Bristol County's open district attorney seat today: Aitken and Markey side by side, topic by topic

SOUTH COAST All 20 cities and towns in Bristol County, from New Bedford, Fall River and Taunton to Westport and Rehoboth, choose a new district attorney on today's ballot, Tuesday, Nov. 3. District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III is not running, and for the first time in a general election since at least 1978, two names are on the ballot for the office, state election records show. Polls are open until 8 p.m.

Below, the two candidates are listed in the order they appear on the ballot, then the same topics in the same order for each: drugs and overdoses, violent crime and guns, domestic violence, juveniles and diversion, the office's budget and staff, transparency, and license plate cameras. Positions come from the candidates' own campaign sites, a letter Aitken wrote that the Fall River Reporter published, and interviews reported by The New Bedford Light and NBC 10.

Who votes in this race

The Bristol District covers every city and town in Bristol County: Acushnet, Attleboro, Berkley, Dartmouth, Dighton, Easton, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Mansfield, New Bedford, North Attleborough, Norton, Raynham, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea, Taunton and Westport. Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Wareham are in Plymouth County, where District Attorney Timothy Cruz is unopposed.

The state's Where Do I Vote lookup shows the polling place for any address.

District attorney, Bristol District: Seth Thomas Aitken and Christopher Matthew Markey

• Seth Thomas Aitken: Republican, of Swansea. He was a Bristol County assistant district attorney from 2010 to 2012 and from 2018 to 2021, then Fall River's city administrator, The New Bedford Light reported. He resigned that post amid an apparent conflict of interest after filing paperwork to help a city employee set up a business, which he admitted was a mistake, the Light reported, and he now practices law in Fall River. His campaign site says he served eight years as an Army officer.
• Christopher Matthew Markey: Democrat, of Dartmouth. He has represented the 9th Bristol District in the state House since 2011 and is not seeking re-election there. He was a Bristol County prosecutor and rose to second assistant district attorney before leaving the office in 2007, when a new district attorney took over; Markey says he resigned because he thought he would be removed, The New Bedford Light reported. He now practices law.

Drugs and overdoses

Aitken's campaign site says he would support police "by fostering new partnerships with state and federal agencies and boosting local capacity for in-depth investigations to curb drugs, guns, gangs, and violence in our neighborhoods." He told The New Bedford Light in August 2025 that he supports going after drug dealers to "hit hard on where opioids are coming in," and also supports recovery court and diversion programs for people who get into trouble because of an addiction. He said he would hold regular meetings with local leaders who run homelessness and substance use organizations, police, veterans' groups and faith leaders.

Markey's campaign site says he would create the first forensic psychologist position in the district attorney's office, to "advise staff on diversion programs suitable for offenders suffering from substance abuse or mental illness." He told The New Bedford Light in February that the county's specialized mental health and addiction courts are "well-intentioned" but that cases take too long to get there. "I don't want to get those people stuck in a bureaucracy," he said.

Violent crime and guns

Aitken's site says he "will increase the personnel, resources, and training necessary to aggressively prosecute cases and hold criminals accountable." In a November 2025 letter published by the Fall River Reporter, he wrote that violent cases in District Court are often dismissed for "lack of prosecution" when victims or witnesses do not come to trial, and that repeat offenders face lighter consequences as a result.

Markey's site says his "first priority and responsibility will be public safety," which means "prosecuting the most violent offenders with a firm hand and unwavering eye towards justice." It lists his work as a lawmaker on a habitual violent offender law and says that as a prosecutor he won an armed career criminal conviction against a man caught a third time with a gun.

Domestic violence

In the same letter, Aitken wrote that victims, "especially in instances of family or relationship violence," often decide over the months before trial not to come to court. He wrote that District Court's roughly 25 prosecutors and a similar number of victim witness advocates are too few to keep in touch with thousands of victims, and called for more prosecutors, more advocates and better training there.

Markey's site lists a new domestic violence law among the bills he moved through the Legislature, and says he began at the district attorney's office as a victim witness advocate. He told The New Bedford Light he would put a digital forensics lab in every district court so prosecutors can take evidence such as texts and videos from victims' phones without a separate trip, and would set up automatic court date reminders for victims and witnesses.

Juveniles and diversion

Aitken's campaign has not published a position on juveniles.

Markey's site says local prosecutors under him would "conduct effective diversionary programs" and would "continue and expand opportunities for the youth through effective programming," including support for Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, youth sports, music and theater, and programs for parents and students on dangers online.

The office's budget and staff

Aitken told The New Bedford Light that the 25 assistant district attorneys in District Court prosecute 16,000 criminal cases a year. "That's not close to enough people to deal with that number of cases," he said. He would hire more District Court prosecutors and train them, and said he could possibly cut some upper management positions to pay for it. His site also says he would create a team of financial investigators and prosecutors to look into public corruption in local government and fraud against businesses and the elderly.

Markey told The New Bedford Light that hiring more prosecutors is not necessary and that it is not about the number of staff but about "passion and work ethic." He said he would give prosecutors more training to keep cases moving. His site says the digital forensics labs would prevent delays and rescheduled hearings and cut the number of times victims must appear in court.

Transparency

"Even if the public doesn't have a reason not to trust the office, they don't have a reason to trust the office," Aitken told The New Bedford Light. He pointed to the case of Anthony Harden, who was shot and killed in his home by Fall River police in 2021, and his brother's yearslong effort to get information from the office. "To fight tooth and nail every time Eric wanted something, I didn't understand that," Aitken said. His campaign announcement says, "As D.A., I would be accessible to the public and would require the same of my team."

Markey told The New Bedford Light that prosecutors could look into police shootings through inquests, closed court proceedings that give victims' families access, rather than an investigation held entirely inside the district attorney's office. On police testimony, he said prosecutors should "trust but verify."

License plate cameras

Aitken told NBC 10 in October that Flock license plate cameras "absolutely have a place in Bristol County" with "the proper safeguards," including limits on who can see the data, how long it is kept and what kinds of cases it is used for. "Without guardrails, it's ripe for abuse," he said.

Markey told NBC 10 the readers are "incredibly effective tools" for solving crimes and that he does not want to throw them out. "But I also don't like the idea of a vendor like Flock being able to sell the information they have to third parties," he said, adding that he does not like the idea of anyone, even within law enforcement, having access to it "for any purpose."

Campaign money

Where each campaign's money came from and went through Sept. 30 is in our Oct. 30 story on the race's campaign money.

Both committees' October bank reports, filed with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance on Monday, Nov. 2, cover Oct. 1 through Oct. 31. Amounts are rounded to the dollar.

• Aitken: deposited $2,910, spent $4,103 and had $4,273 on hand on Oct. 31.
• Markey: deposited $8,655, spent $25,363 and had $81,708 on hand on Oct. 31.

Where to vote

Polls are open until 8 p.m. What to bring is in our Election Day guide, and results will post on the SC360 Election Center as town and city clerks release them after the polls close.

Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day still count if the local election office receives them by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, under state election law.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.