Four new Rochester council members target common ground

ROCHESTER — Four new Rochester City Council members will replace a majority of the seven-person body in January, mirroring a transition seen in 2020.

As the newly elected council president, Randy Schubring said he plans to work toward finding common goals among council members, including his opponent in Tuesday's election, Ward 5 council member Shaun Palmer.

"From my perspective, as council president, I will be the first among equals, and I want to really focus on that we as a body are working respectively and effectively for the citizens of Rochester," said Schubring, who will replace Council President Brooke Carlson, as she opted not to seek a second term.

In unofficial results, Schubring received nearly 2,000 more votes than Palmer in the citywide election that saw 52,150 ballots cast.

Schubring was one of three successful council candidates endorsed by Faith in Minnesota Action, a nonprofit organization designed to support political initiatives and candidates. The organization has cited the candidates' support of housing affordability, environmental sustainability and health care access.

Schubring said he believes the new council will be able to find common ground on such issues, as well as the need for growing an economic base to draw new businesses and job opportunities to the city.

"Everybody has their own perspective on all these issues, and I think part of the navigation, and in particular for the city council president, is to find where those common threads are," he said. "That's what I'll be focusing on."

Ward 4 council member Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick, who lost her seat to challenger Andy Friederichs in Tuesday's election, was one of the four new council members elected in 2020.

She was the only one on Tuesday's ballot and lost by 190 votes, but she offered insight to the pending transition, saying it takes time for a new council member to understand the roles and expectations facing a council member.

Joining the council amid the COVID-19 pandemic and with a new city administrator, she said it took her nearly two years of long days to understand what is expected from council members.

"That was despite me interning with (former Ward 4 council member) Mark Bilderback for a year," she said of a three-credit graduate course she took before her 2019 campaign.

Friederichs said he's confident the new elected officials will be able to lean the remaining three council members, as well as Mayor Kim Norton, during the transition, with the goal of finding the right path forward.

As the only new council member who did not accept an organization's endorsement, Friederichs said he doesn't expect to face any conflicts with those who did.

"At the end of the day, they are still people, and it's people dealing with people," he said, adding that his goal is to listen and learn when he takes the council seat in January.

Dan Doering, who saw an unofficial 541-vote lead against Mark Schleusner in Tuesday's election for the Ward 6 seat, said his campaign supported by Faith in Minnesota highlighted the importance of listening to the community.

"If there is a message, it's about how important it is and what power it has when local people get involved in local politics," he said, noting the Minnesota-based organization provided support for recruiting Rochester volunteers who became a significant part of his bid for the Ward 6 council seat.

Miller, who also saw an unofficial 541-vote lead in the unofficial results in the Ward 2 council race against Tripp Welch, agreed local voices were a key part of the campaigns.

"Overwhelmingly, in talking with people, I felt the common theme was people want a new perspective and they want a council that is working on the real issues in our community," he said. "I think four new seats represents a real opportunity to coalesce around the shared goal that we are working for the community."

The candidates said listening to those local voices will be a key part of their transitions into elected service, but they also acknowledged the need to learn more about their new roles.

Doering said that's why he's been attending council meetings and study sessions on a regular basis to make sure he's ready to be actively involved on the first day with a fresh perspective.

"With such a turnover, you are losing some institutional knowledge about some decisions that are already in process," he said.