Washington Co. Board To Consider Interim Attorney Appointment Tuesday

WASHINGTON COUNTY, MN — The Washington County Board of Commissioners is set to take its first steps Tuesday toward naming an interim successor to longtime County Attorney Pete Orput, who died in April.

Orput served for almost a dozen years as Washington County's top prosecutor and built a reputation as a "champion of public safety" and a "fierce advocate for justice," his colleagues said after his death.

Orput learned he had stomach cancer 10 days before his death April 3, KARE 11 reported. He was 66.

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First Assistant Washington County Attorney Brent Wartner has been leading the office for the past two months, officials said.

The Board of Commissioners is required by law to appoint someone to fill the vacancy in the Washington County Attorney’s Office, and members are expected to start that process Tuesday.

The agenda for the board’s June 7 meeting shows members will hear from county employees about their options for filling the vacancy. Those options include appointing someone to the position at Tuesday’s meeting, according to the agenda.

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Whoever is appointed as interim Washington County attorney will serve for about six months to finish Orput’s term. Orput announced in January that he planned to retire at the end of 2022 after three terms.

Orput endorsed Assistant Washington County Attorney Kevin Magnuson in the race to succeed him as the county’s top prosecutor. No other candidates filed to run for the office in 2022, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office.

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