Minnesota and North Dakota Voter's Guide

Forum Communications Co., in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and of North Dakota, is providing this voter guide to help keep you informed ahead of the 2024 election.

  • Learn where candidates running for office in your community stand on the issues.
  • Build your ballot before voting. Print or email the information to use as a reference when you actually vote.

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Voter Guide

Dakota County Attorney

The County Attorney provides legal services in their county, prosecutes felony crimes and all cases involving juvenile offenders, and aids and gives support to the victims and witnesses who play a vital role in the criminal justice system. They also advise crime victims of their legal rights and status of their case including requesting restitution for losses suffered while starting legal proceedings to protect the health and safety of vulnerable adults within the county and bringing action to obtain or enforce child support obligations.Use the MN Secretary of State’s Candidate Filing page (https://candidates.sos.mn.gov/) to find specific candidate contact information.Watch a forum for this race, held on September 11, 2026.

Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon.

  • Candidate picture

    Kathy Keena
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Jeffrey Sheridan
    (NP)

Biographical Information

If elected, what will your top three priorities be and why? (750 characters)

How has your career prepared you for this role? (500 characters)

What do you see as the biggest challenges to your office, and how would you address them? (500 characters)

How would you work for racial equity in the justice system? (500 characters)

How would you manage conflict within your office, and earn the public’s trust? (500 characters)

What can the county attorney do to help respond to the need for gun violence prevention and safe communities? (500 characters)

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Campaign Website http://kathykeena.com
Campaign Email kathykeena@outlook.com
My top priority is protecting public safety by prosecuting crime fairly and justly, holding offenders accountable, and safeguarding the rights of crime victims.

Second, I will continue supporting programs that improve public safety by reducing unnecessary criminal justice involvement for people living with mental illness and/or substance use disorders.

Third, I will implement the Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act, which is effective July 1, 2027. The Act seeks to address longstanding disparities in our child welfare system by protecting children, strengthening families, preventing unnecessary removals, and improving reunification and other permanency outcomes.
I am honored to serve as the Dakota County Attorney, a position to which I was elected in 2022. I have dedicated the past 26 years to serving the people of Dakota County through the County Attorney’s Office. During that time, I have served as county attorney, chief deputy, criminal division head, and a staff attorney in both the criminal and civil divisions of the office. Prior to Dakota County, I spent 7 years in the Lyon County Attorney’s Office, including 5 years as county attorney.
The County’s significant budget challenges are my biggest concern. Unlike many departments, the County Attorney’s Office has no programs it can cut to achieve meaningful savings, making staffing reductions a real possibility. I have anticipated this challenge by holding vacant positions open. If further reductions are necessary, my priority will be preserving staff needed for mandated services, including criminal prosecution, while reducing staffing for non-mandated services.
I would work to ensure consistency and fairness throughout the criminal justice system. People should be treated fairly and held accountable based on the facts and circumstances of their case—not their race, wealth, background, or ability to hire an attorney. That means applying the law consistently, supporting victims, protecting defendants’ rights, and making thoughtful, impartial decisions at every stage of the process.
Conflict is rare in the County Attorney's Office because I hire professionals who are team-oriented, dedicated to public service, and hardworking. When conflict arises, I address it promptly by gathering the facts, identifying who should be involved, determining the root cause, and working collaboratively toward a solution. I believe transparency, accountability, consistency, and respectful communication are essential to earning and maintaining the public’s trust.
As County Attorney, I enforce the gun laws already on the books, holding accountable those who use firearms in the commission of a crime or are prohibited from possessing them. I support requiring domestic abusers to surrender firearms when prosecuted for a domestic violence related offense and I support the use of extreme risk protection orders when appropriate. I also support educating the public about safe firearm storage to help prevent suicides, accidental shootings, and firearm theft.
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The League of Women Voters of Minnesota and North Dakota crafted the questions sent to the candidates in the Spring of 2024. They reached out to candidates based on contact information in their public candidate filings. Candidates with email addresses were invited and reminded with emails. Candidates with only mailing addresses were sent a letter. Candidates with phone numbers received a phone call as well.

Candidate responses are published as they responded and have not been edited, except when responses were longer than the given character limit. In those cases, the responses are truncated.

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