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We talked with incumbent Joe Atkins, the only candidate running for the Dakota County Commissioner District 2 seat. Our candidate questionnaire covers priorities, taxes, running in an uncontested race, and more.
- More: See our full voter’s guide for information on other local races.
Race profile: Dakota County commissioner is a non-partisan position elected to a four-year term. District 2 represents West St. Paul, South St. Paul, and parts of Inver Grove Heights.
Who’s running:
- Joe Atkins – Incumbent first elected in 2016, Atkins works as an attorney.
- This race is uncontested.
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Candidate Questions
We asked the candidates a series of six questions and asked them to respond in 250 words or less. The questions cover priorities, taxes, progress, running in an uncontested race, immigration, and transparency around Flock cameras.
Priorities: What are your two to three top priorities and how will you address those issues to actually accomplish something?
Joe Atkins: My top priorities are keeping Dakota County affordable, protecting essential public safety and human services, and continuing to improve local infrastructure like our roads, parks, trails and libraries.
Affordability is paramount. Dakota County has historically operated with the lowest number of employees per capita among the seven metro counties and some of the lowest county property taxes in Minnesota. I want to preserve that culture of lean, efficient government while realistically navigating rising costs and unfunded state and federal mandates.
Public safety also means preventing crises before they escalate. Opening the new Crisis and Recovery Center in West St. Paul was a major step forward, helping people experiencing mental health emergencies get appropriate care instead of automatically ending up in a costly hospital emergency room or jail.
Finally, I focus on delivering visible, everyday results: upgrading county roads and intersections, expanding pedestrian and bicycle connections, preserving natural areas, and investing in outstanding public amenities like the recently renovated Wentworth Library and Thompson County Park.
My approach hasn’t changed: listen to constituents, do the homework, secure outside funding whenever possible, collaborate with city and community partners, and get things done.
Taxes: Dakota County is facing a significant property tax increase this year. How do you balance the need for services with keeping property taxes reasonable?
Joe Atkins: This is the toughest county budget I have faced during my tenure as commissioner.
Over the past two years, we have cut operating expenses, held open or eliminated dozens of positions, and postponed, scaled back or canceled more than $25 million in capital and infrastructure projects. But internal cuts alone cannot fully resolve the pressure we face in 2027.
A major driver is state and federal mandates. Dakota County administers more than 100 mandated services. When higher levels of government require programs without providing adequate funding, local property taxpayers are left to make up the difference.
That doesn’t mean we simply pass the tab to residents. I will continue scrutinizing spending, pursuing state and federal grants, looking for efficiencies, and asking whether every expenditure is necessary. At the same time, I do not support arbitrary cuts that compromise emergency response, road safety, mental health services, public libraries or other essential services.
There are no painless choices this year. My commitment is to deliver the lowest responsible tax increase possible while protecting core services and avoiding shortsighted cuts that ultimately cost taxpayers more.
Progress: What’s working well in Dakota County right now? What’s not working and needs to be fixed (and why haven’t you fixed it yet)?
Joe Atkins: A great deal is working well. Dakota County provides high-quality services with the leanest county workforce per capita in the Twin Cities metro, and that work is receiving national recognition. In the past decade, Dakota County has received five Best in Category awards from the National Association of Counties, representing more than 3,000 counties nationwide. This year, our Library Health Hubs received the nation’s top award in the Health category, following previous Best in Category recognition for programs including public safety and infrastructure.
Our library system has also been named best in Minnesota, the renovated Wentworth Library is terrific, and the new Crisis and Recovery Center in West St. Paul is helping people get appropriate care instead of automatically ending up in a costly hospital or jail. We continue expanding accessibility, protecting natural areas and finding innovative ways to deliver services.
What isn’t working is the state and federal funding system for mandated county services. Being required to administer more than 100 programs without adequate funding puts tremendous pressure on local property taxpayers.
Why haven’t I fixed it? Because seven county commissioners cannot change state or federal law.
What we can do is control local spending and push for a basic principle: if another level of government mandates a service, it should provide the funding to pay for it.
Uncontested: What does it say about your candidacy or the current climate that you’re running uncontested? How do you feel about uncontested races?
Joe Atkins: I am grateful for the community support that resulted in my running unopposed this year, but I don’t see it as an excuse to slow down.
I filed for re-election fully prepared for a competitive race, and I am approaching this campaign with that same energy. I am knocking on doors, hosting town halls, attending community events, answering constituent messages and publishing regular updates to stay accessible and accountable.
