Peter Warner, assistant city attorney and city council adviser, retires after 36 years

Frederick Melo, Pioneer Press
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

While immersing himself in city codes and procedures, Peter Warner never lost his love for the outdoors. The assistant St. Paul City Attorney spent more than three decades advising the city’s Planning Commission, its Board of Zoning Appeals and most recently the St. Paul City Council, among other committees and departments, while also juggling a side gig at the REI sporting goods co-op in Roseville.

His retail job, which he held for at least 25 years, offered an employee discount, which kept Warner — an avid cyclist — stocked with bicycle accessories and kayaks.

As an adviser to both St. Paul Planning and Economic Development and the Department of Safety and Inspections, Warner often had a front-row seat to planning and land-use controversies. Council President Mitra Jalali recalled his work on the once-congested Starbucks drive-through near Snelling and Marshall avenues, among other public flashpoints.

“I have had the best gig in the city attorney’s office,” Warner told a city council chamber filled with well-wishers Wednesday, while reflecting upon his retirement this month after 36 years working for the city.

Warner, who grew up in Fargo, North Dakota; Glendive, Montana; and White Bear Lake, graduated from the University of Minnesota and William Mitchell College of Law (now known as Mitchell Hamline) before taking a job as a bailiff and law clerk in Ramsey County District Court.

He began working for the city of St. Paul in 1987, initially assigned to the criminal division of the city attorney’s office. It was around that time he married his law school sweetheart, Teresa ‘Tracy’ Warner, who would go on to serve as chief judge for Ramsey County and the 2nd Judicial District from 2012-2016.

Joined by Council Member HwaJeong Kim, Planning Director Luis Pereira read part of the council resolution Wednesday honoring Warner for his years of service.

“Peter often provided guardrails to city boards and commissions … many times steering overzealous board members away from questionable conclusions and conditions of approval and keeping the city afloat based on sound, defensible reasoning, avoiding a shipwreck of public decision-making that might end up at the bottom of a dark ocean that is known as costly civil litigation,” Pereira said.

By resolution of the city council, Tuesday will be known as Peter Warner Day in the city of St. Paul.

Related Articles