Perkins v. Deitch Flareup in DA Race

With long-time incumbent DA, Michael Morrissey finally out of the picture, the candidates to replace him have begun to tussle.

Friday,  Norfolk County District Attorney candidate Djuna Perkins announcned that she filed complaints with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance and the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission after another candidate improperly used public email for campaign purposes.

In response, Andrew Destefano from the Deitch campaign said, "“As a former federal prosecutor, Adam is committed to strict compliance with any and all rules and laws governing political campaigns and looks forward to continuing his conversations with voters and community leaders across Norfolk County. This is a disappointing move from a candidate who appears to be desperate for attention.”

Perkins said she took her action after hearing from over a dozen public employees from nine cities and towns in Norfolk County that DA candidate Adam Deitch had twice sent political emails to their government email accounts. The scale of this outreach makes it clear that this was not accidental, she said, but a campaign strategy to solicit public employees at their taxpayer-funded workplaces. Ethics rules prevent public employees from engaging in political activity, especially fundraising, using public resources. The rub? Any employee who replied to Deitch's emails would be in violation of these rules.

Djuna Perkins said, "It is disappointing that in a campaign centered on reforming a broken Norfolk County District Attorney's office, Adam Deitch has chosen to violate a well-known regulation -- the prohibited use of government email addresses for political purposes. As a lawyer and former public employee himself, he should know better."

She continued, "Now more than ever, Norfolk County residents need a District Attorney with integrity. Residents need to know that the law will be enforced equally across the board, because no one is above the law — including other candidates for DA."

Excerpts from the emails make it clear that public employees received them unsolicited. The second email included blatant references to campaign fundraising:

"I promise not to inundate your inbox with junk, but I do very much value what each of you does every day and the relationship I hope to build with you over the course of 2026 and beyond."

and

"To be sure, while dollars don't vote, you all know better than most that campaigns need resources and infrastructure to win -- especially in a county-wide race..."