Ken Kratz vowed to fight, refusing to resign as Calumet County's district attorney, but his fight is apparently over.
From WLUK, the Associated Press:
A Wisconsin prosecutor facing removal from office over accusations that he used his position to seek relationships with women will resign instead, his attorney said Monday.
Attorney Robert Craanen said Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz will step down before Oct. 8, the date for a hearing on his possible removal from office.
Craanen spoke to reporters after a meeting in Chilton on proceedings Gov. Jim Doyle initiated to remove Kratz from office. Kratz was not present and did not immediately return a phone message left on his cell phone.
Kratz, a Republican, had been the top prosecutor in the eastern Wisconsin county south of Green Bay since 1992.
...Kratz, 50, announced last week he was on medical leave indefinitely, and his attorney said he was getting treatment for an undisclosed problem. He has apologized for the text messages to Stephanie Van Groll, 26, but stayed mostly silent on the accusations by other women, except to deny the autopsy allegation.
Kratz was appointed by Gov. Tommy Thompson and had been re-elected several times since without opposition. He was not up for re-election until 2012.
Doyle last week started a rarely used process to consider removing Kratz from office for cause. The hearing Monday was to set a schedule for the process, including the public hearing date. Doyle ultimately would have made the call on whether the actions were serious enough to warrant removal.
With Jim Doyle as the final judge, Kratz didn't stand a chance.
Kratz probably understood his removal from office was already a done deal.
Doyle certainly doesn't mete out punishment with an even hand.
If Kratz were a Democrat, Doyle would look the other way. I'm not saying that would be right, but that's been Doyle's SOP.
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