Who was Tom Frey? What to know about Monroe County's first Democratic county executive

Victoria E. Freile | Democrat and Chronicle

Show Caption Hide Caption Monroe County election results: Adam Bello says it's a new era of opportunity Adam Bello becomes the first Democratic Monroe County executive in 30 years.

It's been nearly three decades since a Democrat last held the county's top job.

Until now, Tom Frey had been the only Democrat to serve as elected county executive for Monroe County. Democrat Adam Bello on Tuesday bested incumbent Cheryl Dinolfo and will become the county executive in January.

When did he serve?

Frey, who died in 2017 of pancreatic cancer, served only one four-year term, elected in 1987 during a rare Democratic power surge in county elections. Frey pulled off a stunning political upset, beating incumbent Republican Lucien Morin for county executive.

He was defeated by Republican Bob King in 1991.

Who was Tom Frey?

Before he was elected county executive, Frey served on the Rochester City School District Board of Education (he was a voice for the desegregation of schools), in the state Assembly, as director of state operations under Gov. Hugh Carey, and as a member of the state Board of Regents.

He was also a board member of various nonprofits during those years, and was instrumental in a fight to keep the George Eastman House archives in Rochester.

After he lost the county executive race, he returned to the Harris Beach law firm, where he had previously worked. He continued to stay active: He chaired the local chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union; he worked with the Campaign for Fiscal Equity to push for equitable funding for impoverished school districts; and he volunteered with the Genesee Land Trust.

A former U.S. Marine (he joined as a teenager), Frey graduated from Princeton University and earned his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Frey's legacy

While executive, he pulled together a widely diverse work force — something his wife, Jacqueline Cady, said he was most proud of accomplishing.

Frey oversaw a massive expansion of the Greater Rochester International Airport, introduced the county's recycling program, started construction of the Mill Seat Landfill in Riga and persuaded Monroe Community College to open a downtown Rochester campus.

Frey was 80 when he died of pancreatic cancer Feb. 11, 2017, while he was in hospice care.

VFREILE@Gannett.com