Orono City Council member resigns, leading to more political turnover

Council Member Matt Johnson resigned Tuesday. His departure came one week after voters selected a new mayor and two other new council members.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 13, 2024 at 10:53PM
Mayor Dennis Walsh led a City Council meeting Feb. 13, 2023, at Orono City Hall. At left was Council Member Victoria Seals, while Richard Crosby II’s vacant chair was at right. (Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Orono City Council Member Matt Johnson resigned Tuesday, putting the city on track to replace four of its five elected leaders in 2025.

Johnson, who had two more years left in his term, submitted a one-sentence letter to the city Tuesday asking that his resignation be accepted that day. Reached by the Star Tribune Wednesday, Johnson declined to comment on why he chose to resign.

His departure comes one week after local elections, in which voters selected a new mayor and two new council members to take over next year. Former Orono School Board Chair Bob Tunheim will replace Dennis Walsh as mayor in January. New Council Members Steve Persian and Jacqueline Ricks will replace Council Members Richard Crosby and Maria Veach.

City leaders will need to hold a special election next year to fill Johnson’s seat and will need to figure out how to fill the vacancy until then, Orono City Administrator/City Engineer Adam Edwards said during Tuesday’s council meeting. He said more details on that process will be presented at a meeting later this month.

The political turnover is happening at a time when Orono is grappling with contentious issues, including the future of its fire department.

Orono is home to about 8,000 people. It borders a portion of Lake Minnetonka and surrounds the city of Long Lake. The two cities are locked in a lawsuit and face a trial next year, as Long Lake officials accuse Orono of trying to poach their firefighters after Orono broke off to form its own department.

In a court filing this week, attorneys representing Long Lake asked a judge to postpone some court dates, writing “we are cautiously optimistic that the parties may be able to reach resolution of their dispute in the new year, once the new Council is in place.”

about the writer

about the writer

Liz Navratil

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Liz Navratil covers communities in the western Twin Cities metro area. She previously covered Minneapolis City Hall as leaders responded to the coronavirus pandemic and George Floyd’s murder.

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