Councilor push to remove prayer from agenda leads to chippy exchange with mayor

An irked Mayor Paul Callahan shuffles papers just prior to adjourning Tuesday's City Council meeting following a testy exchange with City Councilor Chris Rice. At left, City Manager Blaine Cox. (Screen capture)

ROCHESTER - A City Councilor's request to remove prayer from board meetings prompted a couple of testy exchange between himself, another councilor and the mayor at the end of Tuesday's session.
After a fairly smooth hour and 10 minutes during which subcommittee openings were filled and council rules of order updated, Councilor Chris Rice asked the board to approve dropping the opening prayer and replacing it with a moment of silence.
"I object to opening prayer," he said. "I am not of the religious belief."
Rice said he had consulted with a couple of ACLU lawyers and believed a moment of silence was more appropriate than a prayer.
He noted that Rochester is a city of many different faiths and spoke openly to others on the board urging them to make the change.
Rochester Mayor Paul Callahan replied that he thought prayer was important, noting the presence of a cross on the city's seal, but said he'd be happy to switch up denominations to reflect the city's rich religious heritage.
Since the "prayer" was already codified in council rules, however, Callahan noted it wouldn't be changed till the next update in 2024, but Rice pressed for a discussion and readopting of the rules just approved.
"We could just call for a two-thirds vote and put it on the agenda tonight, if someone would second my motion," he said. City Councilor Dana Berlin obliged, setting up a vote, which needed a two-thirds approval to move forward.
City Councilor Steve Beaudoin argued against the impromptu rule making and said it should go back to codes and ordinances.
During a roll call vote, Rice and Berlin voted yes to suspend the rules and have a full blown discussion for removing prayer, but the rest of the board voted no.
However when Councilor Ashley Desrochers said "absolutely not" in resolute fashion instead of "no" Rice grew livid.
"That was inappropriate!" he cried out.
"I got it," Callahan replied while banging his gavel and taking a sideways look at Desrochers.
After Rice's motion failed, he began to openly express his umbrage with Desochers' choice of words.
"And your honor, if I may ..."
"We're done!" shot back Callahan.
"Excuse me your honor," Rice replied pointedly. "If we're taking a vote council members should say yea or nay, not absolutely.."
"We understand that," Callahan noted tersely.
"So please call out the council members next time they do it, please. Thank you," quipped Rice.
A visibly perturbed Callahan ignored Rice's final comments and adjourned the meeting with no further comment.
The discussion on removing prayer begins around the 56-minute mark of Tuesday's meeting which you can watch by clicking here.