New faces guaranteed in Rochester, Olmsted County elections

Four seats on the city council for Minnesota’s third-largest city are up for grabs Tuesday, with at least two guaranteed new members.

Rochester City Council Member Shaun Palmer faces Randy Schubring, a community engagement executive at Mayo Clinic, for council president. Though the seats are nonpartisan, the race has come under scrutiny in recent months as partisan organizations endorsed local candidates. Palmer, a former city building inspector, is a more conservative voice on the council, while Schubring was endorsed by progressive advocacy group Faith in Minnesota.

In northwest Rochester, Lutheran pastor Dan Doering goes up against Mayo Clinic programmer Mark Schleusner for the Ward 6 council seat. The winner will replace Council Member Molly Dennis, who was voted out in the August primary after receiving only 14% of the vote.

On Rochester’s east side, Council Member Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick looks to fend off a challenge from barber and property owner Andy Friederichs to represent Ward 4. Kirkpatrick is seeking her second term on the council.

In western Rochester, Nick Miller, a financial analyst, and Tripp Welch, an administrative leader at Mayo Clinic, are fighting over who will replace retiring Council Member Mark Bransford in Ward 2. Bransford has endorsed Welch after Faith in Minnesota, a progressive group, endorsed Miller.

For the Olmsted County Board, five seats are up for grabs, with three commissioners running unopposed. Laurel Podulke-Smith, Michelle Rossman and Mark Thein are virtually guaranteed to serve another term.

Commissioner Gregg Wright, who has been on the board since 2017, faces April Sutor, a retired nonprofit executive with experience at the United Way and Family Service Rochester. And Tawonda Burks, operations director at Rochester Area Economic Development Inc., vies with marketing business owner Bob Hopkins to replace Commissioner Sheila Kiscaden in District 6. Kiscaden will retire at the end of the year.