Incumbent Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan and challenger David Solet squared off in a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters. The forum was recorded earlier this month and premiered Aug. 20.
Solet is challenging Ryan for the Democratic nomination for district attorney. The primary is Sept. 1.
Ryan has served as Middlesex DA since 2013 and has worked in the office her entire career. She previously served as the chief of the District Attorney’s Office’s Elder and Disabled Unit and as assistant district attorney. She grew up in Somerville and has lived in Belmont for years.
Solet began his career in the Middlesex DA’s office after graduating from Harvard Law School in 2001. He most recently served as chief of the Middlesex County Cold Case Homicide Unit and was named Middlesex County Prosecutor of the Year in 2025. Solet is a Cambridge resident and a major in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve.
Reason for Running
Solet is challenging Ryan, criticizing her leadership of the Middlesex DA’s office and her record on violent crime and victim advocacy. Solet has prosecuted cases of domestic violence, organized crime, and online child exploitation.
He has made calls for “bold” leadership and increased efforts to reduce gun crime.
“The Middlesex DA’s office has let down people that we are supposed to be protecting: victims of crime, especially violent crime. The current Middlesex District Attorney, with respect, has not been willing to lead from principle on new and dangerous threats that our communities face, and to speak out boldly when the law that we have, that is supposed to protect people, is letting us down,” Solet said.
During the forum, Ryan touted her experience as both a prosecutor and district attorney, and her record on racial justice, county-wide safety, and efforts made to combat “federal overreach” by the Trump administration. She is also currently the only female district attorney in Massachusetts.
“I believe, to my core, in the politics of hope, not of fear,” she said. “…I think our conversation tonight has demonstrated that I am that candidate of hope. I am a candidate who is developed. I am a district attorney who has developed creative solutions, who has been transparent in that work, who has an established record of doing that work in fulfilling the obligation of the district attorney to protect the public safety.”
DA Resources and Prosecution
During the forum, Ryan emphasized the need for additional funding and resources for mental health services in Middlesex County. The county, made up of 54 cities and towns, is the largest in the state, making transportation a hurdle for many seeking mental health care, she said.
“The isolation of the pandemic, social media, and so many other things have contributed to increasing the quantity of mental health concerns,” Ryan said.
When asked which area of crime was under-prosecuted or under-resourced, Solet pointed to impaired driving.
“Massachusetts has struggled with drunk drivers for decades, but today we face a new threat,” Solet said. “Today, there are more drivers on our roads and on our highways who are impaired by drugs than by alcohol, but the law has not kept pace.”
He criticized Ryan for not publicly supporting the Trooper Thomas Clardy law, a bill first filed in 2019 by former Gov. Charlie Baker. The proposed legislation touted “common sense improvements” to how law enforcement and the courts address impaired driving, according to a 2021 memo from Baker. It was named for a 44-year-old state trooper who died in 2016 after his cruiser was struck by an impaired driver on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Charlton.
The bill was filed twice, but didn’t pass in either legislative session.
“With respect to Trooper Clardy, I agree with my opponent that drug driving is an issue,” Ryan said. “…[The bill] was a good effort. There was robust debate twice when the bill was filed, and experts were not satisfied that the evidence would meet the high threshold to support a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Cooperation with Federal Immigration Enforcement
Both Ryan and Solet affirmed the district attorney’s office would not work alongside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“The police officers of the cities and towns in Middlesex County do not belong under Donald Trump’s control,” Solet said. “The state police do not belong under his control, and the district attorney’s office does not belong under his control.”
Ryan added that she “cannot think of why we would” share data with ICE.
Technology and the Law
Though the candidates clashed over records and legislation, both expressed support for technology such as Shotspotter, a gunshot detection tool, and protections for senior citizens against artificial intelligence scams. In Cambridge, the city council voted Aug. 3 to reinstate the Shotspotter for 90 days after suspending it earlier this summer.
“It’s important that there be guardrails on their usage, but we live in an innovation hub,” Ryan said. “There is no reason that people would not expect that they would be protected in an innovative way.”
Solet emphasized his support for the technology in his hometown, adding that as a prosecutor in the DA’s office he utilized data from the technology to help solve cold cases. He added that additional regulations are needed to prevent seniors from falling victim to AI scams, particularly with Bitcoin ATMs.
“AI presents a new and dangerous challenge as technology is evolving very, very rapidly,” he said. “The most important thing we can do to protect people from this kind of exploitation is to create safety checks.”