I am running for the Rochester City Council Ward 6 because Rochester needs an experienced leader to help shape the community we want. As a Rochester native, military veteran, and a previously elected official of the Rochester Public Schools school board, I understand two critical aspects needed for the city council seat: what the people of Rochester want for the community and what effective leadership entails.
I know what it means to listen to concerns from people across various perspectives and to help find the best possible solutions for the challenges we face. Additionally, I recognize that as an elected official, bringing those solutions to resolution requires collaboration among the decision-making body. It takes a majority working together, engaging in productive discussions, finding common ground, and passing resolutions to address the city’s problems.
In addition, I bring a wealth of leadership experience from governance roles, having contributed to numerous boards of directors for over 15 years. My contributions in these positions have earned me recognition for my leadership skills. Experienced leadership comes from the accumulation of roles over time, relationships built, strategic visioning, policy writing, budget review and refinement of the financials to fit within the constraints of the organization. My background is extensive in that space, and I will bring those experiences to the city council seat.
I understand that transparency is critical, if not essential, for a large and complex organization that impacts many individuals within its community. An organization may perform well but often fails to communicate in a manner that resonates with its audience, leading to unintended mistrust and concerns. With significant upcoming changes in Rochester, it is crucial to have representatives who can clearly articulate the city's vision to the residents of each ward. It is especially important for the city to communicate transparently in ways that Rochester's citizens can understand, especially regarding the use of tax dollars. In ward 6, where I reside with my neighbors, I witness families leading satisfying lives within their financial means. I am committed to working with the city to enhance transparency and understanding for the people, and to help the city recognize how families manage to live within their financial constraints.
With my background as a software engineer and my experience in architecture, I have a deep understanding of complex systems and urban mechanics. My expertise allows me to grasp the intricacies when developers present projects, zoning requests, or utility needs such as additional sewer capacity to the city council. Discussions on topics like R2x are familiar to me, enabling me to actively engage, contribute meaningfully, and offer informed feedback without needing to learn on the spot. I aim to bring this wealth of experience and knowledge to my role on the city council.
In summary, I am running for the Rochester City Council ward 6 seat because I know I will bring experience in leadership, I will bring effective listening skills and I will bring a voice for everyone in Rochester. Rochester is approaching a tipping point for growth, and we must address the challenges in front of us with strong leadership on the council. I genuinely believe I am the right person for this role.
To me, right now it is important to hear the voices of the people of ward 6 and to see what is important to them as I run for office to represent them on the city council. As I have been out walking ward 6 to drop off campaign materials and to meet with my fellow neighbors, I have talked to numerous people with a common concern, the need to strong leadership. The people are engaged which is great to see and the conversations have been good and I am hearing what is important to them. We do also talk about other issues facing the city such as the need for affording living units, that is, houses and apartments. The people are also concerned with safety and inflation. There is a common theme of needing a more diverse economical base other than just Mayo Clinic as the largest employer in the city and state I believe.
Life is a journey through many experiences, and I have certainly traversed various paths to arrive at this point.
Born in Rochester in 1969, I was raised in Southport, just south of Willow Creek Middle School. Post-high school, I joined Mayo Clinic's Environmental Design unit, developing architectural reference design standards for new constructions and remodels. After a few years, recognizing the limitations of career advancement with only a high school diploma, I knew it was time for change. While Rochester was starting to experience a lot of growth, I left Mayo Clinic in 1991 to join the Army.
It was a challenging period, especially with the events in Kuwait. Although I didn't participate in Desert Storm, I trained with the intensity required for war as an Armor Crewman. Following 2 1/2 years of active duty, I transitioned to the National Guard, serving an additional 5 1/2 years for an Army career of 8 years total.
Post-active military, I pursued degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics (minor). To my surprise and delight, my first job post-college was with IBM in Rochester. While at IBM along with my software engineering responsibilities I also served in a couple other roles, a technical lab advocate for ATT and as a resource for customer critical situations. Both of these roles helped develop my leadership skills from very different perspectives. The lab advocate role helped build experiences with engaging with senior management for a multitude of reasons. I was eventually recognized for my leadership skills for this role twice in 5 years. The other role helped build leadership skills in the area of working in a very high stress environment and the need to keep calm, focus on the problem, report to the company's leadership the current situation and help drive resolution to the problem. Then after working at IBM for 12 years until 2010 when I transitioned my career back to Mayo Clinic.
While at Mayo Clinic I have been on the same team the entire time but in different roles of responsibility. My team of software engineers is responsible for the general medical image viewer for patient care at Mayo Clinic. While at Mayo Clinic I have been selected and sent to a Leadership program offered by the Minnesota High Tech Association (now known at the Minnesota Technology Association) where other technology companies around Minnesota send people for leadership skills development. The course was taught by Margaret Anderson Kelliher, a prominent state leader.
