"Good afternoon. My name is Tim Fontneau, and I am running for city council ward one.

I grew up in Rochester, attended public schools, graduated from Spalding High School. spent most of my life here in Rochester living and working. I spent the last 32 years in the real estate industry working right here in town. And prior to that, I worked in the construction industry.

I have you know, Rochester has been very good to me and my family, raised my family here, have grandchildren in the public schools now. and and my wife and I have enjoyed very much living in Rochester. I I try to give back wherever I can and I’ve spent you know quite a few years on different boards and committees in town including the Chamber of Commerce, the Rochester Opera House board. spent 21 years on the planning board, served three terms in conquered as a state rep for Ward One, and now I’m just finishing up my second term on the council representing Ward One, looking for reelection.

I think that Rochester has come a long way. I’m someone who grew up here, so I remember the bustling downtown of the 1960s and 70s, but I think we’ve come a long way in the last half a dozen years towards revitalization. I would say that my biggest goals, concerns are the housing issues and downtown revitalization. and and I think that we have made some great strides in both of those areas over the last several years, but obviously there’s always more work to be done.

I really appreciate the the staff from the city manager down that we have in Rochester. We have an excellent staff to work with, and we’re very very fortunate to to have that. we have a great school system, a great school department, and you know Rochester is a very exciting place to live right now.

So you know with that, I will ask for your support for ward one councilor, and look forward to serving everybody another two years. Thank you very much."

Notes:

The Public Information and Community Engagement Office for the City of Rochester is pleased to announce that the Meet the Candidates video series is now available for viewing ahead of the upcoming Municipal Election.

The nonpartisan series introduces voters to candidates for Mayor, City Council, School Board, and Police Commission. Each candidate was given up to three minutes to speak directly to voters, share their priorities, and present their personal message.

To ensure fairness and transparency, all videos were recorded live in a single take, without edits, hosts, or predetermined questions.

The views and opinions expressed in the following video are those of the candidate and do not necessarily reflect the views of the City of Rochester, its elected officials or staff. The content is presented as part of a public information effort to provide equal opportunity for all candidates to address the community.

Transcript was taken directly from the GovTV website closed captioning. AI added bold/italic fonts for emphasis and separated paragraphs where appropriate.

In this survey, the candidate answered the following questions:

• "Why are you running?"
  
  

• "Do you support the city’s tax cap and for what, if any, reasons would you support going over it?"
  
  

• "How can Rochester ease the burden on residential property taxpayers?"
  
  

• "How can the city further the affordability and availability of housing? Do you support efforts in the state legislature aimed at reducing local control of zoning rules and regulations?"
  
  

• "What can Rochester do to attract new small businesses and support the small businesses already in the city?"
  
  

• "Rochester purchased the old Care Pharmacy and nearby properties for more than $3.3 million. Do you agree with this purchase and what should Rochester do with the property it now owns?"
  
  

• "Short-term and long-term, what should the mayor/council do about the growing homeless population in Rochester?"
  
  

• "The Legislature has empowered cities to create “social districts” where outdoor drinking of alcoholic beverages is allowed. Do you support bringing social districts to Rochester?"
  
  

• "What else would you like voters to know about you?"

You can view the survey by clicking here.

View the 2023 Foster's Candidate Survey by Clicking Here!

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