Dukes County Sheriff Robert Ogden was elected on Thursday, Dec. 8, to serve as the new associate vice president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association, according to a Facebook post by the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office.
“I’m really excited and honored,” Ogden told The Times. He was elected by the 14 Massachusetts sheriffs to the position.
Ogden said, “It’s an exciting time to be in politics in Massachusetts,” particularly with new Governor-elect Maura Healy. With a strong Democratic base, Ogden believes progressive work can be accomplished alongside bringing improvements to Dukes County, such as the communications center and an updated correctional facility.
Ogden won a landslide victory in the Democratic primary in September, and had no Republican challenger in November’s general election.
Established in 1983, the association includes all 14 Bay State sheriffs. According to the association website, its mission is “to protect and enhance the Office of Sheriff and the communities and constituencies in which they serve.” An association blog post states that Ogden is serving as the organization’s first associate vice president, as part of new association bylaws that were recently passed.
Two other sheriffs were also elected to fill leadership roles in the association: Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi was elected as the president, and Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott was elected as the vice president. Ogden underscored the “great relationship” he has with Cocchi and McDermott. “I think we’re going to get a lot of work done,” Ogden said.
According to the blog post, Ogden and McDermott “will work in concert” with the association and its strategic partners “to better educate and inform their collective constituency about the important work that the sheriffs are doing to advance and enhance programs and services that address behavioral health and substance use, women’s programming, re-entry services, LGBTQI-specific programming, and a host of others.”
The sheriffs will be sworn into their positions in January.