Happ is elected DA in Jefferson County
By Adam Tobias of the Daily Times staff
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 12:51 PM CST
JEFFERSON - For the first time in seven decades, a Democrat will be the district attorney for Jefferson County.
Democratic candidate Susan Happ beat out Peter Tempelis, a Republican, in Tuesday's general election to become the next Jefferson County district attorney.
Happ will replace outgoing District Attorney David Wambach, who is taking a position in the office of Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.
Happ received 23,117 of the 41,203 votes that were cast in Tuesday's general election, or 56.10 percent of the total. Tempelis, who is the Jefferson County assistant district attorney, obtained 18,003 votes, or 43.7 percent.
Happ said this morning that she was not ready to proclaim victory until about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday when she knew the results from Watertown.
“People were telling me to call it earlier, but quite frankly what I was waiting for was Watertown,” Happ said. “I really didn't feel comfortable doing anything until I saw what happened in Watertown, simply because the voting populous is large and that was kind of my main concern throughout the campaign.”
Happ said she was relieved when she learned that she had won, not only for herself, but for the many people who helped her with her campaign.
“It wasn't just about being rewarded for my efforts, it was about these people who stood up for me and sort of stuck their necks out,” Happ said. “It really was a team effort.
“I felt a sense of relief, not just that I was awarded for my efforts, but also for these people who had really put their faith in me and put their time and energy and effort into it. They were rewarded too,” she added.
Although Jefferson County is seen as a conservative community, Happ said she believes she was elected as district attorney because of her qualifications and the fact that her position should not be viewed as partisan.
“The biggest thing I think was that from the very beginning I focused on the fact that this shouldn't be a partisan position,” Happ said. “We needed to focus on who was most qualified to manage that office and to address crime in our community. The resounding theme was that this isn't about partisan politics, it's about qualifications and experience.”
Happ also credits her victory to her large number of supporters, some of whom are Republican.
“Getting the support from other Republicans and then also getting support from law enforcement was able to help people believe my message,” Happ said. “I think that spoke volumes because people were actually able to focus on qualifications instead of partisanship.”
Happ said that being a Democrat will not affect they way she will approach her duties in the district attorney's office.
“It's just a letter by my name,” she said.
As the new district attorney of Jefferson County, Happ said her main goal is to increase efficiency in the office.
“It's a great office and they do a lot of things really well, but there's things I have seen on my end where I know we can get better in terms of how we charge files out and how we dispose of files,” Happ said. “I am not going to micro-manage, but the biggest thing I am going to take a look at is what we are doing and where we can improve.”
Happ also said that she would like to acknowledge Tempelis for his campaign and that she looks forward to continuing to work with him.
“Even though my opponent lost I still would like to extend a congratulations to him on the campaign because, having gone through it, you really put yourself out there,” Happ said. “When you put your name in the hat, it's a ton of work and he's put in a lot of effort and time and I think he should be commended for that.
“We've been able to, on a professional basis, even though we were opponents, work together and I look forward to working with him,” she added.
Happ was born and raised in Jefferson and studied for a time in Moscow, Russia. She graduated from Jefferson High School in 1990 and received undergraduate degrees in journalism and Russian from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Happ graduated from UW-Madison in December of 1994 in the top 7 percent of her class. After graduation, she continued to work for another year as the editor of the biannual magazine Wisconsin Meetings and Incentives.
She entered law school at UW-Madison in the fall of 1995 and graduated in May of 1998. During law school, Happ worked as a live-in supervisor for two developmentally disabled women and served on the Wisconsin Law Review for two years.
Prior to graduation, she clerked for Jefferson County Circuit Court judges, moving on to Monogue & Witt, S.C., until 2004.
Happ started her own law firm in downtown Jefferson in 2005, where she has practiced criminal litigation and accepted court appointments to serve as guardian ad litem for children in CHIPs (Children In Need of Protection and Services) cases, juvenile proceedings, child abuse injunction cases and guardianship proceedings.
Happ's civic and professional affiliations include the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Wisconsin State Bar Association, the Jefferson County Bar Association, Tomorrow's Hope, the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, Jefferson Jaycees and St. Coletta of Wisconsin.
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