W D A A Wisconsin District Attorneys Association President David O’Leary (2014-16) President-Elect Jacalyn LaBre (2014-16) Past Presidents Adam Gerol (2012-14) Winn Collins (2010-11) Ralph Uttke (2008-10) Tim Baxter (2006-08, 1112) Scott Horne (2004-06) David Wambach (2002-04) Secretary/Treasurer Tania Bonnett (2014-16) Board Members Patrick Kenney (2013-15) Kurt Klomberg (2014-16) Melinda Tempelis (2014-16) Peter Tempelis (2013-15) Emily Thompson (2014-16) Brad Schimel (2013-15) DOJ Representative Roy Korte Advisory Members Laura Radke, DA IT Therese Schmidt, SPET Phil Werner, SPO Executive Director Micha Schwab Communications Committee Emily Thompson, Chair Jacalyn LaBre Peter Tempelis IT Committee Bob Barrington Richard Ginkowski Lanny Glinberg Lovell Johnson Jane Kohlwey James Krueger Bruce Landgraf Gary Luhman Laura Radke Brenda Ray Jessica Skemp Legislative Committee Brad Schimel, Chair Melinda Tempelis, Co-Chair Adam Gerol Patrick Kenney David O’Leary Peter Tempelis Emily Thompson – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – District Attorneys throughout the State will gather in Madison, tomorrow, on January 21st to request the Legislature fix the critically low prosecutor staffing levels across Wisconsin’s 72 Counties. Governor Walker in 2010 recognized the twin problems facing DA offices in retaining experienced prosecutors and adequately staffing them and he and the legislature committed to first tackling the retention issue by proposing a pay progression plan for prosecutors who had seen their pay frozen, their time furloughed and their career advancement put on hold for far too long. Now it is time the Governor and the Legislature keep their promise by granting the new Assistant District Attorney position requests of 71 independently elected DA’s representing the interests of almost 6 million Wisconsinites. By adopting the budget requests of these elected District Attorneys, Governor Walker and the Legislature can help represent Wisconsinite’s call to increase the fight against organized crime, heroin trafficking, crimes against children, domestic violence and other crimes that victimize our neighbors and friends. Victims of crime deserve to be represented by experienced prosecutors no matter where they live in the State, and they deserve to have their case prosecuted in a timely manner – critically low staffing levels are affecting victims and the pursuit of Justice across the State and we can no longer wait for another budget cycle to fix a problem that all District Attorneys and Assistant District Attorneys in Wisconsin agree is at the breaking point. The creation and funding of this new pay structure has helped reduce turnover by 1/3. We must now move on to address the staffing shortages across Wisconsin’s 72 Counties. The January rally has been in the planning stages for months in the hope that many busy prosecutors would be able to clear their schedule. The DA’s will be available to provide information on their budget request and to discuss the second prong of Governor Walker’s plan to address the long standing personnel shortage in the DA program. District Attorneys throughout the state have made requests for additional staff, encouraged by the Governor’s support for additional positions. P.O. Box 1702  Madison, WI 53701  www.wisconsindaa.com  [email protected] 07/2014