What do Republican candidates for Cape district attorney say are top issues?
Critiques of "progressive prosecution," opioid addiction and planned initiatives took center stage, as Republican candidates competing to be the Cape and Islands' next district attorney faced off.
Former police officer and family law and estate planning attorney Melissa Alden and Assistant District Attorney Dan Higgins fielded questions during a debate Tuesday night hosted by the Cape Cod Republican Club.
Matt Pitta served as the moderator.
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A third Republican hopeful, criminal defense attorney John "Jack" Carey, missed the debate as he was sick with COVID-19 and spent Monday in the emergency room at Cape Cod Hospital, according to a statement released by his campaign.
The primary is set for Sept. 6. Whoever secures the Republican nomination will go on to face the Democratic choice in the November general election. The winner of that election will become the area's third district attorney since its creation in 1975.
Robert Galibois is the sole Democratic candidate in the running. Current District Attorney Michael O'Keefe is not seeking a sixth term, after almost 20 years in office.
The Cape and Islands' first district attorney was Phil Rollins, who retired in 2002 and died in 2005.
Below are some takeaways from Tuesday's debate.
If chosen as nominee, how would you differentiate yourself from the Democratic choice?
Higgins said he's spent almost 13 years in the district attorney's office and said he'd tout that experience if he faces Galibois.
"All of my time as an attorney has been here serving the Cape and Islands and trying to promote public safety by prosecuting crimes," Higgins said.
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Alden highlighted Galibois' ties to Norwell where he lived from 2014 until February when he moved to Barnstable. He lived in Bourne from 1996 to 2014.
"I think that means he's out of touch with this community ... the district attorney's office should be in connection with this community," Alden said.
No list of charges to be declined
Both Higgins and Alden said they would not follow former Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins' lead by publishing a list of charges they would decline to prosecute.
Alden said there are "laws on the books and there's reason for that." In her opinion, she said better collection of data may fix concerns about unfair treatment.
"And then we can be proactive and not reactive and protect our law enforcement in being able to do their job without being accused of treating people differently based on their backgrounds," Alden said.
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Higgins called it a "cookie cutter approach" that does not account for details, such as criminal record and whether a crime was intentional or born out of addiction.
"If you don't prosecute the minor crimes, then there is a feeling that you won't prosecute the major crimes," Higgins said.
Most pressing criminal issue facing the Cape and Islands
Higgins named the ongoing opiate problem as the most pressing problem facing the area. In addition to encouraging police to perform search warrants and confiscate drugs and profits, Higgins said he would also push for more education for children to "warn them about fentanyl and the newer designer drugs that are coming out that are 10 to 20 times more potent than fentanyl."
"We also need to work on encouraging users who end up in court because of a related crime or a possession of a small amount of narcotics. We need to use the court system to encourage them to go to treatment that they've never been to before their lives," Higgins said.
Alden said the most important issue is child abuse, adding it's been exacerbated by COVID-19.
"We've had no eyes on these children ... children in the homes that have nobody there to advocate for them," Alden said.
She also said it's important for the district attorney's office to not plea out cases that have mandatory minimum sentencing requirements.
"We focus so much on the defendants and their rights, we need to focus on victims," Alden said.
First initiative if elected
If elected, Alden said she'd examine the infrastructure of the district attorney's office and whether it is "working in the best way possible."
"I think we have an opportunity to have a high risk violent repeat offender unit where we can actually track these individuals," Alden said.
Higgins said he would meet with a team of prosecutors during the transition period to "hear them out on what they think could or should be changed."
"I think these career prosecutors in this office know how to separate the minor offenses from the serious offenses," Higgins said.
Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: What do Republican candidates for Cape DA say are top issues?
