A sedentary life doesn’t suit newly elected Cape and Islands district attorney Robert Galibois. A runner and all around active personality, Mr. Galibois has no plans to sit behind a desk when his term begins in January — instead, he views the whole district as his office.
“I am not an office person,” he told the Gazette in an interview this week. “My entire career on the criminal defense side — I was in two or three courthouses every single day if I wasn’t in trial.”
On a visit to the Island this week, Mr. Galibois sat down with Vineyard Gazette editors and reporters to introduce himself, fielding questions about his vision as the first Democrat to hold the office in its nearly 50-year history. He is only the third district attorney elected to the office, which was established in 1971, following a succession from the first district attorney Phil Rollins to current district attorney Michael O’Keefe.
Mr. Galibois grew up in Millis, just southwest of Boston. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts School of Law, but he attributes his desire to work in public service to his early education — specifically his time at Boston College High School.
“It’s ‘Meant for Others,’ that is the motto,” he said. “So that has been ingrained in me since I was 14 years old as a freshman in 1984.”
Mr. Galibois began his legal career as a volunteer prosecutor in the Cape and Islands district attorney’s office, working for Phil Rollins. He then served there as an assistant district attorney for several years before moving to private practice, beginning a career as a defense attorney.
Mr. Galibois now owns his own practice, which he has worked to scale back since he decided to run for office last January. As he prepares for his first term in less than two months, he said he only has a handful of cases left under his care.
Among his final cases was defending Joseph Noe, who in a high-profile trial this summer in Bristol County was acquitted of all charges related to the 2019 shooting death of Oak Bluffs firefighter Eric Voshell.
“That was it — that was the last trial, most likely of my career,” Mr. Galibois said. “And honestly, it was the right verdict. It truly was the right verdict.”
Mr. Galibois said he decided to run for office in January after discussing it at a date-night dinner with his wife Nikki, the director of planning and development at South Shore Community Action Council. He said he immediately cut back on his cases and the couple — now empty-nesters with their two sons away at college — moved back to the Cape.
“If you’re going to do it you’re going to go all in,” he said. “And we did.”
With the campaign now behind him, Mr. Galibois said he can focus his efforts on his transition into office. As he plans his first steps in the new role, he said he’s been in contact with Bexar County, Tex. sheriff Javier Salazar, who has launched an investigation into the treatment of a group of Venezuelan migrants flown to the Vineyard this summer by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“I am willing to cooperate with those efforts,” Mr. Galibois told the Gazette. “Now, I will not say anything beyond that at this particular point — I am just saying I am willing to cooperate with a law enforcement official who is conducting a criminal investigation.”
In more structural plans for the district attorney’s office, Mr. Galibois said he hopes to increase the visibility and effectiveness of the office on the Vineyard.
At the top of his list, he said, is bringing a recovery court, a specialty court which deals largely with drug-related offenses, to the Island — an addition that would bring the Vineyard in line with communities in similarly-sized state districts.
“You need one here,” he said. “You needed one here a long time ago.”
Another major piece of the puzzle for Mr. Galibois is the Cape and Islands district budget. He said he learned recently that the district’s budget lags behind another Massachusetts district of equal size and similar caseload by some $3 million. He said in years past, there hasn’t been much political will from the office to increase the budget, but he plans to work with other district attorneys and state legislators to bring the Cape and Islands in line with comparable districts.
“Why shouldn’t we have the same services?” he said.
Mr. Galibois’s excitement as he ponders future plans is palpable. As he lays out ideas for expanding and improving the office, he taps his hand to the table in rhythm with the syllables he stresses — beaming with energy and optimism.
Part of his vision for the office is establishing community coalitions around the district. He said he’s building coalitions for each town on the Cape and on Nantucket and the Vineyard, and planning to host monthly meetings with each coalition.
“It’s going to be comprised of, we’re hoping, local elected officials… I would like someone from school committees too,” he said. “I would like some law enforcement folks — and regular citizens.”
Mr. Galibois also plans to hire an Island-based victim witness assistant for Martha’s Vineyard. In recent years, the office has employed a traveling victim witness assistant to cover the Island.
Additionally, he is hiring a community engagement officer for the district.
“That person is going to be in our neighborhoods every single day, reporting back to me,” he said. “They’re not going to have a physical office space, or anything of that sort.”
Mr. Galibois said he is currently in the process of hiring staff, and that all potential employees will have to apply for a new job, whether or not they work for the current administration.
One employee Mr. Galibois has already hired is his first assistant district attorney, Jessica Elumba. Currently an assistant district attorney based in Plymouth District Court with extensive experience prosecuting major crimes, Ms. Elumba will be the first woman to hold that position in the office’s history.
“She’s already doing first assistant things for me — she’ll be part of the interview panel, things of that sort,” Mr. Galibois said. “So I’m quite excited.”
Looking toward his own role in the office as he sees it, Mr. Galibois said he will be out and about almost as much as his community engagement officer, working to realize his goal of increasing the visibility, reach and efficacy of the district attorney.
“Talking about issues with people, be it a coffee shop or in their kitchen or something like that — in my mind it doesn’t get any better than that,” Mr. Galibois said.
