Denny Walsh has been the mayor of Orono, Minn., for nearly eight years. First elected to the office in 2016 by just under 5 points, Walsh was unchallenged in his 2020 reelection campaign. Now, Walsh, the owner of a property management company and a commercial real estate business, is seeking a third term as the mayor of Orono.
Challenging Walsh is Bob Tunheim, a business attorney and commercial banker. In addition to his longtime legal career, Tunheim served as a member of the Orono School Board for 13 years starting in 2010. Tunheim served as the board’s chair from 2016 until the end of his tenure on the board in 2022.
The Star Tribune recently profiled the race, noting that “tens of thousands” of dollars have been spent in the mayoral election. Alpha News reached out to both candidates with a series of questions about the mayoral race and their respective candidacies.
Mayor Walsh touted his leadership of the city: “The last 8 years under my leadership has brought Orono, after years of financial neglect, to a fully funded city with the best bond rating in the United States.” Additionally, the two-term mayor cited investments in roads, parks, water systems, and the city’s police and fire departments as some of his major accomplishments.
“When it comes to budgeting, I made a promise to fund everything we need to fund without ever increasing our tax rate. We made it easier to build homes, do additions & get needed variances in the city and it showed as activity boomed in the city. It is amazing what happens when you simplify government for the residents & builders. Orono has the 5th lowest tax rate in Hennepin County (out of 46 cities) and we are 30% less than the Hennepin County average,” said Walsh.
The mayor also said he has “taken a very different path” than Tunheim on the topic of free speech.
Referencing Tunheim’s tenure as school board chair, Walsh said: “When times got tough at public comments at our respective City Council meetings & School Board meetings I kept free speech alive and well & continued to let people talk regardless of how vulgar, strange or mean the conversation was. My opponent canceled public comment & said he would not listen to the Moms (or Dads) any longer.”
When asked about this statement, Tunheim asserted that “at no point did the Orono School Board shut down public comment or say we would not listen to anyone, particularly parents of our students.”
“Rather, as the number of attendees—many from outside our district—increased at meetings, we moved to listening sessions to more effectively engage with speakers and enable direct conversations between Board members and the public,” said Tunheim. “And we always maintained the many other ways of seeking feedback from parents, including email, telephone calls and one-on-one meetings.”
A spokesperson for the district told Alpha News that the school board “moved to listening sessions” in late October 2021.
The Orono School Board only had two meetings in October 2021: one on Oct. 11, the other on Oct. 25. Recordings from the Oct. 11 meeting show Tunheim opening with a statement in which he instructed attendees on how to address the board and spoke about a mask mandate the school board implemented the prior month.
That mask mandate, which was unanimously approved by the Orono School Board during the COVID-19 pandemic, required students and school staff to wear masks in school buildings during school hours. Additionally, the mandate required children as young as two years old to be masked while inside school buildings during the school day.
During the Oct. 11 meeting’s public comment portion, attendees spoke out against the mask mandate and denounced the actions of the school board.
The next school board meeting, which is not viewable online due to a “Recording Error,” occurred in late October. The agenda and minutes from that meeting indicate that community members were not given an opportunity to address the board during the meeting. The timeline of these events aligns with prior statements about the board switching to “listening sessions” in October 2021.
According to a Laker Pioneer article from the time, the listening sessions occurred immediately prior to the school board meetings, allowed for up to 10 speakers, were not recorded, and were attended by the board chair, the superintendent and up to two other board members.
A district spokesperson said the Orono School Board eventually “began alternating between public comment sessions and listening sessions/informal coffee and conversations with board members and administrators” in August of 2022. Additionally, parents were told in February of 2022 that masks would no longer be required in Orono schools.
On the topic of masking, Tunheim told Alpha News that the Orono School Board “supported the decision of the District’s COVID Task Force to follow the MN Department of Education and MN Department of Health in requiring masking.”
Tunheim, who chose not to seek reelection in 2022, concluded his time on the Orono School Board at the end of that year.
Regarding the mayoral race, Tunheim said he is “running an independent campaign,” and his “focus is on representing all of Orono without partisanship or divisiveness.” Additionally, Tunheim told Alpha News that he wants to bring a “fresh, collaborative approach to leadership,” and he believes in “restoring civility, transparency, and fiscal responsibility, all while ensuring Orono remains a great place to live.”
Speaking about his time on the Orono School Board, Tunheim said: “I take pride in fostering open communication, accountability, and positive outcomes for our students, always striving for what’s best for the community.”
When asked about his opponent in the mayoral race, Tunheim said he preferred “not to comment directly on my opponent. My goal is to focus on the issues that matter to the residents of Orono.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
