Pritschet resigns from Brainerd City Council

BRAINERD — Dave Pritschet announced his resignation from the Brainerd City Council Monday, May 16.

Pritschet, who serves Ward 1, will resign effective July 31 after taking a job as principal at Assumption Catholic School in Hibbing.

“I’d like to thank the people of Brainerd and especially the people in Ward 1 for 10 years,” he said during Monday’s City Council meeting. “I never regretted any of it. I learned so much, grew so much, got to learn from some wonderful people.”

Pritschet was elected to his first term on the City Council in 2012 and was reelected in 2016 and 2020.

“I would say any time you get a chance to serve your community, you should take it up,” Pritschet said after Monday’s meeting.

While Pritchet said leaving the council was not an easy decision, the former Forestview Middle School social studies teacher said the principal job offered a lot of things he sought. He said he will keep his house in Brainerd and plan on doing some traveling back and forth, as he eventually plans to retire in Brainerd.

After accepting Pritschet’s resignation Monday, the council declared a vacancy and opened the seat up for applicants. The council will appoint someone to fill Pritschet’s seat from August through the end of 2022, and a special election will take place this November to fill the remainder of the term, which runs through 2024.

City staff will likely have information on applying for the open position available by the end of the week. Applications will be accepted through July 8, and the council will appoint someone at its meeting July 18 so the new council member can begin in August.

The filing period for the primary and general elections opens Tuesday, May 17, and runs through May 31.

Ward 1 covers the downtown area and much of southwest Brainerd.