ROCHESTER — A Post Bulletin review of public records involving Rochester City Council member Molly Dennis reveal a pattern of behavior that is conflict-driven and oftentimes erratic, not only in her public role but also her personal life.
Dennis, who was censured by
her peers on the City Council in March
, was the subject of an
independent investigation
, conducted to answer Dennis’ claims that she was a victim of discrimination. The Post Bulletin review included the findings from that investigation as well as court files regarding Dennis’ divorce proceeding and two harassment restraining order complaints filed against her, and several emails that Dennis herself forwarded to the Post Bulletin.
What emerged from that review was a pattern of Dennis making accusations without evidence or proof, a failure to address the issues at hand and a penchant for reiterating personal grievances in public settings.
This review coincides with
earlier reporting by the Post Bulletin
that revealed Dennis’ city council colleagues appeared worn down and irked by her. She has served on the City Council since 2021, representing Ward 6, on the north side of the city.
During a phone call with the Post Bulletin for this story, Dennis made unfounded accusations against a number of people and repeatedly brought up her concerns about the city allegedly wasting air miles, an issue city officials have tried to assure her is not a problem. The Post Bulletin has investigated and found no evidence that the city has violated the law pertaining to its use of air miles.
An
investigator hired by the city
determined the
March 6 censure
was not discriminatory and that while Dennis’ attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder may impact her conduct, her actions led the Council to “take reasonable steps to focus resources on city business.”
Dennis has repeatedly stated she believes the censure failed to take into account her ADHD, which can affect how she communicates.
The report highlighted the fact that Dennis has issues with letting topics go, an issue witnessed by those who have attended City Council meetings and is shown in court records.
City officials outlined several instances in which Dennis acted disruptively in public settings. Those include instances in which she cried and yelled at Mayor Kim Norton — once when Norton accepted an award at a conference in Washington, D.C., while Dennis was not present, and another time when Dennis’ children did not receive gift cards that other children received at a public event hosted by the mayor. Dennis had not signed her children up to participate as the other children’s parents had.
During the Washington, D.C., conference, several witnesses told the investigator that while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was speaking to Congress, Dennis expressed a desire for Russian President Vladimir Putin to bomb the United States instead of Ukraine.
Norton also told the investigator that Dennis has demanded information involving confidential police matters and attempted to “fix parking tickets.”
Additionally, the investigation focuses on an incident during a Feb. 27, 2023, City Council meeting at the Plummer House. Witnesses said Dennis became upset during the meeting and became openly hostile toward City Administrator Alison Zelms.
Later, according to witnesses, Dennis and Council member Brooke Carlson got into an altercation in the parking lot. Dennis acted so aggressively toward Carlson that Council member Mark Bransford stepped between the two as Dennis approached Carlson while flailing her arms. Bransford told the investigator that he was afraid that Dennis was going to strike him.
“This is the most dangerous framing and manipulative,” Dennis said. “I talk with my hands. Every time I talk, I talk with wide gestures.”
Prior to Dennis’ censure, Rochester Police Chief Jim Franklin provided input about safety concerns, according to Rochester Police Department Communications Coordinator Amanda Grayson.
“Chief Franklin often provides his insight regarding safety and security protocols for city and community meetings with potential for disruption,” she wrote in an email to the Post Bulletin.
“I have not picked fights with any council member in the history of my term on the council,” Dennis said.
Dennis denied all the claims in the investigation during an interview with the Post Bulletin but also said she had not read the report.
When asked why city officials would lie about her actions, she spent several minutes explaining that city officials are going to lose their jobs and that they’re scared because the officials are under investigation. She did not provide any evidence to support that claim.
“They’re spinning things to make it look like I’m the one who’s guilty and that is wrong,” Dennis said. “These are people who are skilled in microaggressions and who are skilled in how to manipulate things. It’s just an incredibly manipulative and misleading thing the city has done.”
Dennis’ pattern of behavior
Court records show the conduct highlighted by city officials is not confined to her work.
During a 2022 divorce order between Dennis and her ex-husband, Referee Erin Felten cited Dennis’ behavior in court, which included verbal outbursts. Felton also cited three instances of “significant concern” regarding Dennis’ behavior outside of court that affected her children.
