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Taavi McMahon recall, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin (2018)
| Trempealeau County District Attorney recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| November 6, 2018 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2018 Recalls in Wisconsin Wisconsin recall laws City official recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Taavi McMahon (D) from his position as the district attorney of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, began in May 2018. The recall petition said that McMahon "demonstrated inability to effectively prosecute cases" and that he failed to "comply with the rules of the court."[1] McMahon said he would fight the recall, and accused the recall committee of misleading the public by using misinformation. McMahon began a leave of absence on May 9, 2018, citing health issues.[2] McMahon was recalled on October 2, 2018.
The recall committee, led by Osseo Police Chief William Prudlick, turned in signatures for the recall in July 2018, and the Wisconsin Elections Commission found in August that the committee had submitted enough signatures to trigger a recall election.
Recall vote
The recall's primary was held on October 2, 2018. Candidates who wished to run for the position had to file with the Wisconsin Elections Commission by September 4, 2018.[3] McMahon was defeated by his challenger in the recall primary, John Sacia (D).[4] Sacia went on to defeat challenger Rick Niemeier in the November 6, 2018, general election.[5]
Recall supporters
The "Recall Taavi McMahon" Facebook page listed four reasons for seeking a recall:[6]
- "Prosecutorial misconduct that led to an accused child sex offender going free."
- "Accused by officials of lying to a judge to get out of work."
- "Refuses to try drug offenses."
- "Has created a hostile working environment for his employees."
Recall opponents
In response to the accusation that he did not try drug offenses, McMahon said,
| “ | Once they’re in (the system), usually it’s a revolving door. Our society needs to change our thinking on the value of incarceration vs. treatment. We simply cannot afford to continue to engage in the same failed response to drug use without looking for alternatives to incarceration. We have to look for solutions that work rather than rely on proven failures. The definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I am not interested in continuing to be part of a failed system and that’s why we should say no to the recall effort.[7] | ” |
| —Taavi McMahon[2] | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Wisconsin
Recall proponents needed to collect 2,683 valid signatures in order to trigger a recall election. In late July, 3,385 signatures were submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, which had 31 days to verify the signatures.[8] On August 22, 2018, the commission determined that 3,149 valid signatures had been submitted. The commission ordered the recall election to occur on October 2, 2018.[9]
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Trempealeau County District Attorney
- Recall Taavi McMahon Facebook page
- Committee to Support Taavi McMahon website
Footnotes
- ↑ Wisconsin Public Radio, "Committee Files Signatures To Recall Trempealeau County District Attorney," July 26, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Madison.com, "Trempealeau County DA Taavi McMahon says he will fight recall effort," June 5, 2018
- ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Meeting of the Commission, August 22, 2018
- ↑ WEAU News, "Sacia defeats McMahon in recall Democratic Primary in Tremplealeau Co.," October 2, 2018
- ↑ Winona Post, "Local Election results" November 7, 2018
- ↑ Facebook, "Recall Taavi McMahon," accessed August 23, 2018
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Small town Wisconsin DA could face recall as opponents file signatures with election officials," July 24, 2018
- ↑ News8000.com, "Wisconsin Elections Commission orders recall election for Trempealeau DA," August 22, 2018
