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Residents call for resignation of Brockport Mayor following arrest

Some people in the village of Brockport are calling for the mayor to resign.

A village board meeting was held at the A.D. Oliver Middle School Auditorium Tuesday night. The last meeting was canceled because the crowd was too big for the village board room.

Mayor Connie Castañeda is charged with 14 counts of official misconduct for renting rooms in her house illegally to college students. She claims the charges are the result of budge differences with the police chief.

Some village residents called for her resignation Tuesday night.

"I know she is claiming innocence, and that she is claiming that this is political payback. But without regard to whether or not she is guilty, she can no longer effectively govern," said Brockport resident John Cohen.

Linda Ketchum agrees with Cohen. "The mayor is not fulfilling her responsibilities to the residents of Brockport. Mayor, you should step down."

Maggie Brooks named NYS’s 2012 republican Woman of the Year

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks has been named New York State’s republican Woman of the Year.

On Tuesday, Brooks was presented with the Henrietta Wells Livermore Woman of the Year Award by the New York State Federation of Republican Women during the organization's annual convention in Albany.

Brockport mayor pleads not guilty, says charges are in retaliation

Brockport mayor pleads not guilty, says charges are in retaliation

The mayor of Brockport pleaded not guilty to official misconduct Monday night.

Mayor Connie Castañeda is accused of illegally renting out her home to college students. Police say her home wasn't up to code. She's the mayor- a public official- and that's why she's facing 14 charges of official misconduct. They mayor stood by her attorney today as he told the media she's innocent.

"Not only were there no code violations, normally a code violation is brought as an administrative proceeding not as a criminal proceeding," said attorney Donald Thompson.

Court paperwork obtained by News10NBC includes a statement from a former tenant. She told police she lived in Castañeda's house from August 2010 to May of 2011. She says Castañeda told her to be discrete about who comes in and out because there's a limit on how many people can live there.

News10NBC's Janet Lomax to talk with Michelle Obama in an exclusive one-on-one interview

News10NBC's Janet Lomax to talk with Michelle Obama in an exclusive one-on-one interview

A very exciting announcement -- News10NBC's Janet Lomax will have an exclusive one-on-one interview with First Lady Michelle Obama.

Janet is traveling to Washington with Girl Scout Troop 60325 from Fairport.

The scouts have been learning about healthy eating and started growing tomato plants as part of their work toward their bronze award. They wrote a letter to the First Lady to let her know about the project and she invited them to the White House to help with spring planting for the White House Kitchen Garden.

The girls leave Sunday and meet with Mrs. Obama on Monday.

Janet will spend the day with the girls and the First Lady. Then she'll sit down one-on-one with Michelle Obama.

It's an exclusive interview you will only see on News10NBC. It all starts at 5 p.m. on Monday – don’t miss it.

Maggie Brooks announces run for Congress

Maggie Brooks announces run for Congress

County Executive Maggie Brooks received a standing ovation Monday morning as she announced the start of her run for Congress.

Brooks made it official today; she is running for Congress again Louise Slaughter.

News10NBC is told Brooks made up her mind late last week when she realized the new proposed district encompassing Monroe County was going to stick. It was a difficult decision because it affects her family—this is the second major campaign in two years.

At a 10 a.m. news conference Monday Maggie Brooks said, “Some would say this is the worst kept secret in Monroe County but today I am announcing officially my intention to run for the United States House of Representatives.”

Residents, trustees react to Brockport Village Board meeting cancelation

Residents, trustees react to Brockport Village Board meeting cancelation

Scores of residents turned out to the Brockport Village Board meeting Tuesday night. Some came hoping to hear from the mayor, Maria Connie Casteñeda about her arrest on Friday. Others were there to show support. But at the end of the day, the mayor said there were just too many people in the room and canceled the meeting.

Casteñeda was arrested Friday and charged with 14 counts of misconduct. She's accused of illegally renting out rooms in her home to college students.

Casteñeda ended the meeting Tuesday stating, "Unfortunately we will be unable to conduct business tonight. We will have to postpone the meeting. There are too many people...it exceeds the number of people allowed in the room."

The mayor said the number of people in the room exceeded the occupancy requirement of 49.

Brockport community reacts to arrest of mayor

Brockport community reacts to arrest of mayor

People in Brockport are speaking out following the arrest of the village’s mayor.

Maria Connie Casteñada was charged with 14 counts of official misconduct on Friday. Investigators say she illegally rented out the second floor and attic of her home.

Brockport residents are shocked by the news and now many in the village are calling for the mayor to step down.

News10NBC obtained exclusive video of Connie Casteñada leaving the police station with her lawyer Friday night.

Also arrested was her live-in boyfriend, Norman Giancursio. He was charged with reckless endangerment after police say he told a tenant to stay in her second floor apartment during a fire so firefighters wouldn’t realize she lived there.

The community says they’re disappointed to hear the mayor is accused of basically putting college students in potentially dangerous situations.

Brockport senior Justin Tierney said, “Obviously, it’s a pretty bad situation.