Two new candidates, including Chamber boss, file for council president seat
The group of candidates for Rochester’s at-large city council president seat welcomed two new additions this week, with the field now sitting at three — without word from the current council president on his plans for 2020.
Kathleen Harrington and Brooke Carlson both announced their campaigns on Wednesday. With former Quarry Hill Nature Center director Gregory Munson already on the ballot, the two new candidates officially guarantee a city-wide primary election on August 11. The top two vote-getters in that process will move on to the general election, set for November 3.
Harrington, current president of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and former Mayo Clinic lobbyist, says she will serve as Chamber president through the primary process.
Harrington told Med City Beat the needs of Rochester's small businesses align well with the needs of the community at large, especially through the Covid-19 crisis.
“I think this is a time to work inside government, to help make certain it is doing all it can to work with everyone to produce a good recovery,” said Harrington. “What’s really important is a recovery for everyone. We’ve learned a lot during this crisis about some of the gaps, and I’m going to make sure that it’s a recovery for everyone in our community.”
Carlson, a Rochester native, currently works as president of North Sky Health Consulting, a firm based in providing advice to public and private organizations dealing in health and human services. In addition, Carlson works as a strategist for the Rochester Nonprofit Consortium, planning cross-sector responses to Covid-19.
“In the face of a major budget shortfall, the time for working in silos and using resources inefficiently is over. Our only path forward is creatively, and together,” said Carlson.
Harrington and Carlson now join Munson on the ballot for city council president, with six days still left to go for prospective candidates to file. Current council president Randy Staver has not yet filed to seek another four-year term.
Staver, who has held the seat since 2013, originally said he would run one final time in October 2019, but walked back those statements more recently — stating he was “taking his time” considering whether or not to pursue another four-year term.
Across the Wards
Council races in Wards 2, 4 and 6 also continue to fill out, as multiple candidates in each ward have already filed for the seats. Ward 2 became the first ward to require a primary on August 11, with Med City CPR owner Denise Welte filing on May 22 and former Barlow Plaza operator Steve Barlow announcing his candidacy and filing on Wednesday. They join software programmer Mark Bransford, who filed on May 19.
Current Ward 2 Council Member Michael Wojcik has not yet filed for re-election. When reached for comment, Wojcik said no decision has been made on his candidacy.
In Ward 4, Abel Brito joined Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick in filing to replace Mark Bilderback, who has repeatedly said he will retire at the end of his term. Kirkpatrick, a landscaper who co-founded the Rochester Public Library’s Seed Library, was the first candidate to file in any race. Brito is a sales manager at Home Choice, a home electronics and appliance store in Rochester.
Thomas Rigby joined Todd Pisarski in filing to be the potential replacement for Annalissa Johnson, who said last week that she would not seek a second term in Ward 6. Both Rigby and Pisarski are certified public accountants.
The candidate filing period ends June 2. A complete list of candidates is available on the city’s website.
Isaac Jahns is a Rochester native and a 2019 graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. He reports on politics, business and music for Med City Beat.
Cover photo: Harrington (left) and Carlson
Clarification: A previous version of this story stated that Harrington plans to step down from the Chamber if she moved past the primary. However, no firm timeline has been set. Harrington said she would move on from the Chamber if at any point she could not remain fully committed to her current position.
