CHELSEA — Orange County State’s Attorney Will Porter is retiring from his post next week after nearly 20 years as top prosecutor in the county.
“It’s time to be done,” Porter, 67, said Thursday. “I’ve been doing it a long time.”
Porter, who was elected to the position in 2002, submitted his letter of resignation to Vermont Gov. Phil Scott’s office on Feb. 12.
His last day on the job will be March 26, and current Deputy State’s Attorney Dickson Corbett will take over as acting state’s attorney while the governor looks for a replacement.
Though Porter recommended Corbett as a permanent replacement, the governor’s office has not made a decision, according to Scott’s press secretary Jason Maulucci. He said that because Porter is registered as a Republican, the office is waiting for the Orange County Republican Committee to send over a list of candidates.
“Once we receive the list, we will interview them and then make the appointment,” Maulucci said.
Porter said he made the decision to retire now years ago, adding that the job can be mentally taxing, especially after so many years.
“You never really get away from anything. The demands of the job require a lot more than a 40-hour workweek,” Porter said.
Trials, especially, take a lot of extra work, and Porter said he remembers several days when he worked 14-hour stints on a case.
“Litigation is a younger man’s game and you need a lot of stamina,” he said.
Porter, who grew up in Connecticut, graduated from Vermont Law School in 1982 and worked jobs in several prosecutor’s offices around the state, beginning as a deputy state’s attorney in Windsor County until 1987.
Following that, Porter went into private practice for seven years before returning to work as a deputy state’s attorney in Windsor County until 1998 and then in Orleans County until 2002. He ran for the Orange County position in 2002 against Democrat Eric López and won.
After nearly 40 years as a prosecutor, Porter said he’s handled a lot of interesting cases, but said he doesn’t have one he’s most proud of.
“You don’t look at the job in terms of success and defeat,” Porter said. “My view was more about being competent, being prepared and doing the best I could do.”
One thing he is proud of during his tenure with the Orange County office is the change in the way victim services are handled.
“The prior office was not providing adequate victim services,” Porter said, explaining that he discovered upon taking the job that victims were rarely contacted and that restitution was rarely sought. Porter said he hired a victim services advocate who worked on better communication with victims.
“That was a night and day difference,” Porter said. “My biggest accomplishment when I came into office is that I hired very, very good people.”
Porter said that’s true of Corbett and that he hopes there will be a “clear road” for the acting state’s attorney to become permanent state’s attorney.
“He’s an extremely competent attorney with a good head on his shoulders,” Porter said.
However he has advice for whoever takes over his position this year: Be prepared to learn.
“You realize you never reach the pinnacle. You’re always finding out you don’t know something,” Porter said. One thing for young prosecutors to keep in mind is that they are working on behalf of the state of Vermont, rather than victims, and that they have high standards to meet.
“We have to conduct ourselves ethically and be respectful. I think that’s pretty important in this line of work,” he said.
In his retirement, Porter, who lives in Tunbridge, said he plans to spend time outside — kayaking, golfing and fishing.
“I’m hoping to do all the things I was envious my friends were doing all the time I had to work,” Porter said with a laugh.
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.