Former Orono Mayor Dennis Walsh sues city, asks court to halt special election

Former Orono Mayor Dennis Walsh has asked a court to halt a May special election that could unseat a City Council member he appointed.

In one of his final meetings as mayor, Walsh appointed Claire Berrett to serve in a City Council seat vacated by Matt Johnson, who resigned one week after the November election ushered in new Orono leaders.

The Orono City Council voted 4 to 1 last week to hold a May 13 special election for Berrett’s seat, arguing it was required under state law and in the best interest of the voters. But Walsh argues in a new lawsuit, filed last week and accepted by the court Tuesday, that Berrett should serve the remainder of Johnson’s term, which runs through 2026.

“No vacancy exists in Orono,” James Dickey, an attorney from the Upper Midwest Law Center, which is representing Walsh, wrote in a petition asking a Hennepin County district judge to halt the election. “The City Council cannot apply a post-appointment ordinance to shorten Ms. Berrett’s ‘title’ to the office.”

But an attorney for the city on Tuesday pushed back on Dickey’s interpretation.

“Minnesota law is clear,” David Zoll, an attorney with Lockridge Grindal Nauen, which is representing the city of Orono, said in a statement. “When a city council seat becomes vacant with more than two years remaining in the term, any appointment to fill the vacancy is temporary and expires when a successor is chosen at a special election.”

Reached Tuesday, Berrett declined to comment. She was the only council member who voted against setting the special election date. She said in a public meeting last week that she anticipated there would be a lawsuit but “I’m not bringing it.”

The lawsuit comes at a time when Orono is undergoing a major political transition. The city has replaced four of its five elected leaders in recent months. After a tense fall election that drew thousands of dollars in campaign spending, residents selected two new council members and replaced Walsh with Bob Tunheim. One week after the election, Johnson resigned.

City officials initially announced plans to hold a special election to fill his seat. But later that month, over the objections of some of his council colleagues, Walsh appointed Berrett.

Minnesota law says that if more than two years are left on a person’s term when they vacate their seat “a special election shall be held at or before the next regular city election.” It also says the “council must specify by ordinance under what circumstances it will hold a special election to fill a vacancy other than a special election held at the same time as the regular city election.”

The next regular city election is scheduled for November 2026. Orono didn’t have a special election ordinance on the books when Berrett was appointed to her seat. Council members, including Berrett, approved an ordinance last week that would allow special elections to be held earlier in some instances.

Dickey, who is representing Walsh, argued in the lawsuit: “Minnesota law simply does not grant a city power to pass a retroactive special-election ordinance. It can pass a future-looking ordinance, to be sure. But that ordinance cannot apply retroactively because state law does not explicitly provide for it.”

But Zoll, Orono’s attorney, argues the special election is allowed under state law and beneficial for voters.

“Instead of waiting until November 2026, the City of Orono took action, consistent with state law, to authorize a special election in May 2025 and empower voters to elect a city council member at the earliest opportunity,” he said.