Rochester City Council strikes down mayor's emergency mask order
By a 5-2 vote, the Rochester City Council has voted to rescind Mayor Kim Norton’s emergency mask requirement, effective immediately.
The vote came Thursday, two days after Norton issued an emergency order that essentially required masking in all public indoor settings. Several council members cited concerns about enforcement, limited community engagement, and lack of political will for a mandate.
“I consider what is before us today to be poor public policy,” said Council Member Patrick Keane, noting that the mandate could create legal and governance issues. “Its flaws will make it ineffective right out of the gate.”
Keane was joined by Councilors Bransford, Campion, Kirkpatrick and Palmer in voting to strike down the order. Campion said he would like to see the city transition from an emergency response to a strategy that relies on community partners to incentivize masking when necessary.
“It’s going to be about building a coalition of organizations that are willing to do it because that’s what they see is the best option — versus a mandate, which, to me, is no longer working the way we intended,” said Campion.
Ward 6’s Molly Dennis was the only council member who outright supported a city mask mandate. She pointed to data showing that Olmsted County is considered an area of “high community transmission.”
"This is a global pandemic that is increasing at an exponential rate,” said Dennis. “I believe mandating this is the same as a lot of laws — [like] seat-belt wearing. We do this because it’s the right thing to do; it’s for safety, it’s for the public good. And so I think mandating is necessary.”
Council President Brooke Carlson also voted against rescinding the mayor’s order, albeit for a different reason. Carlson suggested she would be willing to work with Norton on drafting new, more targeted language to protect children under 12, as well as medically vulnerable individuals. However, she did voice her displeasure with the process that led up to the mayor’s order.
“Successful policy change requires deep community engagement, education, clear plans for implementation, a reasonable way to enforce [it], and a way to measure the impact to determine how the policy is working and how it can be improved,” said Carlson. “I believe we missed this opportunity by how this came about.”
During Thursday’s special meeting, Norton expressed her frustration with the council’s unwillingness to extend the mandate (or, at the least, provide her with language for a new, more limited order). She described a resolution supported by the council that “strongly encourages” vaccines and mask wearing a “feel-good” measure that doesn’t go far enough.
“This is Rochester, Minnesota, home of the world-famous Mayo Clinic, with thousands upon thousands of medical patients that come here, with thousands upon thousands of children who live here, who deserve to … live in the safest environment and be treated with respect by those of us who are vaccinated,” said Norton.
While Thursday’s vote does put an immediate end to the citywide mask requirement, it does not affect a policy requiring face coverings inside city facilities. Private businesses also reserve the right to require masks.
Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.
