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Sixth Judicial District 2024 Election Guide

Gunnar B. Johnson and Shawn Reed are running for Judge Bench 6, one of 16 district court judgeships in the Sixth Judicial District, which serves the Arrowhead Region.

KAXE contacted every candidate twice using contact information submitted to the Secretary of State's Office to invite them to participate in our Election Guide.

Candidate responses have not been edited and are published as submitted.

As necessary, our news team added contextual information clearly marked with an "editor's note" and in italics, though responses have not been uniformly fact-checked. With our small team of three, we are unable to proactively fact check every statement made by candidates. But we will make every effort to make note of inaccuracies if they come to our attention.

Please contact our news team at news@kaxe.org with questions or comments or to report any errors.

KAXE's Election Guide only includes candidates in contested races. Visit our full list of who's running for office in Northern Minnesota to see who else is on the ballot.

Election Guide Homepage


Gunnar B. Johnson

Gunnar B. Johnson is running for Judge Bench 6 in the Sixth Judicial District in the 2024 election.
Contributed
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Gunnar Johnson/Lynnette's Portrait Design
Gunnar B. Johnson is running for Judge Bench 6 in the Sixth Judicial District in the 2024 election.

Incumbent: This is an open seat without an incumbent.
Age on Election Day: 56
City/township of residence: Gnesen Township

Where are you currently employed, and what is your role?
I am an attorney the the City of Hermantown, Cloquet Fire, numerous townships, the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and Overom Law.

Please share any prior experience that you believe qualifies you for office.
I have 30-years of legal experience in private practice, as the Duluth City Attorney, and with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. I have handled a wide range of legal matters including criminal prosecutions and civil litigation. I have been a hearing officer for the Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Authority.
I have found my work in public service to be the most rewarding part of my long legal career. I believe that being a judge will be an opportunity for me to give back to our community.

Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the role you are running for.
A judge needs to be organized, hardworking, listen to all sides, patient, open minded, have a calm demeanor, knowledgeable of the law, unbiased, ethical, make timely decisions, and explain things in a way that even non-lawyers can understand. I believe my background and experience demonstrate that I possess the qualities to be a strong judge for our area.

Why are you running?
My work in public service has been the most rewarding part of my long legal career. I see being a judge as an opportunity to give back to our community. I believe my 30 years of experience in civil and criminal matters as well as being a hearing officer will be valuable in helping to resolve legal disputes in the Sixth Judicial District. I would be honored to serve as your judge.

What are the biggest challenges you would face in this role, and how would you overcome them?
The biggest challenge I will face as judge is making sure I spend the time necessary to understand the individual issues of each person that appears before me. I good example of this is my work as a hearing officer for the Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Authority. I hear cases much like a district court judge does. The hearings are similar to a civil trial with opening statements, a hearing, closing statements, and ultimately a written decision by me. The cases often involve challenges of mental health, addiction, poverty, and access to legal services. Sometimes the tenants are represented by an attorney but are often pro se. After the hearing, I apply the facts gathered in the hearing to the Federal housing laws. I issue my decision within seven days. I enjoy the challenges of being a hearing officer and look forward to similar challenges as a district court judge.

How do you plan to improve transparency and trust in the judicial system?
A fair and unbiased legal system is the foundation of our society. When justice and fairness are lost, so is the trust in our system of government. Respect, dignity, and fairness are the cornerstones of our court system. My goal to improve transparency and trust in the judicial system is to be a hardworking, fair, unbiased, and user-friendly member of our State judicial team. I will listen to all that come before me. I will make decisions based on the facts and the law. I will issue decisions in a timely manner. I will work to keep the Sixth Judicial District a standard of American justice.

Shawn Reed

Shawn Reed is running for Judge Bench 6 in the Sixth Judicial District in the 2024 Election.
Contributed
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Shawn Reed/Lynnette's Portrait Design
Shawn Reed is running for Judge Bench 6 in the Sixth Judicial District in the 2024 election.

Incumbent: No
Age on Election Day: 53
City/township of residence: Midway Township

Where are you currently employed, and what is your role?
Reed Law, Ltd., Attorney

Please share any prior experience that you believe qualifies you for office.
I have been a trial attorney for 27 years. I am in the courtroom handling the cases that judges preside over daily. My law practice covers criminal law, family law, complex civil cases, general civil matters, and appellate work. My criminal practice is unique because I serve as a prosecuting attorney for local municipalities and a private defense attorney. This allows me to analyze cases from both sides. I have adopted that type of analysis in all of my cases. My family law practice includes post-decree, high-conflict custody cases. Related to the family law practice, I am on the Rule 114 Roster of Qualified Neutrals for family facilitative/hybrid. Finally, I have been an administrative hearing officer for municipalities and housing agencies.

I have tried both criminal and civil jury trials to verdict. I have tried bench trials and evidentiary hearings. My law practice and 27 years of actual courtroom experience have prepared me to be ready to be the Sixth Judicial District's next district court judge.

Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the role you are running for.
In the broadest sense, District court judges are responsible for presiding over cases in their courtroom. Judges are responsible for conducting hearings and trials. When they are presiding over jury trials, it is their responsibility to manage the trial to ensure that the evidence is properly presented to the jury and to provide the jurors the necessary instructions on the applicable law. When judges preside over court trials, evidentiary hearings, or motion hearings, they apply the law to the facts of the matter, leading to the issuance of a decision.

Why are you running?
I am running because I have spent 27 years in the courtrooms. I know how important it is to have a person with court experience on the bench. With the two recent retirements and the loss of Judge Tarnowski, the bench needs someone who can come in and manage the courtroom immediately. Being in court daily has allowed me to witness its impact on parties, emphasizing the importance of a prepared bench. We cannot afford to have parties waiting, as justice delayed is justice denied.

What are the biggest challenges you would face in this role, and how would you overcome them?
The biggest challenge would be the change of roles. I would need to switch from being an advocate in the courtroom to that of neutral and the person ruling on the cases. I would have to change my mindset from the crafting of the argument, the strategy, and courtroom presentation to the person receiving the argument and presentation of evidence. I would overcome that by reminding myself that the cases are not mine to try.

How do you plan to improve transparency and trust in the judicial system?
It starts with communication in the courtroom and how you treat people. You must treat people with respect and dignity, regardless of their background or circumstances. You also have to take the time to talk to people and express interest in their achievements. I have observed people walk out of a courtroom after a judge took the time to talk to them after a case. That made a difference to those individuals. I overheard them state, "I never had a judge take the time and talk to me like that." That impact was real. Trust in judicial system is built like that, one person at a time.


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Still have questions for the candidates? Contact information for all those who've filed to run for office can be found at candidates.sos.state.mn.us.