ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The city of Rochester officially has a new mayor.

James Smith is now the mayor of Rochester, making him the first openly gay mayor in the city’s history.

Smith, who was deputy mayor under Lovely Warren since 2019, had no public appearance on his first day, but for good reason.

“So yeah, I tested positive for COVID last week, and obviously I’ve been at home and will quarantine for a while,” Smith said, adding that he is currently feeling much better.

Sworn in early Thursday morning, Smith is the mayor of Rochester for just one month until Mayor-elect Malik Evans is officially sworn in.

Smith says he plans to do his best to support the transition into the Evans administration. He’ll also take time to pay homage to the work of the LGBTQ+ community and the rest of a very diverse city.

“We just had the first woman and the first African American woman mayor, and I’m sure he will bring in a diverse administration to City Hall,” Smith said of Evans and his pending leadership team appointments, which are expected to be announced Friday.

Smith will serve until Evans takes office on January 1, 2022.