Guest Editorial: Anders Folk - Prioritizing Public Safety in Hennepin County
BNB Note:
While politics is often analyzed from the outside, BNB’s Guest Editorial Series aims to flip that perspective by highlighting the firsthand experiences of those working inside the political and policy arena. This includes lawmakers crafting and ushering legislation, candidates navigating the campaign trail, career civil servants implementing public programs, and political operatives shaping strategy behind the scenes.
The goal is not to litigate every claim or endorse every position, but to provide readers with direct insight into how decisions are made, how institutions function, and how power operates in practice.
Below, is a guest editorial from Anders Folk - a candidate for Hennepin County Attorney in the upcoming DFL primary slated for August 11. Folk is a Democrat, Marine, former Acting U.S. Attorney, and Hopkins, Minnesota native. He attended the University of Minnesota for college and law school before beginning his career under County Attorney Amy Klobuchar.
For 1.2 million residents in Hennepin County, the County Attorney’s Office plays a major role protecting public safety and our fundamental rights under the Constitution. It is the County Attorney’s Office that must ensure that everyone in our justice system is treated fairly, afforded equal protection under the law, and able to feel safe in their neighborhood.
I am running for Hennepin County Attorney to make our county safer for everyone and because I have the experience to make that vision a reality.
I have dedicated my career to public service and public safety. I have served as a Marine, a career federal prosecutor, and as the former Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota during the Biden administration. Throughout my career, I have led teams of attorneys, law enforcement officials, public and safety professionals to help make our communities safe for everyone. I have personally handled hundreds of criminal cases ranging from international terrorism to white-collar fraud, organized gang crime and gun violence. I have held accountable those who have targeted government officials, houses of worship, and tax payers’ money. I have ensured that law enforcement officers who violate the law are held accountable. In short, I have worked as a prosecutor to ensure justice without fear or favor and have made accountability and the rule of law the cornerstones of my work.
With over 500 full-time attorneys, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is the largest public law office in Minnesota. That makes the office a bigger operation than many state agencies, including the Minnesota Department of Education. It also makes the role of Hennepin County Attorney one of the most consequential positions in Minnesota government. It deserves a proven leader and experienced prosecutor.
The office prosecutes the majority of felony crime in Minnesota's most populous county, handling thousands of cases every year that range from property crime to the state's highest-profile prosecutions like those against any federal agents who violated Minnesota law during Operation Metro Surge.
As the cases against federal agents who shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti move forward, and the eyes of the world again turn to Minnesota, the County Attorney’s Office will have the support it needs under my leadership. I am the only candidate who has experience investigating and prosecuting cases in federal court. I have outlined the clearest plan of any candidate in this race to succeed in federal court, based on years of experience in federal court, and will set up a taskforce that will include former federal prosecutors to help execute my plan and vision for accountability.
I know what it takes to lead teams of attorneys through this work because I have done it.
As a military lawyer, a career federal prosecutor, and the former head of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, I have served at every level of the justice system. As Acting U.S. Attorney, I led a public law office tasked with handling violent gang crime, international terrorist organizations, fraudsters, and white supremacist groups, and I signed the federal indictment charging Derek Chauvin with violating George Floyd’s civil rights. Uniquely, I have also spent much of my career defending those who cannot afford their own attorney. Both as a Marine Corps attorney and a private lawyer, I have represented many at the most difficult moments of their lives. From that experience too, I know how important fair and impartial prosecutors are in our system of justice.
The race for Hennepin County Attorney is a nonpartisan race, and for good reason. Running a public law office should never be a partisan exercise. It is a leadership opportunity that demands judgment, experience, and the ability to perform under pressure, not ideology. Over the last four years, the County Attorney’s Office has strayed from those values. Do we want to again experiment with justice and public safety by turning over the office to someone who has never investigated or prosecuted a case and never led an office of prosecutors?
This year, voters here have the opportunity to evaluate candidates on whether they are equipped to do the job and set the course for a stronger public safety system in Hennepin County.
Running an office this size means handling the cases that make the news and the tens of thousands that do not, managing teams of prosecutors, coordinating with law enforcement and community partners, and making resource decisions that affect safety in every neighborhood.
We are building our campaign on a core conviction: that everyone in Hennepin County deserves to be safe, to receive equal justice, and to be treated with dignity, no matter who they are.
As the next County Attorney, my approach to public safety will prioritize strategic enforcement and proven prevention and intervention strategies. That means focusing on repeat and violent offenders and directing our limited public safety resources to the most pressing issues and where they are needed most. It means being data-driven about preventing crime and working with community partners on intervention strategies that actually work. And as a prosecutor, it means balancing compassion with a willingness to ensure the appropriate consequence, in the appropriate case, for every person.
Effective public safety work does not happen alone. It requires strong partnerships. Collaboration has been a cornerstone of my career and this campaign. I will treat law enforcement, educators, faith leaders, mayors, and community leaders as equal partners. In my first 100 days, I will create a Hennepin County Crime Victims' Bill of Rights and convene victim advocacy groups to expand access to the office and improve responses to domestic and sexual violence.
Hennepin County residents deserve a county attorney who has already proven they can do this job, not one hoping to learn while in office. That is what is on the ballot August 11, and that is why I am asking for your support.