[8] On February 2, 1988, the board of alderman voted eleven to four to not welcome Jane Fonda when she came to film Union Street which Dunn stated was a "disaster for the city".

[10] A Hispanic group withdrew its community service award for Dunn and disinvited him to a dinner after complaints of his support for the English-only movement.

[12] He won the Democratic nomination and defeated Republican nominee Walter R. Bilski in the general election.

[15][16] He took office in the Massachusetts Senate in January 1991, and resigned from the Holyoke mayoralty on February 6, and was replaced by City Council President Joseph M. McGivern as acting mayor.

[19] In 2015, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Holyoke Democratic Committee, and was given a medal from the St. Thomas More Society in 2018.