John Chisholm for Milwaukee County District Attorney

With 12 years of experience in the DA’s office, Chisholm is the most qualified candidate to run the vast enterprise that is the DA's office. Chisholm has expressed a commitment to making practical changes in the DA's office to correct problems that led to failures during the tenure of retiring DA E. Michael McCann.

The issues that are of particular interest to LGBT voters include the fact that no person has been prosecuted under Wisconsin’s hate crimes enhancer law in Milwaukee County. This is despite the fact that other, smaller county DA's in Wisconsin have successfully used the law to punish criminals who have targeted victims because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, color, disability, national origin or ancestry. On this issue, Chisholm has stated that he unequivocally supports using the enhancers when appropriate. It will be incumbent upon him to demonstrate this commitment when the opportunity presents itself. Additionally, the community must remain engaged with the DA’s office to ensure that hate crime enforcement is not pushed to the back burner after the election.

Another issue has been the occasional double standard used in charging gay people with more serious crimes than heterosexual people for essentially the same conduct from the law's perspective. Chisholm has acknowledged the inequities practiced by some in the DA's office and has stated, "This will not happen under my watch – both (heterosexual and homosexual individuals) will be charged the same. I feel strongly that everybody should be treated fairly regardless of sexual orientation."

Throughout his campaign, Chisholm has made it clear that change is a key part of his plan for improving the services provided by the DA. We expect to see him elected as the next DA and along with his election we expect to see a new practice of community involvement and accountability instituted by the DA's office to ensure equal treatment for all Milwaukee County citizens.

For more information about John Chisholm, visit www.chisholmforda.com.