A few years into my career, I began volunteering, primarily with educational organizations since I had two daughters, serving on the organization's boards of directors. I realized that while many people prefer direct interaction with students, my passion was in leadership roles within these organizations. I've served in numerous organizations, mostly local and one at a state level with ties into the national organization. I had also served on the Rochester Public Schools future facilities planning committee a number of times given my previous passion for architecture and organizational growth. It was that committee that would make recommendations to the school board on future school needs typically after many months of meetings discussing school boundaries, building conditions, program needs within the school district for growth, etc. After growing my leadership skills and experiences with those organizations I ran for the Rochester Public Schools school board back in 2015 getting elected. I served on the school board for 1 term from January of 2016 thru December of 2019. While on the school board I went to 4 courses in organizational leadership that while taught from a school district point of view, certainly apply to any governing body.
That brings us to today. It is my history of varied leadership roles within our community and seeing where Rochester is at a point in time where strong leadership is needed on our City Council. My strong desire to give back to my community, my extensive leadership skills and experience and knowing where Rochester is going is what is driving me to run for City Council ward 6.
Hello. I am Mark Schleusner.
I have experience as an elected public official, a community leader, and a strategic thinker. I was born in Rochester in the Southport neighborhood. I graduated from Mayo High School in 1988. I’ve raised my two daughters here in Rochester and they too graduated from Mayo High School. I proudly call Rochester my hometown. My father was a policeman and my mother worked in housekeeping at the Kahler hotel. Growing up we lived on a tight budget with a family of six people and I continue to live with those days in mind. Aside from the years I spent serving my country in the Army starting in 1991 I have been here, witnessing the changes and actively serving my fellow neighbors through volunteerism and community service. I even have the honor to say that the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce has recognized me for my volunteerism with the Volunteer of the year award.
I have nearly 20 years of experience in community service bringing people together to accomplish great things. I understand that it takes a team effort, with a focus on success, to drive meaningful change through collaborative discussions. It all begins with listening to the people, understanding their needs, and then formulating a thoughtful plan of action. But my experience in governance also has taught me that it takes transparency from the organization to the people it serves. When changes need to be made those changes will be more easily accepted when the people being served understand why the changes are needed and how it will impact them.
Through my community service and professional career I have training that encompasses leadership, strategic thinking, and the ethics of a public official. I have hands-on experience with fiscally responsible large budgets, policy and supervision of organizational leaders. As an engineer I live to dive into the numbers and see what they are saying. I know, everyone loves to do that too right?
I believe Rochester is a community for everyone. While we do have our challenges here I believe we as a community can overcome the challenges. We can do what is needed for the homeless, the people needing affordable housing, the need to feel safe, for the people with mobility challenges and for the people with financial constraints. With the growth in front of us as a city all of these are important topics and they need to stay in the forefront of our minds as we develop the plans for the urban changes in front of all of us.
With the school district I’ve been part of long term facilities discussions for 15+ years where we discussed Rochester’s changing demographics and the district's needs in relation to the growing city area population. I’ve worked in construction, I’ve worked in architecture, I understand the mechanics of what a city is. Zoning, urban development, DMC, and Bold Forward, these are topics I understand and I am ready to get right to work on now.
Rochester is facing significant growth and Rochester's citizens have a very diverse set of opinions. I am here to listen to everyone and to help formulate what the people of ward 6 want to see. I am dedicated to collaborative discussions, even when the discussion is difficult to have and I will promise to keep it respectful. I promise I will move on when a decision goes against my desires. I will admit now that I do not know everything the city needs but I do know that I will do the homework needed to learn, to grow, to understand, to listen to the people, to the businesses and to the experts before I make a vote.
I will be dedicated to the people of ward 6 and the people of Rochester, I am here to listen, I am here for you as your community servant. As the Rotary organization says, and I deeply believe, I will act on what I believe is the truth, I will do what I feel is fair to all concerned, I will do what is needed to build goodwill and better friendships and I will do my best for all concerned.
Thank you.
Yes, here is a link to the debate in its entirety.
https://www.youtube.com/live/YplRh2UcggQ?si=aIVyy3_2MooopZom
Yes, I understand that this is an elected position requiring significant time commitment, including preparation for meetings, attending the meetings, and working directly with the people of Ward 6 and other citizens. Having been elected before, I recognize the responsibility involved and am prepared for the time demands outside of my "day job." My day job also offers some flexibility. As an engineer, I am accustomed to reviewing large volumes of information and engaging in multiple conversations on complex topics. Managing these aspects is a natural part of who I am, and I am more than ready for the additional demands this role will bring.