Republicans in Valley City legislative district seek recall of Republican House member Dwight Kiefert

The chairman of the sponsoring committee seeking to oust Kiefert, Shane Anderson of Valley City, is a fellow Republican and the party treasurer of District 24, which Kiefert represents.

Kiefert says he’s not really surprised by the recall effort. Republicans in his district passed a resolution to censure him during a meeting in April. He says the censure and the attempt to now recall him from office is the result of the House vote during the regular session earlier this year to expel Republican Representative Luke Simons who was accused of threatening and sexually harassing women at the Capitol.

Kiefert says those pushing for his recall are claiming Simons wasn’t given do-process but he says this was not a criminal prosecution. He says,”This is about the code of conduct to be a legislator and he hasn’t been following the rules.”

According to the recall petition, the sponsoring committee said Kiefert has not committed to the standards of the North Dakota Republican Party platform and that a recall of his current term is the only recourse for the voting constituents of District 24.

Kiefert was among House members who voted 69-25 to expel Simons, the first such procedure since 1967.

Anderson was unavailable for comment.