Updated at 2:31 p.m.
BARRE — Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault didn’t have to think long about whether to run for attorney general of Vermont.
Less than a day after the Democratic incumbent, TJ Donovan, announced he would not seek reelection, Thibault jumped into the race to become Vermont’s next top prosecutor.
Thibault, a Democrat from Cabot, made it official at a press conference Friday morning in Barre City Hall Park.
“I know I told some of you that I was going to take some time to think about this,” Thibault told a group of reporters as he spoke Friday morning in the park.
He had said Thursday afternoon that while he was considering a run for the attorney general’s post, he needed to talk it over with his family, friends and colleagues.
After a busy day in court Thursday, Thibault said he went home and talked to his wife, Johanna.
“I asked, ‘What do you think I should do?’” Thibault said. “Her response was ‘Well, aren’t you running?’”
“The negotiations were short,” he said.
Thibault, 39, is the first person to enter the race, but he may not be the only candidate for long.
Charity Clark, Donovan’s chief of staff, told VTDigger on Thursday she was “seriously” considering running for attorney general. Brooks McArthur, a Burlington attorney in private practice, also said he was considering running for the post.
Thibault was appointed Washington County state’s attorney in 2018 following the resignation of Scott Williams. He won a four-year term months later.
Prior to his appointment as state’s attorney, Thibault worked in Donovan’s office as an assistant attorney general.
Among the supporters who gathered for Thibault’s announcement were Montpelier Police Chief Brian Peete and former Montpelier Police Chief Anthony Facos.
“Rory is dedicated to 21st-century policing, and the way he looks at things is like even-keeled to me,” Peete said. “He focuses on what’s right.”
Thibault, who grew up in Connecticut, graduated from Vermont Law School in 2007. Before his work in Vermont as a prosecutor, Thibault served in the U.S. Army as a judge advocate general and is currently an Army Reserve officer.
In addition to his role as a prosecutor in Washington County, Thibault serves on the school board in Cabot.
Thibault said he would not run for Washington County state’s attorney at the same time he campaigns for attorney general, calling it “a huge effort to run statewide.”
“As Washington County state’s attorney, I’ve engaged as a proactive prosecutor,” Thibault said. “In a traditional sense, being proactive would mean law and order. That’s not what Vermont needs or where Vermont is at.”
Instead, Thibault said, he holds a more complex view of a prosecutor’s job and focuses on Vermont values.
“Those values simply put are equity, integrity and empathy,” he said. “These are all things that make Vermont special, and this is what we need in our leadership.”
He described the role of attorney general as multifaceted, focusing not only on criminal matters but also environmental justice, ensuring people’s rights and freedoms, and protecting state employees and election officials.
He also talked about the importance of addressing the mental health needs of people in settings outside of the criminal justice system.
“We need to be doing a better job of making sure that there are services and supervision for those folks when there is a nexus of public safety risk with their needs,“ he said.
In response to questions Friday, Thibault said more needs to be done to address law enforcement accountability, whether in use-of-force investigations or probes into allegations of wrongdoing.
“There are so many good officers out there that are tarnished by the bad acts of others,” he said. “The only way to rectify that is to ensure there are mechanisms for accountability in place that gives confidence and allows Vermonters to have faith that when an officer shows up in uniform that’s someone they can trust and rely upon.”
Asked what changes he would undertake to make that happen, Thibault replied that he would first talk to staff already working in the attorney general’s office to hear their views.
May 26 is the last day for major party candidates to file petitions for the August primary, according to the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office.