As candidate filing deadlines near for those who want to run for political office, a Rochester businessman said he will jump into the race for the city's open mayoral seat.
Joe Powers is best known in Rochester for his large restaurant and catering enterprise and close ties to the business community.
In an announcement at a private event on Friday, Powers said, as mayor, he would focus on affordability and public safety.
"I always said in the back of my mind I wanted to be mayor someday of this community,” he told a crowd of roughly 1,000 people at his kick-off event.
Powers has never run for office before but has played an influential role in local politics in the past. In 2024, he brought together members of the Rochester business community to warn them of efforts by the local branch of a Twin Cities-based progressive group to influence city council elections.
Powers joins four others vying for the open office to lead the city, including small business owner Ben Zastrow, health coach and educator Jerrod Lucker, artist Ayub HajiOmar, and former school board member Jess Garcia.
Earlier this year, Mayor Kim Norton announced she would not run again after serving the city for seven years.
Her departure comes at a time of significant growth for the city. Rochester is in the middle of a 20-year, $5.6 billion economic development transformation that is meant to make the city more appealing to visitors to Mayo Clinic and to people who live in the community.
At the same time, Mayo Clinic has started building a $5 billion expansion of its downtown campus.
With a population of just under 125,000 residents, Rochester is Minnesota’s third largest city, and it is the biggest outside of the Twin Cities metro area.
Candidates can file for office starting on May 19. The filing period closes on June 2. If more than two candidates successfully file to appear on the ballot, a non-partisan primary will be held on Aug. 11 to narrow the field to two candidates who would face off in the Nov. 3 general election.