The Rhinelander Daily News - Online news and information for the Rhinelander, Wisconsin region

Melissa Theisen - Editor

Both Forest County District Attorney hopefuls, Charles “Chuck” Simono, Forest County Potawatomi (FCP) in-house counsel and staff attorney, and Scott Moller, Assistant District Attorney of Langlade County, are planning to have their names on the ballot regardless of who is appointed by Governor Doyle to take over the position in August. Stenz, current Forest County District Attorney, will take over the position as Florence and Forest County Circuit Court Judge in August, leaving the position vacant for the remainder of his term.

Simono and Moller each applied to fill the vacant position by the May deadline. Governor Doyle is expected to appoint one of the two to complete Stenz’s term. A primary election for district attorney will be held on September 9, 2008 to fill the position for the next term. Both Simono and Moller plan to be on the ballot for that election.

Simono graduated from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1997 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with bachelor of arts degrees in Sociology and Behavioral Science & Law from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before starting college in Madison, Simono enlisted in the Army and later received an Honorable Medical Discharge. Simono has served in his current position as in-house attorney for the FCP for the past 10 years. Simono has been a property owner and taxpayer in Forest County for the past seven years. He is married to lifelong Forest County resident, Mary (Gilligan) Simono and together they have four dogs.

When asked why he wants to be District Attorney, Simono responded, “I live here. Forest County is my home and I care about what happens to the good people and businesses in our county. Living and working in Forest County for the past 10 years has allowed me to have a better understanding of the issues that are important to people that live here.”

Simono’s position has given him a great deal of experience in courtrooms all over the state, working mainly on criminal cases, although he has had experience with civil, family cases and intergovernmental work as well.

When asked to estimate how many cases he’s worked on in his career, he approximated somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 cases, although most were settled before trial. He believes that his work experiences with the FCP as well as other Wisconsin tribes will allow him “bring a unique understanding of the cultures and bring a balanced perspective to the courtroom.”

“I’m going to be fair to everyone,” said Simono. “Everyone will be treated the same, everyone’s equal.”

He went on to say that his goal, aside from prosecuting crimes, is to see that defendants are directed towards the rehabilitative services they need. Simono is also one of many individuals working as a committee to create a “Teen Court” system that would allow the first-time juvenile offenders an alternative to the formal court process. When asked what, in his opinion, is the most serious issue in Forest County, Simono said that he could not select just one. He did say that some of the biggest problems facing the county are the growing drug related crimes, gang issues (which in combination increase weapons related crimes), alcohol abuse crimes and domestic violence. Simono also noted that many of the area business owners have shared their concerns regarding people writing bad checks.

Simono state that if elected District Attorney, it would be his goal to make the office more efficient and more accessible to the public.

Simono concluded by saying “as a property owner and tax payer in Forest County, I have a vested interest in our community and therefore want to make sure we have a safe place to live.”

Moller is a 1995 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. He is a self described “career prosecutor,” having served as Assistant District Attorney in Langlade County and St. Croix County, a special prosecutor handling criminal cases across Wisconsin and as an attorney with Eckert & Stingl, SC, where he conducted civil litigation practice. In addition to his many legal positions over the years, Moller has taken attended several seminars on illegal drugs, protecting children online, obtaining and presenting electronic evidence and technology related crimes such as identity theft.

“I’ve got a background that provides the training to be a DA,” said Moller. “I’m looking forward to getting to know people and am interested in getting suggestions (from the public).”

Moller said he plans to be in Forest County on Fridays to get to know the people of the area and find out what issues are important to them. If you would like to arrange a meeting with him, call (715) 367-6975 or e-mail him at votemoller@gmail.com.

Moller is married to a CRNA (Certified Nurse) who works in Rhinelander and they have two children, Morgan, 17, and Sara, 9. The family currently lives in Oneida County, but if appointed to the position, Moller said he would move to Forest County.

“I live in Oneida (County) and work in Langlade (County). They’re all very close. I’ve spent my whole life in Wisconsin and spent most of my life in a small towns. It (Forest County) would be a good fit,” he said.

Throughout his career, Moller said he has dealt with cases involving violent crimes, drugs, white collar crimes, technology, child and elder abuse, traffic cases and alcohol related crimes. He said the reason he wanted to be a prosecutor when he was first getting into law was that you get to seek justice.

“You get to do what’s right all the time. It’s a great job,” he said. “You seek justice as a prosecutor, and you look at beyond reasonable doubt when charging.”

Moller also said he has a great deal of respect for soon-to-be judge, Leon Stenz.

“I have the background to hopefully follow in Leon’s footsteps. I think I could continue to work with him as judge,” said Moller.

He also remarked that his experience as an Assistant District Attorney has given him an understanding of many of the problems he might face in the DA office, such as under-staffing and state budget cuts, in addition to his experience with the types of cases he would have to oversee as DA.

Both Simono and Moller are democratic candidates, meaning that if they both receive enough signatures to get their names on the ballot, a primary will be held September 9. The winner of the primary would be the democratic candidate for District Attorney in the official election November 4.

Tell us what you think...

Comments »

Alex Picha wrote on Mar 24, 2009 9:02 AM:

" I attend the flandreau Indian School and i am a senior of 2009, and i think it is just wonderful to know that someone cares about what happens to our people. Bless you and your family

~Alex Picha "

The comments above are from readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Rhinelander Daily News.