A look back: Jimmy Carter visits Rochester
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Former President Carter Jimmy Carter was no stranger to Rochester, having visited in the mid-1970s first as Georgia Governor, then a presidential candidate and again in the 80s, as a former President.
According to News 8 archives, Carter was here in October of 1974 supporting then Rochester City Councilwoman Midge Costanza as she was running to unseat Congressman Barber Conable. She lost the election but Carter would later appoint Costanza as a White House Advisor when he became President.
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Carter was back in in 1975, speaking at the University of Rochester when he was seeking the Democratic nomination.
In 1976 he arrived at the Rochester Airport on his plane called "Peanut One" for a campaign rally, just about a month before Election Day.
The October rally in downtown Rochester drew tens of thousands of people. Carter was joined on stage by then Rochester Mayor Tom Ryan and Costanza. Carter would go on to defeat incumbent Gerald Ford less than a month later.
The U of R archivist reports Carter visited again in October of 1983 to deliver the Cameros Family Lecture "Striving for a Just Society". You can watch his entire speech here .
President Carter was here as recently as 1991 when he was a Horton Distinguished Speaker and spoke in Ritter Arena at RIT.