The Post Bulletin is not naming Dennis’ ex-husband, his significant other or her children because they are not public figures.
Dennis often cites concern for her children’s safety as the reason for her behavior but does not show any evidence of threats or harm toward her children.
An email from Rochester City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage sent to Dennis and the rest of the council urged her to stop saying the city is harming her children. In the email, Spindler-Krage wrote that, in fact, it is the public nature of Dennis’ claims that may actually be harmful to her children.
Dennis forwarded this email to the Post Bulletin as evidence that Spindler-Krage had dug into her personal life. The email compares her behavior on the city council to her documented behavior in court, with Spindler-Krage citing eight different quotes from Felten, who admonished Dennis for her conduct.
While the referee in the divorce case cited communication issues between both parents, Felten was dismissive of Dennis’ claim that her ADHD was solely responsible for her behavior.
“It is clear from the records that (Dennis) can control her outbursts and behave appropriately in other settings and even in matters with (other parties) when there have been requirements to do so,” Felten wrote.
Her lack of decorum was also noted by District Judge Kathy Wallace in a harassment restraining order case brought against her in 2020 by her now-ex-husband.
“While (Dennis) continues to indicate in her repeated messages that she is the one trying to set a good example for the children and co-parent, the content of her repeated and seemingly endless messages on the same issues demonstrates otherwise,” Wallace wrote.
Wallace dismissed that petition against Dennis, saying that while Dennis’ conduct was inappropriate, it did not rise to the level of harassment.
Excerpt from District Judge Kathy Wallace order denying harassment restraining order after hearing:
Contributed / Third Judicial District Court
Conspiracies and indecencies
A harassment restraining order brought by her now-ex-husband’s girlfriend in 2021 gives the clearest picture of how Dennis operates. The parties eventually agreed in that case to a stipulated order in 2022 under which the HRO was granted but the court made no findings of harassment.
The girlfriend accused Dennis of calling her names in front of Dennis’ children, yelling out of her car window and threatening to use her government position to fire the woman and Dennis’ ex-husband from their jobs.
“You’re a gold-digging homewrecker,” Dennis is accused of saying to the woman. “I will forever hate you and ruin your career.”
In her response affidavit, Dennis admitted to many of the accusations leveled against her but said her ex-husband was behind the petition and accused the woman’s attorney of conspiring against Dennis to circumvent the court system and gain control of her children.
“This kind of abuse of the legal system should not be allowed,” Dennis wrote.
A 140-page transcript regarding a hearing for the HRO petition depicts a clearly exasperated District Judge Jacob Allen attempting to rein in Dennis as she went off-topic, often making accusations against her ex-husband and his girlfriend before going back to deciding she wanted to settle the case.
Dennis repeatedly attempted to re-litigate settled topics during the hearing, saying she didn’t understand the order despite it being explained to her multiple times verbally and in writing.
Dennis spent the majority of her time rehashing prior custody issues with her ex-husband, arguing over the definitions of words and accusing the woman who filed the petition of trying to send her to prison.
The woman did call the police regarding Dennis allegedly violating a temporary HRO prior to the hearing, but police never spoke to Dennis, according to Grayson.
At different points, Dennis told a judge she had conferred with “her city attorney” regarding the case.
Spindler-Krage told city investigators that Dennis often asked for legal advice and would talk at length about her kids, divorce and HRO proceedings.
Dennis also requested that the hearing be closed to the public because she is a public official.
“I am fearful that an open session would permit political opponents or journalists to exploit testimony or evidence provided to the court in ways that would cause me undue embarrassment,” she wrote in a letter to Allen.
That was firmly rejected by Allen under the grounds that Minnesota statute dictates that court proceedings are generally public. The fact that she is a public official actually weakened her argument to close the courtroom, the judge said.
Dennis disclosed several private medical details about one of her children, both during the hearing and to the Post Bulletin, saying that she didn’t want the public to know about those issues.
“I get really sad when I see an injustice,” Dennis told the Post Bulletin. “I get triggered. I speak loudly. But I’ve never been a physical threat against anyone.”
The order barred Dennis from contacting the woman, driving on her lawn or using the children as third-party messengers. It expired on Jan. 12, 2023.
Stipulated harassment restraining order document:
