![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/02\/04\/NCCT\/2049f59b-6cb9-486e-bad8-a2398e0947e0-020122mc13.jpg?crop=3239,1822,x0,y0&width=660&height=372&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWith this election being the first in two decades without an incumbent district attorney in the running, the race welcomes two\u00a0more candidates \u2014 creating a party of four.<\/p>\n
Daniel Higgins, assistant district attorney for the Cape and Islands District Attorney\u2019s office; and Melissa Alden, a former Yarmouth police officer and current\u00a0family and elder law attorney, will announce their campaigns this week, joining criminal defense attorney Robert Galibois and Republican John \u201cJack\u201d Carey, of East Sandwich, who announced their campaigns<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n For Higgins, who\u00a0has worked\u00a0in the Cape and Island District Attorney\u2019s Office<\/a> for about 12 years, it was his \u201clong-standing belief in public service,\u201d that motivated his run for office.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that the people of the Cape and Islands deserve an experienced prosecutor, who has devoted his entire career to the protection and safety of the citizens of the Cape and Islands,\u201d Higgins said. \u201cI think the people deserve someone who has the experience leading the many professionals of the Cape and islands DA’s office.\u201d<\/p>\n Joining the Suffolk District Attorney’s office straight out of Suffolk University Law School as a student prosecutor, Higgins, whose parents were both members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, eventually became a full-time prosecutor at the Cape and Island\u2019s District Attorney\u2019s Office in 2009.\u00a0He rose to the rank of chief district court prosecutor. In that role, he supervised 10 assistant district attorneys and managed five district courts across the Cape.<\/p>\n Throughout his time in that position, Higgins was also involved with high-profile cases such as the Thomas Latanowich trial<\/a>, which was conducted in August 2021; and the Denzel Chisholm murder trial team<\/a>.<\/p>\n Should Higgins be elected, he said he will \u201censure that the office continues the mission of seeking justice with fairness and accountability to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n Although she isn\u2019t a part of the current district attorney administration, Melissa Alden, who moved to the Cape from Sarasota, Florida in 1999, began her career at the Yarmouth Police Department \u2014 first in the records department in 2004, and then later as financial assistant to Yarmouth Police Chief Joseph Cairns through 2005.<\/p>\n Alden graduated from the police academy in November 2006, and then attended the Southern New England School of Law, now known as University of Massachusetts Law, graduating in 2008 and passing the bar exam in 2009.<\/p>\n\n Earning her master\u2019s in law from New England University School of Law in 2020, Alden began practicing family and elder law, and was also vice president of the\u00a0Independence House, Inc.<\/a> board from 2011 to 2017. In addition, Alden became certified by the Committee for Public Counsel Services to handle mental health cases\u00a0and children and family law matters, which included guardianship issues and guardianship incapacity.<\/p>\n\n With her \u201cunique background,\u201d as a former police officer and an attorney, Alden said she hopes to continue to make an impact \u201con the safety of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve seen my children, family members and friends, affected by different crimes and I want them (voters) to know that I’m entrenched in this community. I want them to know that I’m willing to listen to their concerns and work on solutions that I can effectuate as the district attorney,\u201d she said. \u201cI want people to know that I’m approachable and ready to bring creative solutions to our community. I want to make it a stronger and healthier place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Throughout her time as a police officer, Alden said she saw \u201cthe explosion of the opioid crisis,\u201d firsthand.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were responding to calls daily and seeing overdoses with a lot of young adults and teenagers, passing away from that. We were seeing the effects on the family, their friends and the community,\u201d she said. \u201cI started working with the crisis intervention team to reach out for mental health issues and substance use issues. We would collaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout that experience, Alden said she became a \u201cfirm believer,\u201d in establishing services for victims, but also understands the frustration that law enforcement has as they try to conduct their jobs \u201cwith integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do also understand the need for accountability for those that don’t. But I do believe that having a strong community, means we need to take care of our law enforcement. We need to care of our first responders who are dealing with mental health and substance abuse issues on a daily basis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Spending\u00a0more than a decade alongside current District Attorney Michael O\u2019Keefe, Higgins said it\u2019s always been the \u201cmission of the district attorney\u2019s office\u201d to \u201cdo the right thing.\u201d\u00a0 \u2014 especially in cases where people can be diverted away from the criminal justice system through juvenile or adult diversion, pre-trial probation, or the Valor Act, which is now known as the Brave Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are ways we can help people who have made mistakes and shouldn’t have a criminal record because of a single mistake, and we can divert people away and get them treatment and keep them out of the system, which is often our goal,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes that means that the prosecutor has the ability to not arraign them and to see if they would accept a diversionary program, whether that\u2019s drug treatment, or mental health counseling. Or whether that would be working with the Veterans Administration in the case of a veteran. The goal is always public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n More:<\/strong>Get to know Robert Galibois and John Carey<\/a><\/p>\n But in the case of serious violent crimes, Higgins said \u201cjustice can mean something different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n \u201cIt means prosecuting to the fullest extent of the law to protect the public from those serious crimes,\u201d he said. \u201cI don’t believe that we should make policies of what crimes should or shouldn’t be prosecuted, but rather we should treat everyone as an individual and look at it through the lens of what is best for the public and this person.\u201d<\/p>\n In terms of specific \u201cnon-prosecuting policies,\u201d Alden agreed with Higgins and said current district attorney O\u2019Keefe has \u201cdone a great job implementing programs.\u201d And while she will be \u201caggressive with the violent crimes\u201d she said \u201cdiversion is necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n More:<\/strong>District attorney Michael O’Keefe will not seek sixth term<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe discretion held by the district attorney should be used in determining whether to have (sentence) enhancement, bails, and plea bargains,\u201d she said. \u201cBut what needs to happen first, is a lot of conversations \u2014 further using my connections I already have within this community, as to what alternatives are available and where the money needs to go. We have legislation that’s in place that tells us what we’re supposed to charge and what the punishments are for those charges. But we don’t have legislations for victims in the community. Some of those victims that are suffering from mental health illness and substance use disorder and not having the available resources to help them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Although Higgins didn\u2019t immediately speak on disproportionate race data within the criminal justice system, which has been a subject of contention for Cape-area voters, he said he may address the topic later in his campaign.<\/p>\n\n![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/02\/07\/NCCT\/d841df58-5598-42e9-89ce-c3819902b563-020722mc06.jpg?width=660&height=422&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
Get to know Daniel Higgins<\/h2>\n
![\"Melissa](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/02\/07\/NCCT\/b3db9d92-3183-49a6-9126-92a4147964ca-020722mc04.jpg?width=660&height=421&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
Get to know Melissa Alden<\/h2>\n
What else do Higgins, Alden believe in?<\/h2>\n