Wauneta rural resident starts commissioner recall petition

    The paperwork to force a recall election of Dist. 1 Commissioner Duane Dinnel has been started.
    Amy Gittlein of rural Wauneta submitted the necessary Recall Petition Filing Form April 7, and County Clerk Wendy Moe had the petition forms for signatures ready to be picked up Monday.
    Dinnel, who was first elected commissioner in November 2020, had 20 days after the April 7 filing to submit a defense statement for inclusion on the petition.
    Dinnel did not respond with a defense statement by last Thursday’s deadline, Moe said.
    In the filing form, Gittlein stated the following as her reasons for initiating the recall:
    “Constituents of District 1 are being poorly represented. There is an inability to share and voice concerns regarding District 1 to Duane Dinnel in a safe or trustworthy manner without receiving recourse from him or suffering from untruths being spread regarding their concerns.”
    It continues, “Chase County residents are good and deserving people and deserve to be represented the same.”
    Gittlein said she planned to pick up the petition forms Tuesday, and hoped to get the needed 187 signatures within two weeks. She said there are others who will help her gather signatures.
    Gittlein believes there are some serious problems in the district, and it wasn’t a spur of the moment thing to start a recall petition.
    “I have a heavy heart doing this,” she said.
    Roads were one of the issues that led her to doing it, however.
    In her opinion, there was a lack of response and communication about their concerns with roads in the northeast part of the county, specifically along 344 Ave. south.
    She said the mail route to their place was impassable from Jan. 26 to March 22. The county did try to get it open, she said, but got stuck and then put up a “road closed” sign.
    She said the closed road impacted their annual bull sale on Feb. 1.
    Dinnel said the Gittleins have no idea how many times he drove up to the area in which they live.
    “Was that area more impacted than others in the county?” Probably not,” he said.
    “Fortunately, most people out there were very understanding of the situation this winter,” he said, one of the worst in a long time, he added.
    He said, in starting the petition, Gittlein is making it out of one issue.
    Normally, he said, a petition is for something much more egregious. He said her reasons stated on the petition give no specifics “except that I didn’t respond properly to her calls.”
    He said he chose not to submit a defense statement on the petition form because “if you read what it says, there is really no response to it.”
    “If you believe I’m spreading untruthful things then go ahead and sign it,” he said.
    “But, be careful what you wish for.”

Petition process
    Clerk Moe said Gittlein will have 30 days to get the 187 required signatures on the petition to force an election.
    State Statute 32-1303 states 35% of the total votes cast at the last General Election for the office involved in the recall are required. They must be registered voters who reside and “qualified by his or her place of residence to vote for the office in question,” meaning in District 1.
    According to state law, anyone circulating a petition must state to a potential signer the object of the petition, the name and office of the individual sought to be recalled, the reason the recall is being sought and the name of the principal circulator.
    If the signed petition forms are turned in by the deadline, Clerk Moe will have 15 days to verify if the required number has been received and if they are all registered voters in District 1.
    Dinnel would then stand for a recall election. He would also have the option to resign.
    If the required signatures are collected and verified and an election is held, Moe said it probably would be in the late summer.
    If the required signatures are not gathered or a potential recall election is not successful, Dinnel would continue in his position.
    A successful recall or a resignation from Dinnel would result in the appointment of a new commissioner to finish  the term, Moe said, with a committee of the county clerk, county attorney and county treasurer to make the appointment, according to State Statute 32-567.
    Dinnel, a Republican, ran unopposed in the 2020 General Election after defeating incumbent commissioner Chuck Vette in the Primary.
    Dinnel’s expected Democratic opponent then, Dave Teply, pulled out of the race after he moved out of District 1.
    Dinnel’s commissioner district covers mostly eastern Chase County, including all of Wauneta and a small section of Imperial.
    Dinnel’s term is up in 2024.