Dennis Walaker (January 10, 1941 – December 2, 2014) was an American politician who served as 34th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Fargo,

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. He was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

to a four-year term on June 13, 2006, and took office on June 28, 2006. He was re-elected twice during municipal elections held on June 8, 2010, and June 10, 2014. Walaker died in office during his third term as mayor. His deputy mayor,

Tim Mahoney Timothy Edward Mahoney (born August 16, 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

, served as mayor for the remainder of Mayor Walaker's final term.

Biography

Walaker was born in Fargo in 1941. He attended Leonard High School in

Cass County, North Dakota Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 184,525, making it the most populous county in North Dakota, and was estimated to be 200,945 in 2024. It contains over 25.23% of the state' ...

and

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was ...

. He worked on the construction of

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

Interstate 29 Interstate 29 (I-29) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with I-35 and I-70, to the Canada–US border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba ...

, and projects within the City of Fargo. Walaker was named City's Public Works Operations Manager in 1989. The scope of the position was later expanded to include emergency management, forestry, and fleet management. He gained attention (locally and - on a smaller scale - nationally) in April 1997, while coordinating the city's efforts to fight the

1997 Red River flood The Red River flood of 1997 was a major flood that occurred in April and May 1997 along the Red River of the North in Minnesota, North Dakota, and southern Manitoba. It was the most severe flood of the river since 1826. The flood reached through ...

. After the flooding passed and the city was left mainly dry, Walaker was given some credit for the city's preparations. He gained similar notice for coordinating the response to the

2009 Red River flood The 2009 Red River flood along the Red River of the North in North Dakota and Minnesota in the United States and Manitoba in Canada brought record flood levels to the Fargo-Moorhead area. The flood was a result of saturated and frozen ground, s ...

, issuing an evacuation order at the height of the flood that included only children and the disabled. Although the city had been urged by state and federal agencies to issue a complete evacuation order, Walaker disagreed, stating that "There's just no way I could tell the people of the city of Fargo, after all the work they'd done, to evacuate." Walaker personally supervised the 2009 efforts in Fargo - described as "orchestrated primarily from inside City Hall" - by local volunteers working with the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

, the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

, the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

, and other federal agencies. Walaker was a member of the

Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition Everytown for Gun Safety is an American non-profit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was formed in 2013 due to a merger between ''Mayors Against Illegal Guns'' and ''Moms Demand Action for Gun Sens ...

, a

bi-partisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...

group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition was co-chaired by late

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three mont ...

and former

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

. He was also a member of the

Mayors Climate Protection Center The Mayors Climate Protection Center, founded in 2007 as a subgroup of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is dedicated to providing mayors with "the guidance and assistance they need to lead their cities’ efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emission ...

, and has been a board member or member of several local, regional, and national organizations, including the Red River Zoo, the

Plains Art Museum The Plains Art Museum is a fine arts museum located in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, United States. History The history of the museum dates back to 1965 when the "Red River Art Center" opened in the former Moorhead, Minnesota, post office. ...

, the

American Public Works Association The American Public Works Association (APWA) is a nonprofit, professional association of public works agencies, private companies, and individuals dedicated to promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy and ...

, the

American Water Works Association American Water Works Association (AWWA) is an international non-profit, scientific and educational association founded to improve water quality and supply. Established in 1881, it is a lobbying organization representing a membership (as of 2024) o ...

, the Water Pollution Control Federation, the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

, the

Sons of Norway Sons of Norway (), founded in 1895 as the Independent Order of the Sons of Norway, is a fraternal organization principally representing people of Norwegian-American, Norwegian heritage in the United States and Canada. The organization includes i ...

, the

Hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

of the Red River Valley, and

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

. Walaker died on December 2, 2014, at the age of 73, from

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...

References

21st-century mayors of places in North Dakota Mayors of Fargo, North Dakota 2014 deaths 1941 births North Dakota State University alumni Deaths from kidney cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in North Dakota {{NorthDakota-mayor-stub