COUNCIL MEMBER MOLLY DENNIS
WARD 6
“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a …"
Oh, Hi there! I'm Molly Dennis your neighbor. I am running for re-election for Rochester, Minnesota, City Council. In our beautiful neighborhood of Ward 6. I am overwhelmed with sincere gratitude to the residents in Ward 6 for entrusting me to be your representative for the last four years. It has been a steep learning curve with many challenges, like high seasoned city staff turnover, incredible growth, and recovering from a global pandemic. I have been humbled and sincerely honored to serve you, my neighbors, in to amplify your voices on the Rochester City Council. I appreciate your support and encouragement to continue my advocacy for you.
My family and I have lived near Elton Hills Drive since 2007 and it has been a blessing to call Rochester my forever home. I originally grew up near the Black Hills of SD in Rapid City. I earned my Bachelors of Science degree in Sociology, with minors in both Biology and Political Science, followed by earning secondary teaching certification for instruction in middle school and high school science and government from South Dakota State University.
I lived for a while in Washington DC where I worked in the Hart Senate Building for the Senate Majority Leader at the time Sen Tom Daschle. Being curious by nature, I spent a large amount of time researching history and ideas at the Library of Congress while having the opportunity to shadow and work in national level government. After graduation, I taught high school biology/physical science near Sioux Falls before moving with my spouse to Worthington MN. In MN I worked with people with many different abilities and special needs as I lead and supervised a team of direct care staff and managed a facility for adults with varying abilities in a high medical facility. My employment included recording staff payroll, developing assessments for clients, and processing financial transactions. I oversaw developing site budgets and staff DEI and certification training.
We moved to the Fargo/Moorhead area where I supported my spouse in graduate school. There I worked in a day center planning curriculum for people struggling with mental health needs. I also held a administrative position in a large local facility that worked with people with special needs. In this capacity I helped organize volunteers and helped lobby for funding. I also developed and facilitated diversity training and cultural awareness programs. During this time I also served on the safety taskforce, developing policies for and working with governmental agencies to help find affordable housing for people with varying needs and abilities. My background is rich in human services and education, both of which are vital to advocate for as Rochester experiences exponential growth and change.
In addition to teaching and human service work here in the Midwest, I have also been blessed to have gained broad experience when living and teaching overseas. In doing so, I witnessed different governments, programs and cultures. I also volunteered in China, Japan, and South Korea and working with people struggling in Ukraine and Armenia. By fundraising, volunteering and traveling around the world I have been blessed to gain perspective on culture, government differences, and learn from amazing leaders. I also have been able to see first hand disparities, inequalities, and how fragile our representational democracy is. How we are blessed to live in this great country and need to advocated for government accountability to protect democracy.
Mayo Clinic brought our family to Rochester where I volunteered on numerous volunteered on numerous neighborhood, church, and community organizations/committees while raising our three young children. My children attended three amazing local schools last year, elementary, middle and high school.
Here in Rochester, I have served on the PAIIR Advisory Council for over 5 years. I volunteered for Mayo Hospice for over ten years as a facilitator for the Healing Camp. I have also been a Girl Scout leader from 2013 until 2024 for an amazing Red River Valley Troop. I have been active in our local school’s PTA, hosted national night outs and have been an active community member. So much so that I was even asked by former Councilmember Sandra Means to be the community organizer back in 2015 to help connect families in the neighborhood. I love Rochester and bless to call Rochester my family’s permanent home.
I have been honored and blessed to serve you the last four years with a caring heart, open mind, and true grit/resiliency to stand up for your needs and lifting your voice. As many of you may have seen me knock on your door in the last four years as I have gone door-to-door to listen with the intent to understand your ideas and concerns so all of Ward 6 is heard on our City Council.
Thank you, Ward 6, for hiring me to represent you. As I had promised to do back in 2020, I have been on the City Council for the last four years. My voting record proves my integrity and my un-dyeing allegiance to you. I have supported youth, seniors and families, advocated for sustainable energy, and promoted inclusion, accessibility and equity. I have reached out, bridged divides of government, and building partnerships that focused on services for you. I have advocated for accessibility in both transportation and housing. I have worked to diversify our economy by attracting and supporting small business. My vow and my voting record has shown I have continued to place affordable housing as a top priority.
I am an optimistic visionary leader; however, I realize there are still many barriers and challenges that we need to address. We need positivity, however, also need to ask hard questions on how we can improve our city. Our differences need to be set aside, we need to celebrate different ideas, focus on compassion and work together to build a better tomorrow by supporting each other. We need to prioritize people before politics and propaganda.
I humbly ask for your vote this summer in the primary, on or before, August 13th, and again in the General Election November 6th.
As I have done for you the last four years, I will be not just a vote, but also continued to be a strong voice for you!