Seeking to become the first Korean-African American woman elected to office in Massachusetts, Linda Champion has announced her candidacy for Suffolk County District Attorney. She issued the following statement:
“We are prosecuting people but we are not prosecuting the conditions that exist in our society that cause a person to act out: poverty, substance abuse, trauma and ptsd. In order to prevent crime we need to focus on jobs, education, and housing, these tools have been my core focus over the past 15 years. I will roll up my sleeves and get the work done.” – Linda Champion
A community builder, former prosecutor in Suffolk County, and accomplished litigator, Linda Champion brings extensive experience to her campaign for District Attorney.
Champion’s background reflects resilience shaped by her parents’ extraordinary journey—her father, an African-American war veteran, and her mother, a Korean immigrant who met during the Vietnam War. Raised in Louisiana and Texas before settling in Lowell during the late 1980s, Champion and her sister were primarily raised by their mother after their father’s service-related struggles. The family endured homelessness, poverty, and discrimination while her mother maintained two jobs to support her daughters. After graduating from Lowell Middlesex Academy, Champion relocated to Boston at age 18 while experiencing homelessness.
Her educational credentials include degrees from Newbury College, Suffolk University, and Suffolk Law School. Champion spent two years as an assistant district attorney under Dan Conley, the Suffolk County District Attorney, where she prosecuted criminal matters in juvenile court and the Dorchester and Roxbury District Courts. She advanced to Superior Court prosecutor status in 2013, joining the Elder and Disabled Victims Unit. Currently on leave from the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents, where she has worked as an assistant general counsel since 2013 representing the Workers Compensation Trust Fund, Champion previously maintained a private practice.
Her private legal work centered on consumer protection, real estate law, and community development, with particular focus on assisting first-time homebuyers facing financial and discriminatory obstacles. Champion has collaborated with Boston to deliver homeownership education and served as a board member for Urban Edge, an affordable housing nonprofit subsidiary.
Charitable involvement has included fundraising efforts for Thompson Island and The Dimock Center. She served five years on the Newbury College board and the board of Chung Changing Lives, a nonprofit established by Cecelia Chung offering complimentary music, athletic, and academic programming to youth. Champion resides in Hyde Park with her family.
Summary Policy Positions
Salary increases. Entry-level prosecutors and victim witness advocates currently earn approximately $22.00 per hour, with starting salaries for Assistant District Attorneys ranging from $42,000–$50,000. This inadequate compensation, combined with student loan obligations and elevated living costs, forces many public servants to maintain second employment, undermining job performance. Champion proposes raising starting salaries to a minimum of $65,000–$75,000 to ensure prosecutors earn a livable wage.
Diversity. During her tenure as an assistant district attorney, Champion observed that most colleagues possessed minimal personal experience with communities of color outside their professional roles. This absence of real-world relationships with individuals from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds frequently resulted in biased perceptions. Transforming the District Attorney’s Office to mirror the community it serves requires deliberate action: addressing implicit bias through training and engagement, fostering relationships with communities of color, and ensuring equitable justice. Understanding the specific violence affecting Black, Brown, and Indigenous Americans must form the foundation of this work.
Crime Prevention. Safe neighborhoods depend on resident participation in crime reporting, which requires residents to feel genuinely protected. An enhanced victim and witness protection program must extend beyond court transportation and resource lists to encompass mental health services and housing relocation assistance. Building trust with community members, undocumented residents, and law enforcement professionals remains essential to encouraging victims and witnesses to come forward. Specific initiatives include expanding the homicide cold case team to provide closure to survivors and identify individuals posing public safety threats. Adequate resources for witness protection, increased detective staffing, and expanded cold case squad capacity are necessary components of this comprehensive approach.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, July 21, 2018
12–4 p.m.
184 Dudley St., Boston, MA, 02119
Cookout with the Candidates, meet the candidates running for County, Statewide, and Federal office.