MEET THE CANDIDATES
Feature
Randy Schubring
PRESIDENT
Why are you running for City Council President and how does your experience qualify you for the position? With overwhelming growth and investment in Rochester, I was motivated to run for City Council President to use my leadership experience to ensure that we are smart, intentional and inclusive with our future growth. I would bring a new voice to the council with demonstrated leadership at the state, city and neighborhood levels.
At the state, I serve as Rochester’s representative, appointed by twice by Gov. Walz, on the statewide Metropolitan Airports Commission. MAC is a $600M agency – same size as the City of Rochester– considered by both sides of the political aisle at the Capital as the most effective and efficiently run state agency. In this capacity, I chair the Capital Construction Program, where I review and approved over $1 billion in construction projects including roadways, fire stations and over 2 million square feet of terminal space. At the city level, I currently serve as Chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission. In addition, I am the former liaison for Mayo Clinic to the City Council and neighborhoods where I fostered a culture of two-way communication between the City’s largest employer and our residents. What are your top two priorities/issues as a candidate for City Council President? I will partner with civic leaders to bring more businesses and good-paying jobs beyond health care to Rochester by leveraging the huge investment by Mayo Clinic and others in our city. Rochester greatly benefits from serving as home to our world-renowned medical institution. However, it's imperative that we pro-actively seek to diversify our economy— especially with the smaller footprint of IBM. We must promote policies that bring a broader economic base of businesses to Rochester such as biotechnology, manufacturing, agriculture, higher education, and small businesses. Together, we can build a stronger commercial property tax base with livable wage jobs for Rochester residents and broaden our tax base. I will work to build truly affordable housing here in Rochester including rental, multi-family and first-time homeownership focused on seniors, workforce housing and our underserved residents. Having grown up in public housing, I believe that safe and affordable housing is a human right. The city must work with the County, Housing Coalition and builders to reduce barriers to construction and improve access to first time homeownership. We can do this with incentives for developers to construct more affordable housing units for our essential workforce, senior population and underserved communities. We must also work with the Building Trades and RCTC to increase our pool of plumbers, carpenters, electricians, and other trades workers. As the City of Rochester continues to grow and develop, how do you envision Rochester ten years from now? How can the City Council support that vision? As Rochester grows, we must prioritize development opportunities within our current growth plan on vacant parcels before expanding outward. By promoting so-called “in-fill” development, we will expand our tax base by building mixed- use walkable neighborhoods featuring traditional and affordable housing and integrated retail. This will also ensure that Rochester does not spread out with unchecked sprawl, which adds both costly taxpayer-supported sewer lines and infrastructure and longer commute times. In ten years, I envision such developments on the former Kmart and AMPI 60 acre site where new residents can live, shop and bike to downtown employment. This will also help re-vitalize our Rochester’s downtown environment.
OCTOBER 2024 — ROCHESTER AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ADVANTAGE MAGAZINE | 9
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online