Randy Schubring to make history as Rochester’s first openly gay City Council president

ROCHESTER – When John Choi first met Randy Schubring in the early 1990s, Schubring was a neighborhood activist with aspirations of winning a seat on the St. Paul City Council.

Choi, who volunteered on Schubring’s campaign, was struck by how personable and diligent the candidate was. Schubring, Choi recalls, had gone to great lengths to learn the history and stories behind the city’s sometimes complicated framework of streets and neighborhoods.

“He’s always had a strong passion for what local government can do for people,” said Choi, who now serves as Ramsey County Attorney. “He could just really connect to neighborhoods and had that ethic of wanting to make the community better.”

Schubring failed on both his tries for the St. Paul City Council before drifting away from politics to focus on a career in corporate and government relations, most recently at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. But as retirement approached, Schubring decided to give public service another shot.

In November, Schubring was elected president of the Rochester City Council, defeating Ward 5 Council Member Shaun Palmer by 4 points. When he is sworn in on Monday, he will become not only the sole citywide representative on the council, he will also make history as the first openly gay council president in Rochester’s history.

“Randy’s super sincere, which I think was the reason that he was able to win the race,” said David Dobmeyer, Schubring’s husband of 11 years. “He cares about people genuinely, and he has a strong sense of empathy for others.”

When Schubring, 65, arrived in Rochester 15 years ago, he admits he was not as comfortable in public about being gay as he is today.

The city felt smaller and more conservative than the Twin Cities neighborhoods where he had lived.

But as he settled into his job heading up public policy for Mayo, Schubring said those barriers began to break down — one interaction at a time.

“Not everybody here has known a gay couple,” Schubring said. “So, I think one of the things that I do get some satisfaction out of is meeting more and more people, and getting them to a place where they realize that we’re just regular people, and it’s just one part of who I am.”

Coming to terms with his sexual orientation, however, was not always as easy for Schubring. Before coming out in 2000, Schubring was married to a woman for 17 years. It was not until he reached 40 and had two children that he decided to open up about his attraction to men.

“Growing up, I always knew I wanted a family,” Schubring said. “I always wanted to have kids, and, and that wasn’t an option in the ’70s, and so you push that in the back of your head, push it back there, and you can live with it for so long.”

His wife at the time, Susan, was the first person he told, and he credits her for pushing him to live his true identity. (Susan attended David and Randy’s wedding and was Schubring’s second call after he won the November election.)

As he prepared to start his campaign last spring, Schubring decided his sexual orientation would not be something he shied away from. Campaign mailers that went out showed him proudly standing alongside Dobmeyer.

“It was not a part of the campaign, but we were very upfront and said, ‘We’re not going to hide this at all. We’re not going to pretend it’s not there.‘”

Dobmeyer, a real estate lawyer who moved to Rochester full time during the pandemic, said the outcome of the race showed being gay wasn’t the barrier it might have been in years past.

“The fact that it was a nonissue for 99% of people, I think that that did reassure me that Rochester is a place where people are concerned about real issues and not mudslinging and dividing people up,” Dobmeyer said.

After a decade of working on federal policy for Mayo, Schubring had his first foray into local politics during a parking dispute that pitted his employer against his neighborhood.

Mayo wanted to use the former Kmart parking lot on the south edge of downtown for employee parking, but neighbors were concerned about the impact of the added traffic.

Schubring said he stepped into the situation on behalf of the neighborhood, helping draft a compromise that allowed Mayo to use the site for parking, while in turn offering concessions on how long the site would be used.

The situation led to Schubring transitioning to a job in community relations at Mayo before taking a leave in 2024 to run for office.

“He’s bringing the strength of understanding what’s happening within Mayo and what the priorities are, but also having worked as a nonprofit and community representative, he understands the community’s interests as well,” said outgoing Council President Brooke Carlson, who endorsed Schubring after deciding not to run in 2024.

Among the issues that will be top of mind for voters as the new council is sworn in is the affordability of housing. Schubring said while the city has taken steps in recent years to incentivize new housing development, homeownership and affordable renting remain out of reach for many.

On the campaign trail, Schubring heard often that the city isn’t doing enough to encourage amenities outside the city’s downtown.

“People want to be able to see things downtown, but they also want to be within a five-minute drive to parks and amenities and restaurants that you can sit down and have a coffee with your friends and neighbors,” he said.

Addressing the city’s challenges will mean finding common ground in a seven-member council with four new faces. Three of them, including Schubring, ran with support from the left-leaning group Faith in Minnesota.

Despite any narrative about the group’s influence, Schubring said he feels comfortable taking positions out of step with his supporters — or his previous employer.

“I’m known for being affable, but I can be pretty direct when I need to be,” Schubring said. “I will make sure that I am clear about my reasoning and also really challenge, whether it’s Mayo Clinic, our largest employer, or groups that have supported me as far as the positions that I take.”