Sacia not surprised to win recall election for DA

The challenger in a Trempealeau County recall election Tuesday earned 1,800 more votes than the incumbent being recalled.

John Sacia said he’s somewhat surprised by the volume of votes he got in unseating district attorney Taavi McMahon but is not surprised that voters wanted a change.

“I can’t say that I’m surprised by the turnout because the people of Trempealeau County have been very mobilzed by what they’ve been reading … on this issue,” Sacia said. “They want to put this county on the right track.”

Sacia, who lives in Galesville, Wis., says citizens he’s met during the campaign were upset by the series of controversies over McMahon’s job performance, which led to a recall drive.

Sacia added that he has already been doing most of the prosecution in the DA’s office in Whitehall, Wis., before the recall election was scheduled.

“I’ve been doing the lions share of the work for quite some time now,” he said.

Sacia says he was suspended, then fired by McMahon for running against him.

He denies McMahon’s claim that a candidate for sheriff wanted McMahon out in order to gain more control over the prosecution of criminal cases.

A Nov. 6 runoff between Sacia and Rick Niemeyer will determine who succeeds McMahon.