Jacob Borealis · Dakota County Commissioner, District 6

Where Jacob Borealis Stands

County government touches the lives of every resident through the services it funds, the programs it runs, and the decisions it makes. These are the values and positions that guide how Jacob Borealis approaches that responsibility as a candidate for Dakota County Commissioner, District 6.

Human Services & Safety Net

A safety net that actually catches people

Dakota County administers programs — Medical Assistance, mental health crisis response, food support — that serve as critical lifelines for residents across the county. These are not optional services. They are the floor beneath which no neighbor should fall, and the Board of Commissioners sets the conditions under which they're funded and delivered.

Dakota County built a strong crisis response system — and then funded much of it with one-time ARPA dollars that are now running out. At the same time, the county receives only 2.9% of state crisis response funds while representing 8% of the state's population. That funding gap is a structural injustice the Board can and should address.

  • Medical Assistance is a right, not a privilege. Access should be protected and expanded for every eligible Dakota County resident.
  • Mental health crises deserve a mental health response. Trained crisis professionals — not law enforcement — belong at the center of behavioral health calls. Dakota County has embedded social workers across the majority of its public safety agencies. That model works. It deserves sustained funding.
  • No neighbor should go hungry because outreach programs were understaffed or underfunded. County government has both the tools and the responsibility to address food insecurity within its borders.

Children & Families

Investing in children is investing in everyone

As a parent of two children in Dakota County schools, I believe deeply that the county's investment in children — through child protection, early childhood programs, and youth services — determines what kind of community we become. These programs are not luxuries to be trimmed when budgets tighten. They are infrastructure.

  • Child protection caseworkers should be adequately staffed so that every report receives a timely, thorough response. The cost of adequate staffing is far smaller than the human cost of harm that goes unaddressed.
  • Reaching families before a crisis is both more humane and more effective than responding after one. Early childhood investment is the right place for county resources.
  • Youth mental health services and diversion programs reflect a belief that intervention is better than incarceration — for young people and for the community.

Public Safety

Safety is broader than enforcement

Public safety is one of county government's core responsibilities — and genuine safety requires more than a Sheriff's budget. A community that addresses the root causes of crime — mental illness, housing instability, poverty — is safer than one that simply incarcerates more people. Community corrections, diversion, and upstream investment in people's basic needs are the path to genuine public safety.

This isn't abstract for me. During the federal law enforcement surge in the metro, I worked directly with community members and rapid-responders whose Constitutional rights were being violated. I brought a verification protocol policy to the Dakota County Board. The board declined to adopt it. Transparency about enforcement activity — what's happening, under what authority, with what oversight — is a legitimate public safety concern. It belongs in the conversation.

  • Incarceration alone does not make communities safer. Community corrections programs that support reintegration serve everyone better — including the people who were harmed.
  • Accountability and transparency in law enforcement are not in conflict with public safety — they are preconditions for the public trust that safety depends on.
  • A significant share of law enforcement contacts involve people in mental health crisis. Those contacts go better when a trained crisis responder is involved. Expanding and sustaining that capacity is where county resources should go.
  • Violence is not random. It grows from poverty, trauma, and lack of opportunity. Addressing those conditions is not soft on crime — it is how you actually reduce it.

Economic Opportunity

Opportunity should not depend on your zip code

County government shapes economic opportunity through workforce development, job training, and the services that keep working families stable. I believe that a rising tide only lifts all boats when there are intentional efforts to make sure everyone has access to the water.

  • Workforce development and job training programs should be designed around the actual needs of workers — particularly those displaced by industry changes or structural unemployment. The county's employment services are a direct lever for connecting residents to jobs and employers to qualified candidates.
  • Behavioral health systems affect workforce participation and employer costs alike. A county that invests in mental health and crisis response isn't just serving vulnerable residents — it's strengthening the workforce environment for every employer in the region.
  • County procurement and contracting processes should be accessible to small businesses and businesses owned by people of color, women, and other historically underrepresented groups.
  • The Dakota County Community Development Agency has real tools — financing programs, first-time homebuyer assistance, and affordable rental development. Zoning belongs to municipalities, and that shouldn't change. But the county can use its financial tools and regional relationships to fill gaps individual cities can't address alone.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Infrastructure should serve everyone who lives here

Dakota County maintains hundreds of miles of roads and trails and makes decisions that shape how residents move through the region. In a fast-growing community like Lakeville, infrastructure investment is a justice issue — it determines who can get to work, school, and services, and who cannot.

  • Maintenance of existing county roads should be prioritized before new expansion. What we have should work before we build more.
  • Not everyone drives — and that reality should be reflected in how the county invests in transportation. Trail and active transportation networks are how a county signals that it serves all its residents, not just those who own cars.
  • Transit investments that connect residents to employment and services reflect a county that recognizes not everyone has a car — and that shouldn't limit anyone's opportunity.

Environment & Land Use

The environment is not a luxury issue

Growing up in northern Minnesota and raising my family here, I understand that clean water, healthy land, and accessible green space are not amenities — they are part of what makes a community worth living in. Land use decisions made today shape Dakota County for decades, and those decisions carry moral weight.

  • Water quality in the county's lakes and rivers is a shared public resource that deserves strong protection — including accountability for stormwater runoff and agricultural pollution.
  • Parks and open spaces should be equitably distributed. Green space should not be concentrated in wealthier areas while lower-income communities go without.
  • Responsible land use planning balances the county's growth with the preservation of what makes it worth growing into. Development is not inherently good — it depends on what's being built, for whom, and at what cost to what already exists.

Fiscal Stewardship

Accountability means investing wisely, not spending less

I've spent my career using data to help organizations make better decisions. I believe that rigorous fiscal accountability is not about cutting services — it's about ensuring that every program reaches the people it's meant to serve and delivers results that justify the investment. Fiscal responsibility and progressive values are not in tension. They are complementary.

The fiscal context for the next term is specific and serious. Dakota County carries the lowest levy per capita among all seven metro counties — $402 per person, compared to $791 in Ramsey County and $879 in Hennepin County. That gap has persisted since 2005 through roughly 20% population growth. The consequence is a structural fund balance of 8%, well below the State Auditor's recommended floor of 35–50%. That is the real fiscal landscape the next Board will navigate. Honest decision-making starts with naming it plainly.

  • Mandated services for vulnerable residents get protected first. Where reductions become unavoidable, they follow evidence — not guesswork — and the most vulnerable residents don't pay for decisions made on assumptions.
  • Outcome-based reporting for county programs is not a tool for justifying cuts — it's a tool for identifying where investment is working and where it needs to be strengthened.
  • Budget transparency is a democratic value. Residents have a right to understand where their tax dollars go and what those dollars accomplish — in plain language, not bureaucratic summary.
  • Administrative efficiency should serve programs, not replace them. Savings identified through better operations should be reinvested into direct services — not returned as tax cuts that disproportionately benefit those who need county services least.