I hope being uncontested reflects, at least in part, that residents believe I am accessible, work hard and represent District 2 effectively. But that judgment belongs to the voters, not me.
I think contested races are generally healthy for local democracy. They require candidates to explain their views, defend their records, listen to voters and earn their support. At the same time, I don’t think someone should run simply for the sake of creating a contest.
Whether there is another name on the ballot or not, I still have an obligation to earn people’s votes. I take none of them for granted.
Immigration: Minnesota saw significant impacts from the increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations earlier this year, including closed businesses, students missing school, protests, and law enforcement conflicts. How do you rate the county’s response and what should the county do in future conflicts?
Joe Atkins: Dakota County’s core obligation is keeping everyone safe, upholding constitutional rights and maintaining public trust.
Immigration enforcement is primarily a federal responsibility. County employees and sheriff’s deputies should remain focused on their local duties: responding to 911 calls, investigating crimes, operating county correctional facilities and protecting public safety.
When fear keeps parents from sending children to school, prevents victims of domestic violence or crime from calling 911, or disrupts essential public services, local public safety suffers. That is why I was the only local elected official in Dakota County to host a public town hall to address residents’ concerns directly and why the County Board passed a resolution calling for changes to ICE’s disruptive local enforcement tactics.
If future conflicts arise, Dakota County’s approach has shown the model that works best: clear, transparent policies, protection of the constitutional rights of all residents, and ensuring county facilities and personnel remain focused and able to deliver county services.
Transparency: Data privacy is an increasingly important issue with concerns about Flock cameras and sharing data with the federal government. Do you support the continued use of Flock cameras in Dakota County? Why or why not?
Joe Atkins: Automated license plate readers can be valuable tools for investigating serious crimes, but powerful technology does not automatically equal good public policy.
Concerns about data retention, who can search these databases, how searches are audited and how information is shared with outside or federal agencies are legitimate. Technology has moved faster than the policies governing it.
I will not support expanding or continuing technology like Flock cameras without strict, enforceable and transparent safeguards. Those standards should establish clear data-retention limits, tightly restrict permissible searches and outside data sharing, require meaningful auditing of search logs, and establish consequences for misuse.
I have already asked legislators to adopt these standards statewide, and I expect they will take up the issue early in the 2027 legislative session.
We do not have to choose between public safety and personal privacy. My standard is simple: the more powerful the surveillance technology, the stronger the transparency, oversight and privacy protections must be. If we cannot guarantee those safeguards, we shouldn’t use the technology.
Lightning Round
We asked candidates a series of 10 simple questions and asked them to respond briefly in 25 words or less.
1. Do you have a library card? When did you last use it?
- Joe Atkins: Yes. In fact, this question reminded me I have a book due back soon.
2. Do you support efforts to reduce climate change?
- Joe Atkins: Yes, in fact, Dakota County recently became the first county in the nation to generate more electricity than all of our buildings and facilities use.
3. Have you volunteered in your community in the past year? Where?
- Joe Atkins: Yes. Food drives, SSP river cleanup, Dakota County Fair, WSP community cleanup, IGH Public Safety Foundation, Thompson Park events, and many more.
4. Do you support more affordable housing in your county?
- Joe Atkins: Yes. We need housing options that working families, seniors, young people and people with disabilities can actually afford.
5. Have you attended county events in a non-campaign capacity in the past year? Which ones?
- Joe Atkins: Frequently. Wentworth Library’s reopening, Thompson County Park events, the Dakota County Fair, community bike rides, town halls and many others.
6. Do you support more pedestrian and bike access?
- Joe Atkins: Absolutely. Safe walking and biking connections improve transportation, recreation, health and quality of life, and I have strongly supported expanding them.
7. What’s your favorite local park?
- Joe Atkins: Thompson County Park in West St. Paul. The trails, Thompson Lake and River-to-River Greenway connection make it a special place.
8. Do you support more public art?
- Joe Atkins: Yes, we have been fortunate to receive external grant funding for public art, particularly locally supported projects that reflect our communities and history.
9. Who is someone that inspires you?
- Joe Atkins: My parents and grandparents. They taught me to work hard, treat people with respect and leave your community better than you found it.
10. If you were grading county government overall on an academic scale for the past year, what grade would you give?
- Joe Atkins: A-. Dakota County does many things exceptionally well with lean staffing, but our current budget challenges show there is important work ahead.
More Information
See our full local voter’s guide for information on more races and candidates.
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