Harrison Thorp 8:44 a.m.
Thursday, November 6, 2025 8:48 am
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ROCHESTER - Chuck Grassie has stood all day at the Rochester polls many an election day, but he told The Rochester Voice on Wednesday that those days may be numbered.
"Standing out there in the wind all 11 hours, I'll tell you today I'm hurting," he said.
Of course, winning his first mayoral election, a hard-fought one at that, takes some of the pain away.
"This is the top of the mountain for me," the former state rep and city councilor added. "It's something I though of in the past, but I thought it would never happen."
Grassie withstood a spirited challenge from Matt Mayberry, winning the mayor's office by just four percentage points. Grassie ended up with 2,117 votes to Mayberry's 1,887.
Meanwhile, former deputy mayor and city councilor Pete Lachapelle came in third with 981 votes, and political newcomer Doug Robbins finished fourth with 576 votes.
Grassie knows firsthand how hard it is to win a race to become the city's top elected official, but he says the road now gets only tougher.
"Now we've got the hard part to do," he said. "We need to share leadership with councilors and councilors elect and work as a team."
With that in mind, he said after he learned he'd won he called Rochester City Councilor David Walker, a Republican whom he's sparred with over the years in city and state politics.
Grassie, a longtime Democrat, said he and Walker talked about moving the city forward.
"We need to work together," Grassie said.
Grassie is expected to be inaugurated as Rochester mayor on Jan. 6.