%

Malik Evans defeats Lovely Warren to become Rochester’s mayor — 70%

Businesses contend with labor shortages amid “Great Resignation” — 59%

COVID-19 disruptions continue amid shifting vaccine, mask rules — 55%

Rising inflation worries economists, business community — 38%

Constellation Brands announces move to downtown — 31%