Retirement of northern Minnesota judge sets up uncommon judicial election without incumbent

DULUTH – The surprise announcement of the end-of-term retirement of Judge Dale Harris has paved the way for an uncommon contested judicial primary, with five men vying for the seat held by the longtime northern Minnesota judge.

The lengthy list of candidates, found on the flipside of the ballot, includes Gunnar B. Johnson, Peter Raukar, Shawn Reed, John B. Schulte and Gerald K. Wallace — lawyers who are all familiar with each other’s work. All said they believe that the other four candidates are qualified for the job.

Two will move on from Tuesday’s primary to the general election for the Sixth District position that covers St. Louis, Carlton, Cook and Lake counties.

Usually, judges retire midterm and the governor appoints a lawyer from within that district to fill the vacancy. Harris, 57, opted to leave when his term ends in early January 2025, a move he has said is not political but based on timing: He doesn’t feel right being on the ballot with the potential for another six-year term, he said.

“Everyone makes that decision based on the right time and when you’re able to do it,” said Harris. “It seemed like a good time. It’s a hard job and it takes a lot of energy. I think every lawyer has gone in front of a judge who stuck around too long and I don’t want to be that guy.”

Harris was appointed in 2010 by then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and was re-elected to the position twice more.

“It sent a shock wave through the legal community when said he wasn’t running for re-election,” said Schulte, now in the running for the job.

The candidates

Wallace, 38, divides his time between private practice and contract work with the public defenders’ office. He is in the courtroom every day, he said, and routinely handles the type of cases that are seen in District Court. Wallace’s campaign has centered on accessibility issues — making representation affordable and streamlining technology to make it easier to represent oneself. He is the youngest candidate on the ballot, which he said brings a level of adaptability.

“I think I have the biggest breadth of experience, as an attorney working in the areas I’ve worked in, handling the serious types of cases I’ve handled,” he said. “It gives me the broadest and deepest experience of all the people [running].”

Schulte, 52, who is currently with Hanft Fride Law Firm, has been practicing for 28 years and has worked in a solo practice in addition to a large law firm. He was a judicial referee for eight years in Duluth and Carlton, and is the only candidate with this judge-adjacent position on his résumé. He has seen a lot of high conflict cases where people do not have an attorney, he said.

“I like to cut through the noise and the nonsense and get right to the heart of what the issues are and what the problem is,” Schulte said.

Shawn Reed, 53, is an attorney with Bray & Reed and said he has practiced for 27 years and served as a hearing officer. He said he loves being in a courtroom and is drawn to the way a judge can make a positive change in another person’s life.

“You get this great opportunity to help people. It’s really talking. It’s communicating with people,” he said.

Peter Raukar, 48, has been with Thibodeau, Johnson & Feriancek, where he is a partner, for about six years.

He likens the hard work of campaigning — from meeting people, to developing a website, to hitting parades where people don’t necessarily want to think about politics — for a judicial race to the work he would do if he won the seat.

“I think having an abundance of busy friends who show up for you at parades, put up yard signs for you, help you out is a reflection on the candidate and his team,” he said. “If people are going to go the extra mile for you, it shows you are a good listener and a good person that can empathize and connect with people.”

Gunnar Johnson, 56, has had the longest career at 30 years, all of it within the Sixth District. He is currently at Overom Law Office. His experiences range from assistant Minnesota attorney general and legal counsel to Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation to city attorney for Hermantown.

Johnson was Duluth’s city attorney for more than a decade, hired by Mayor Don Ness, a role that ended when he resigned in 2020 while on administrative leave during an investigation into his treatment of employees. The 88-page report from the investigation had mixed findings: There was evidence that he “made inappropriate statements” at work and that his management style failed to address interpersonal conflicts in his office.

He said then-Mayor Emily Larson’s administration was looking for a way to get rid of him and that two of his right-hand people at the time, Dan Fanning and Joanne Piper-Mauer, are on his campaign team, which he considers telling of his work ethic. He’s been interested in a judgeship for 20 years and has applied to be considered for appointment in the past. His most rewarding work, he said, has been in positions of public service.

“It would be an opportunity to finish my career in a position of public service,” he said.

The candidates, all mindful that they aren’t in the public eye, have been hitting up a range of events, from small-town festivals to the Spirit Valley Days parade. It’s hard to get a lot of turnout for a primary, they say, and not everyone is used to looking at the back of a ballot.

“Turn that ballot over and start with the judicial race and make those decisions first,” Reed said. “I’ve seen the impact a judge can have on lives. That’s why it’s so vitally important.”