Filing continues for spots on Rochester, Olmsted County ballots

May 29—ROCHESTER — A second candidate seeking to fill the final two years of Olmsted County Commissioner Sheila Kiscaden's term has official filed to be on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Tawonda Burks filed for the District 6 seat on Wednesday, joining Bob Hopkins in the special election to fill Kiscaden's seat after she announced plans to step down at the end of the year.

With the filing period continuing through June 4, Burks was the only candidate to file Wednesday in Olmsted County commissioner, Rochester City Council and Rochester School Board races.

No candidates filed on May 28.

May 24, 2024, report

ROCHESTER — Heading into the Memorial Day weekend, at least one candidate has filed for each of five Olmsted County commissioner seats that will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.

On Friday, Bob Hopkins became the seventh county commissioner candidate to file, seeking to replace Commissioner Sheila Kiscaden as the District 6 representative. Kiscaden announced she will be stepping down at the end of the year, leaving two years of her term to fill by special election.

So far, only one county commissioner race has more than a single candidate, with incumbents currently unopposed in district 1, 5 and 7.

In district 3, incumbent Gregg Wright will face at least two challengers — April Sutor and Karl Johnson — in an Aug. 13 primary to narrow candidates to two for the November general election.

With the filing period continuing through June 4, each of the four races for Rochester City Council seats have at least two official candidates, but the three Rochester School Board seats set for the ballot don't include challenges, with two of the three incumbents filing heading into the holiday weekend.

May 23, 2024, report

ROCHESTER — Three candidates seeking to fill the Ward 2 Rochester City Council seat officially filed for a spot.

Nick Miller , Tripp Welch and Loring Stead submitted thier paperwork Thursday, seeking to replace Mark Bransford , who announced he won't seek a second term on the council.

The three filings mean an Aug. 13 primary election is expected in each council ward with a seat on the Nov. 5 ballot. The primary elections are set to narrow the field to two candidates in each race in the general election.

In Olmsted County races, Karl Johnson 's name was officially added to the list of candidates for the District 3 commissioner seat. Since he filed by petition on Tuesday, county staff had to verify the names before submitting the petition to the Minnesota Secretary of State's office.

Johnson, along with April Sutor , is challenging incumbent Gregg Wright for the seat in northeast Rochester. With three candidates, an Aug. 13 primary will be held.

May 22, 2024, report

ROCHESTER — A third candidate filed Wednesday, May 22, for the Ward 6 seat on the Rochester City Council.

Becca Dyer Tesch 's filing makes way for a potential primary for the seat currently held by Molly Dennis.

Any race with more than two candidates will be set for an Aug. 13 primary election to reduce the number of candidates to two for the Nov. 5 general election ballot.

Dyer Tesch was the only candidate reported as filing in Rochester city and school races, along with Olmsted County races, on the second day of the two-week filing period, which ends June 4.

May 21, 2024, report

ROCHESTER — The two-week filing period for local elections where primary elections are possible began Tuesday.

On the first day, a combined seven candidates filed for three of the four Rochester City Council seats on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. No candidates in the southwest Ward 2 filed on the first day.

Two of three Rochester School Board incumbents filed in the district-wide races that require candidates to file for a specific seat.

With five Olmsted County commissioner seats set for the ballot, the Minnesota Secretary of State officially recorded filings by four incumbents and one challenger on Tuesday. A second challenger in District 3 filed by petition, which will require the signatures to be verified before being posted as an official candidate, according to Olmsted County Elections Manager Luke Turner.

The candidates that filed on Tuesday are:

* Shaun Palmer

* Randy Schubring

* No candidates filed

* Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick (incumbent)

* Andy Friederichs

* Cory Sorgenfrie

* Dan Doering

* Mark Schleusner

* Don Barlow (incumbent)

* Karen MacLaughlin (incumbent)

* No candidate filed

* Laurel Podulke-Smith (incumbent)

* Gregg Wright (incumbent)

* April Sutor

* Michelle Rossman (incumbent)

* No candidate filed

* Mark Thein (incumbent)

The filing period for all races runs through June 4. At that point, any race with more than two candidates will be set for an Aug. 13 primary election to reduce the number of candidates to two for the Nov. 5 general election ballot.