Issues

My priorities for the District Attorney’s Office include:

1. Committing resources and efforts to the investigation and prosecution of Oxycontin, heroin and other opiate-related crimes.  I am acutely aware of the destruction to lives and families these drugs have caused throughout Norfolk County and the increase in violence and property crimes caused by persons addicted to these substances.  Right now, too many crimes are committed and lives ruined because of the dramatic increase in opiate use.  Heroin and Oxycontin abuse causes desperate addicts to do desperate things.  It is the root of much of our street level crime, especially violent crimes against the elderly, and needs to be addressed.

2. Creating a District Attorney’s Rapid Response Team, reporting directly to me 24/7 from any homicide scene or in any case in which police require immediate assistance from an experienced Assistant District Attorney. The creation of this Rapid Response Team to work with police investigators as soon as possible will directly increase the quality of a given case, since earlier involvement by prosecutors in cases which will ultimately be handled by these prosecutors in the courtrooms of Norfolk County will lead to better prosecutions and increased public safety.

3. Informing and educating parents and young adults about the long-term negative effects resulting from court involvement, including loss of employment and professional opportunities, loss of educational opportunities including denial of financial aid, exclusion from military service and other consequences.  As a parent and practicing attorney I am concerned about the lack of knowledge and information many parents and their children have of the long-term negative effects resulting from minor arrests.  Criminal and court record checks by colleges, employers, licensing authorities, the military, and others are becoming more common and having negative consequences.  As a result, many qualified individuals are being denied opportunities because of youthful indiscretions which years ago would have gone unnoticed.  As the District Attorney it will be my duty to spread the message.

The race for Norfolk County District Attorney should not be about politics or political party affiliation, but about which candidate is best suited to vigorously and fairly enforce the law in Norfolk County.  I am this candidate.