Mayor Robert J. Duffy took office in January, 2006 after a nearly 30 year career in the Rochester Police Department, serving as Chief of Police from 1998-2005. Born and raised in the City of Rochester, Mayor Duffy has had a lifelong passion for the city and its people.

Mayor Duffy has chosen to focus on four major areas to revitalize Rochester and make it the best mid-sized city in America: public safety, economic development, education and customer service. Some notable examples of his efforts over the first two years have been the addition of police on the street to decrease violent crime, the public-private partnership to demolish Midtown Plaza and build PAETEC's world headquarters, a more collaborative relationship with the City School District focused on accountability, and the launch of 311, "One Call to City Hall." For more details on these and other Duffy initiatives, please view the "Accomplishments" section of this website.

Mayor Duffy has proven himself to be a leader both at home and on the state and national level. He chairs the Public Safety committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is on the Executive Committee of the Great Lakes Alliance, and and works actively with our State and Federal legislative delegations to fund our priorities of public safety, economic development and education. 

He’s also been proud to see Rochester garner much-deserved recognition, rated #6 on the Places Rated Almanac Best Places to Live in America out of 379 communities in America, and by receiving Honorable Mention from the U.S. Conference of Mayors for its “Clean Sweep” community beautification program.

Mayor Duffy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Master of Arts degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University in addition to two associates degrees from Monroe Community College. He and his wife Barbara have been married for more than 20 years and have two college-aged daughters.

Nostalgic for the 2005 Mayoral campaign?  Click here to view a slideshow of campaign events!