Salem state Rep. Paul F. Tucker said he can ” . . . set a standard; set a vision” for the Essex District Attorney’s office if he is elected in November, succeeding District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett.
A former Salem police officer who served as the department’s chief before being elected to the state Legislature in 2014, pledged during a Daily Item Editorial Board presentation to carry on Blodgett’s community partnerships and “second-chance” programs. Those programs include the “All-Stars” program oriented to Lynn seventh-graders, and focused in part on truancy reduction.
Tucker said “integrity” has defined Blodgett’s 20-year tenure as district attorney, adding Blodgett’s successor must “look through the lens of equity” in setting a vision for the Salem prosecutorial office and its 168-employee staff.
Tucker said his work in the Legislature researching how race and ethnicity factor into police traffic stops helped him conclude that the “perception even of a different standard has to be examined.”
If his legislative experience has provided Tucker, a Democrat, with a big-picture look at law enforcement and race and efforts to curb fentanyl’s deadly introduction into the illegal drug market, policing has shaped his understanding of the prosecutor’s job.
Growing up in Salem’s Rainbow Terrace public-housing complex, Tucker saw policing as a chance to contribute to his community. He gravitated to detective work and told The Item, “There wasn’t a criminal case I didn’t see,” during his 32-year career.
The fall elections are a long way away and the race for district attorney has also attracted attorney and Lynn native James O’Shea. We think Tucker can point to his career record and make a strong case for why he should be elected to succeed Blodgett.
He possesses the organizational skills required to run a complex public agency and the lessons he drew from his law-enforcement career include an understanding that “trust is rebuilt one day at a time” and the ability to make mistakes goes a long way to instill trust in the public perception of a public safety agency as important as the Essex District Attorney’s office.
We urge voters to carefully review Tucker’s record and campaign platform over the next several months.
