Previous Offices Held
District Attorney, elected seven times – 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014; State Senate District 29, 2022, lost; Town Council, Town of Cape Elizabeth, 2023, won
Top Three Priorities
My top three priorities are restoring public safety, rebuilding trust in the DA’s Office, and holding serious and repeat offenders accountable. Portland has become unrecognizable, and crime is spilling into its surrounding communities. Too many moms no longer feel safe letting their children walk to school. That is unacceptable. For 28 years, I put public safety first as District Attorney. I’m running to bring back the leadership, accountability, and sense of security Cumberland County deserves.
Why are you running?
I love this community. I can’t stand by while public safety deteriorates and confidence in the DA’s Office erodes. After 28 years as District Attorney, I know what strong leadership can accomplish. Lifelong Democrats and professionals throughout the criminal justice system have urged me to come back, and I feel compelled to answer that call. What’s happening in Cumberland County isn’t right. It has to change. People deserve to feel safe in their communities.
What is the biggest challenge facing your town/county? The biggest opportunity?
The biggest challenge facing Cumberland County is restoring public safety. It starts with leadership, accountability, and experience. I know this job and I know what a well-led office can accomplish. We created initiatives that combined accountability with compassion, while taking serious crimes seriously. Cumberland County needs a DA who is present, engaged, supports prosecutors, works with law enforcement and community partners, and understands that compassion and accountability can coexist.
If you could change one thing about how the town/county functions, what would it be and why?
County government generally functions well. What I would like to change is the tendency to let partisan politics get in the way of honest discussion. Good government requires listening to people we disagree with, following facts and evidence and being willing to change our minds. That is how decisions and compromises are made. That clearly applies to the DA’s Office. Public safety should never be partisan. We need compassion and accountability, because progress requires both.
Do you support more development – i.e. more housing construction and business building in your town/county? Why or why not?
The District Attorney can only affect housing tangentially, but I would love to see more workforce housing in Cumberland County, particularly for people earning 80% or less of the Area Median Income. It’s tragic that the people who teach our children, protect our communities, and care for our towns often can’t afford to live where they work. That said, my focus as DA would be restoring public safety in Portland and throughout Cumberland County.