Who do you know wants to be the DA?

Count Republican radio host Jeff Wagner out of the race for Milwaukee County district attorney -- not that anyone was counting him in, except maybe his cohorts Charlie Sykes and Jessica McBride, who keep throwing his name out.

Wagner, a former assistant US attorney, ran for office once, as a Republican candidate for attorney general in 1994, losing to then-AG Jim Doyle. He does not appear to have any aspirations to be a candidate again.

Wagner writes about the campaign to succeed E. Michael McCann, who's retiring after 38 years in the job, asks why more candidates aren't getting into the race, since the job is open so seldom, and answers his own question before he's done.

I expected a big field, including several people from the DA's office, but only John Chisholm, an assistant DA, is running, with the support of most everyone in the office. (Disclaimer: My daughter, Molly, is managing Chisholm's campaign.)

Two other candidates -- Larraine McNamara-McGraw and Lew Wasserman -- are circulating nomination papers but haven't filed yet, and, as Wagner points out, neither has any experience as a prosecutor, which is problematic if you're running for DA.

Wagner explores why there's such a small field:

So why aren't any "bigger name" candidates with law enforcement credentials running for a job that pays north of $115,000? Where are the prosecutors? Where are the State legislators with law degrees? Where are the County officials? Heck, where are the lawyers now at big law firms who perhaps got their start in a DA's office and are bored stiff with the private practice of law?

First, I guess I should reiterate that I'm not running.

Over the last year, I've heard my name regularly mentioned as a possible candidate for this job. In the last week alone, undoubtedly thanks to the (tongue in cheek, I think) efforts of my colleagues Charlie Sykes and Jessica McBride, I've received hundreds of e-mails and calls urging me to throw my hat in the ring. While I sincerely appreciate the sentiment, this isn't a race that I have any interest in at this time.

At the same time, not everybody has a contract that pays them to host a radio show on the largest radio station in the State. So why is almost nobody else interested?

First, I believe the racial politics of Milwaukee will make it difficult for the next District Attorney to succeed. The reality is that the vast majority of serious crime in Milwaukee County is committed in heavily minority communities by minorities. I know that there are all sorts of societal and socio-economic explanations for this but it is a fact nonetheless. As a result, as the top law enforcement official in Milwaukee County, a disproportionate percentage of the prosecutions will most likely involve members of the minority community.

Some people will see aggressive prosecutions of drug dealers, armed robbers, felons in possession of firearms and the like (including recommendations of substantial prison terms) as being a good thing. Others will see the inevitable result of policies like this as being grossly unfair and discriminatory. The problem is that the District Attorney will be in the middle of it all.

McCann, in part due to his long tenure, largely got a pass when the race card got played. I don't think the new guy will be so lucky.

Second, nobody really wants to be the guy that replaces The Guy. I personally think Mike McCann has been mailing it in for the better part of the last ten years. Nevertheless, as one of the longest serving DAs in the country, McCann is an institution in Wisconsin legal circles and Milwaukee County.

Phil Bengston, the guy that replaced Vince Lombardi, was doomed to fail. The guy that replaces Brett Favre is almost guaranteed to suffer by comparison. While McCann is no Favre or Lombardi, you get the point.

In 2008, the term for the Milwaukee County DA increases from two years to four years. I think some people might be holding off and waiting until then - figuring that the next two years might not be the best time to be the DA. After all, by running two years from now, you could be the guy who replaced the guy who replaced The Guy - and have a four year term to boot.

Third, being the Milwaukee DA is a really tough job. The sheer size of the office means that you are essentially an administrator as opposed to a trial lawyer. The salary scale is such that it's very difficult to retain qualified Assistant DAs after they get a few years of experience. As a result, you get an office with a lot of transition. You also get an office with old-timers who are either extremely qualified, dedicated prosecutors who have a passion for their work or who are absolute deadwood.

In any event, it's hard to criticize some former prosecutor for being reluctant to leave a $200,000 plus job in private practice to take over the headaches of the Milwaukee County DAs Office.

Wagner's right. It is a tough, thankless job. The DA gets a lot of flak, but little credit. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. You have to expose yourself and your family to the rigors and unpleasantness of a political campaign.

And in Milwaukee it's probably a dead end job. McCann tried to move out once and ran for Congress in a 1984 special election, but came in second in a six-way Democratic primary won by Jerry Kleczka. That was his last campaign for anything but DA, which he has usually won without opposition.

Despite Wagner's list of who would make a potential candidate, being a state legislator, county official or ambitious lawyer is probably not enough. You need prosecutorial experience, which limits how many people are really qualified to do the job in the eyes of the voters. And, as Wagner notes, most former prosecutors are making more money with a lot less stress than the DA's job brings with it.