Chisholm firing sought with complaint; Evers to take it 'seriously'

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee County residents have officially asked Governor Tony Evers to fire District Attorney John Chisholm. Evers says he'll take the complaint seriously.

Wisconsin state law allows the governor to oust a district attorney for cause, but it requires a verified complaint filed by a taxpayer of the jurisdiction, which then starts a process. That document was handed over to the governor, asking Evers to remove Chisholm from office.

For weeks, FOX6 asked Evers if he'd fire Chisholm.

"We have a process, simple," Evers said on Dec. 6. "I get a letter from somebody in the county requesting that process be initiated, and we’ll initiate it."

Now, he's got it.

"I think it’s in his best interest, and clearly, it’s in the best interest of the people of southeast Wisconsin to fire John Chisholm and make southeast Wisconsin a safer place," said Orville Seymer, the complaint organizer who is also with conservative group Citizens for Responsible Government. Another conservative group, Empower Wisconsin, first reported the existence of the document, which FOX6 confirmed.

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Seymer and six others signed the notarized, formal complaint asking Evers to remove Chisholm, pointing to the bail offered to the Waukesha Christmas Parade suspect before the attack. 

"We’ve got six people dead, including an 8-year-old boy, people’s mothers and grandmothers, and there are thousands of people around southeast Wisconsin who are thinking, ‘That could have been my son, that could have been my mother, that could have been my grandmother’ and John Chisholm knew this could have happened," said Seymer.

Evers answered questions about the submission on Mon., Dec. 20. 

"We’ll take it seriously but no prognosis as to what decision will be made," said Evers.

Evers says it's too early to say if he'll oust Chisholm.

"It’s too early to answer the latter question, but clearly, we do now have a letter," said Evers. "We have to verify that yet and make sure it’s Milwaukee County people that have submitted it, but we’ll do an investigation. I’m sure we’ll be looking to have some help from both the office in Milwaukee, but also Attorney General Kaul."

Before the complaint was filed, FOX6 asked Kaul: "This person was out on bail. He just was accused of trying to run over his child's mother, and yet, he was still allowed to go out on $1,000 bail. I mean, who needs to be responsible for this? Should the DA either resign or the governor fire him?"

"First, I saw the DA's statement that the bail was inappropriately low in that case," said Kaul. "I agree with that, and ultimately, accountability for decisions the elected officials make is up to the voters. We have a system in Wisconsin where DAs are elected by the voters, and what DA Chisholm's time in office, you know, what his record shows is up for the voters to judge and that's who should be making these decisions."

State law lays out a process for what comes before a removal, including a public hearing where the DA and his counsel can defend against the charges.

Evers also has the power to appoint a commissioner to investigate. He did that in Eau Claire when then-District Attorney Gary King faced misconduct allegations, but that investigation stopped this summer when King resigned.

On Dec. 2, Chisholm defended his actions, placing blame on an assistant district attorney.

"You had a young ADA trying to do the very best she could under difficult circumstances, and she made a mistake."

Complaint organizer Seymer says if the governor doesn't fire Chisholm, a recall could be another option to remove the district attorney, who is the second man to hold the position since 1969. In his most recent election in 2020, he ran unopposed, capturing 97% of the vote. 

"A recall is always a possibility, but let’s face it: we’re going into the coldest months of the year," said Seymer. "And that’s not a good time to be standing out on street corners collecting signatures."

Chisholm's office did not respond to FOX6's request to comment on the complaint.

Reaction

Republican Party of Wisconsin Executive Director Mark Jefferson

"After three years of turning a blind eye to a growing crime problem, Tony Evers needs to take action and hold officials in charge of public safety responsible when they don’t do their jobs. The results of inaction can be tragic."