2 days Ago By Randy Petersen
ROCHESTER — Candidates seeking to serve Rochester’s Ward 4, stretching east from the downtown core, point to a variety of similar experiences. Both experienced homelessness in the past, both started their own businesses and both cited a desire to listen to residents and be their voice on the Rochester City Council. They also repeatedly voiced support for more collaboration in the city and on the council.
ADVERTISEMENT “The key to collaborating with my colleagues on the dias is listening and caring for what they have to say and working together to make sure the outcome is the best for everyone,” incumbent council member Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick said during Tuesday’s League of Women Voters forum at the Rochester Public Library. Challenger Andy Friederichs agreed that collaboration is crucial. “My leadership style is very straightforward,” he said.
“It’s listen, collaborate, digest, decide, execute.” While the candidates pointed to some differences in response to questions, their biggest clash of views came amid closing statements, which started with Friederichs pointing to Kirkpatrick’s past votes against some proposed subdivisions in the city. “My opponent votes no on subdivisions, and yet says we need affordable housing,” he said.
“There is a shift, when a subdivision happens and it is built, the people in the lower income houses, or the lower value houses, shift into the middle and up the ladder.” He said supporting new subdivisions makes the older, more affordable housing stock available for purchase in the city. Kirkpatrick defended her votes, saying they were taken out of context during the forum and citing a desire to protect the city from uncontrolled growth in sensitive geological areas.
ADVERTISEMENT “Many of the subdivisions going in really can profoundly affect our environment and future water usage,” she said, pointing to her 2021 appointment to the State Board of Water and Soil Resources. “Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean that we should.” She said residents need to be more informed about where construction is happening in the city.
Friederichs, who has renovated older buildings for rental housing, said oversight exists with city staff and he believes they can determine whether a proposed subdivision is in an appropriate location. “If a subdivision meets all the requirements that are laid out before us, there is no reason we should be voting against it,” he said. When it comes to public safety, the candidates pointed to a need for greater community involvement but Friedrichs raised another conflicting stance.
“We need to keep our neighbors in mind with everything we do,” Kirkpatrick said in response to the public safety question. She said a greater awareness of neighborhoods can help identity concerns early, which can be shared with police. Following the incumbent’s response, Friederichs said he’s worked with police to clean up problem properties in the city and raised his disagreement with Kirkpatrick’s opposition to a ban on camping in city-owned public land earlier this year.
ADVERTISEMENT “I will not vote against our chief of police,” he said, citing Chief Jim Franklin’s request for the ban. Kirkpatrick did not seek to address the camping ban Tuesday, but in a similar forum ahead of the August primary, she defended her opposition, citing concerns about the lack of shelter for people facing homelessness. The two candidates will be on the Nov.
5 ballot, and early voting in the general election starts Friday. The League of Women Voters Rochester continues to host candidate forums for a variety of local races. Remaining forums held at the Rochester Public Library are: Videos of past forums are available online at https://www.
youtube.com/@RochPubLibrary/streams.
