Minot-Mayor Tom Ross’s sudden resignation on April 1, 2025 marks a rare and dramatic moment in Minot’s political history. While this news has rocked Minot and made national headlines, it isn't wholly unprecedented. Though incredibly uncommon, he's by no means the first mayor to vacate City Hall before completing a full term. So, with this piece we'll go back in time and examine 2 other instances where Minot’s mayors chose to walk away.
More than forty years ago, in January 1984, Mayor Thomas Lee stunned Minot by announcing his resignation just halfway through his first term. Officially citing “personal and family reasons,” the physical and mental toll of the office had apparently become too great for the then 66 year old.
Lee had narrowly won the mayor’s race in April of 1982, defeating longtime mayor Chester Reiten by just 13 votes, after serving for 12 years as an alderman. But once in office, he quickly discovered that governing from the non voting mayoral seat was far different than being an alderman. At the time, Minot’s City Council was made up of 14 aldermen, more than double today’s six-member structure, and was deeply divided between different factions. As mayor, Lee had little formal power to unify the body or set the agenda. He could only vote to break ties, leaving him largely sidelined in day-to-day decision-making. “I thought I’d try to provide [leadership],” he told the Minot Daily News at the time, “but more often than not, they ignored me when I tried to do it.”
Despite some accomplishments cited through the archives including downtown redevelopment initiatives and the creation of new city commissions, Lee found the job more political and more exhausting than fulfilling, especially after suffering a fall and injuring his back. “I think you need a very vigorous individual in that job,” he said shortly before stepping down. “Under the circumstances, I do not feel I can measure up to that.”
His resignation, announced in January, and effective in April 1984, triggered a special election for the seat. However, there was a regularly scheduled election at that time so adding the mayor's seat to the election wasn't a problem, and it allowed his narrowly defeated challenger, former mayor Chester Reiten to run un opposed.
Go back even further, and the first Minot mayor to resign under public scrutiny was Arthur LeSueur, a socialist firebrand elected in 1909 on a wave of progressive, populist energy. Originally from Minnesota, LeSueur moved to Minot around the turn of the 20th century to practice law and quickly established himself as a leading voice in the state’s fledgling Socialist Party. An outspoken advocate for labor rights, public ownership, and structural reform, LeSueur encapsulated the beginning populist movement brewing in the state.
As mayor, LeSueur pushed for municipal ownership, transparent governance, and closing down illegal saloons and gambling dens. But his bold agenda, and his open leadership in North Dakota’s Socialist Party, drew sharp resistance. The city council blocked many of his proposals, and local newspapers painted him as too radical, more loyal to party ideology than practical governance. After months of political gridlock and mounting attacks, LeSueur resigned in March 1911 and was joined by fellow socialist alderman R.H. Emerson .
LeSueur’s departure from office didn’t mark the end of his public influence. He remained a key figure in the national Socialist movement, helping lay the groundwork for the rise of the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota just a few years later, and his political philosophy echoed into neighboring Minnesota, where it helped inspire the formation of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party.
Mayor Tom Ross now joins that short but consequential list. Elected mayor in 2022 following 2 years on city council, Ross led Minot through a period of post-pandemic recovery, and championed the city of Minot all the way through. Having been exposed for accidentally sending a lewd video to the City Attorney, he joins the ranks of this list embroiled in scandal.
In more than a century of city governance, each mayoral resignation came in a different era and under very different pressures. Yet each reflects on the weight of the office, the fractures within local government, and the personal toll of public service. Time and again, Minot has shown its resilience in the face of leadership uncertainty, and this moment will be no exception. The city now stands at a familiar crossroads: either a special election will be triggered through a successful petition process, or the City Council will appoint one of its own to serve as mayor, prompting the need to fill the resulting vacancy on the council.
