BEATRICE – An effort to recall a Gage County Board member has failed.  Organizers failed to submit signatures by the deadline of April 21st at 5 p.m., according to Gage County Clerk Dawn Hill. 

The petition, filed by a rural Firth, Nebraska woman, sought recall of Sixth District Gage County Supervisor Don Schuller, who represents the southeast and an east area of the county. Asked about the outcome, Schuller said he wasn’t surprised.


"I was confident that it wouldn't happen, although it always plants a little bit of skepticism in a person's mind. Things can go the other way, but I am pleased things turned out the way they did....they didn't get enough signatures. I received a lot of support from both parties....not that that should matter. But, that seems to be what this is all about....partisan politics. I received a great amount of support, in that regard."


The petition cited his votes on Second Amendment rights, the so-called 30-by-30 plan, the Kansas-Nebraska Heritage Act and commercial wind turbines. Schuller is the only Democrat on the seven-member board.  He won election in November 2020, after defeating an incumbent Democrat in the primary and then defeating a write-in candidate in the November election. He said the petition effort doesn’t change how he serves his district. He feels the campaign was more about attempting to intimidate and instill fear.


"That's certainly not going to happen. It didn't really intimidate me, at the time. I mean, when the recall first came out, it was laughable, in my opinion. But I did have to take it serious....it is a serious issue, and to me it seems that it's just a method of intimidation. I don't even know how hard they worked at getting signatures."


Schuller spoke about how he approaches working with people in his district, regarding constituent contact and responding to issues or concerns.


"I do my press release in the (Wymore) Arbor State and I also send it out by e-mail. That opens the door, I feel, to being in touch with the constituents and helps me be more transparent. Also, when the district boundaries changed, I went door-to-door to my new constituents because some of them may not even have been aware that I was now their supervisor, when I hadn't been in the past". Some were in district one, but were in district six following approval of the new county map.


Schuller said going door-to-door, "was my way of approaching people and letting them know that I was now their new supervisor...and if there was anything they wanted to talk about....ask them for an e-mail address or to get on my e-mail list."


During redistricting approval, Schuller picked up new areas of the north half of Logan township and a south one-mile area of Filley Township, essentially shifting the Sixth District somewhat to the north. 

A total of 453 valid signatures of residents in the Sixth District on the recall petition were required…or 35% of ballots cast in the last election.  There were 30 days to submit petition signatures to the county clerk’s office, and then 15 days to certify them as valid.  The petition was filed, March 1st.