Embattled Rochester council member ousted in primary, blames local media

ROCHESTER – Molly Dennis’ tumultuous time on the Rochester City Council is coming to an end.

On Tuesday, the first-term council member was defeated in a four-way primary race for her Ward 6 seat. Preliminary results show Dennis finishing last in the race with just 14% of the vote. The two candidates advancing to the November general election in Ward 6 are Dan Doering, a Lutheran pastor, and Mark Schleusner, a programmer at Mayo Clinic.

Leading up to the primary, Dennis’ challengers made the case that the Ward 6 council member had become a distraction during her first term on the council. In March 2023, Dennis was formally censured by the council for inappropriate behavior, including allegedly harassing city staff.

The measure limited her interactions with staff for a year and led to ongoing disputes during meetings, including in May when she was kicked out of council chambers after a heated exchange.

Schleusner, who finished second in the race, said Dennis’ polarizing presence on the council was top of mind for constituents as he campaigned for the primary.

“All the voters I talked to, they wanted someone that can work well with the other council members and city staff and didn’t feel the current council member can do that,” Schleusner wrote in an email. “It was very interesting to me in that every single voter I talked to in Ward 6 brought that up first and in most cases, only wanted to talk about that.”

Dennis has argued that she is being pushed aside for raising tough questions about how the city spends public funds. Dennis — who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) — has also filed a lawsuit against the city and two council colleagues, alleging that she has been discriminated against for how she processes information.

Reached for comment Tuesday, Dennis blamed the loss on the Rochester Post Bulletin’s coverage of her, saying the paper’s reporting amounted to “false slander.” In June 2023, following her censure, the paper published court filings of her divorce in what it described as a “history of erratic behavior.” Dennis said in a statement that she believed the reporting was a “deciding factor” in voters’ decisions.

The Post Bulletin declined to comment on Dennis’ claims.

In the race for Rochester City Council president seat, Randy Schubring and Shaun Palmer are moving on to the general election. Palmer, the sitting Ward 5 council member, led the way with 46% of the 10,756 votes cast. Schubring, the director of community relations at Mayo Clinic, finished with 43%.

Schubring is on a leave of absence while he campaigns and has said he will resign from Mayo if elected council president. The seat was left open after incumbent Council President Brooke Carlson opted not to seek re-election after one term in office.

In the two other council primaries: Nick Miller, a financial analyst, and Tripp Welch, an administrative leader at Mayo Clinic, are moving on in Ward 2 after incumbent Council Member Mark Bransford decided not to run for a second term. Business owner Andy Friederichs and incumbent Council Member Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick easily advanced in Ward 4.