Majority of county board gives vote of confidence to Don Kleine

By Luis Jimenez

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners voted to show their support for county attorney Don Kleine by approving a resolution stating in part that “this Board hereby expresses its strong support for Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine in the face of the unjust and unfair accusations.”

As the Scurlock-Gardner case draws to a close, there are lingering feelings on what transpired. The Nebraska Democratic Party said Kleine “perpetuated white supremacy” through a resolution submitted by JaKeen Fox and Precious McKesson.

Kleine then switched his voter registration from Democrat to Republican.

At the Tuesday, October 13, county meeting, Commissioner Chris Rodgers, a Democrat representing North Omaha, said in explaining his vote to support the county attorney, “I think words matter to some degree, and I do not know Don [Kleine] to be a white supremacist. I think you need to be able to face yourself with integrity on what you believe with a person that's your friend and stand with them in hard times.” Indeed, without the support of Rodgers, the resolution under consideration would have failed. The three Republicans on the board voted in favor with Rodgers. They were Clare Duda, and the resolution sponsors, Mary Ann Borgeson and PJ Morgan.

Nebraska State Sen. Ernie Chambers took time to be present at the county meeting saying before the vote, "Don't make a bad situation worse. Let this thing go away. Let [Kleine] have his dispute with his political party, let those people work it out”.

No one from the Nebraska Democratic Party came forward to speak on the county’s resolution.

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners meets most Tuesdays. (Photo by Jimenez)

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners meets most Tuesdays. (Photo by Jimenez)

Sen. Ernie Chambers took time to go speak to the county board. (Photo by Jimenez)

Sen. Ernie Chambers took time to go speak to the county board. (Photo by Jimenez)

Kleine has been under fire through the summer for not immediately calling a grand jury to investigate the killing of James Scurlock by Jake Gardner, an altercation that occurred during Black Lives Matter protests in downtown Omaha. The move by Kleine was seen by community activists as a dereliction of justice, and Kleine’s residence was the scene of a 36-day protest, representing the 36 hours that it took the county attorney to determine that Gardner acted in self-defense.

However, a presiding judge of the district court appointed a special prosecutor, Frederick Franklin. A grand jury was then convened, which delivered four criminal charges, including first-degree manslaughter. Gardner reportedly died by suicide soon after. Kleine restated that he acted appropriately in a September 23 press conference. Franklin maintained that the facts of the case warranted criminal charges.

At the county meeting, Democrat Marc Kraft was participating via Zoom, thus was not a present and voting member. The other two Democrats on the board abstained. Commissioners Mike Boyle and James Cavanaugh did not vote, so the resolution passed 4-0.

Commissioner Boyle did call Kleine an “excellent attorney” and the Nebraska Democratic Party “stoops” before not voting. Commissioner Cavanaugh said about his abstention, “One year ago, we hosted a historical symposium right here [in Legislative Chambers] at the centennial of the 1919 lynching, and the message was, at the time looking back, remember cynical people used race to divide us. Don’t let that happen again. We need to unite our community and focus on fighting the pandemic that threatens us all. We need to help people with rent, utilities, and food assistance during this tough time. This resolution is not helping our community. We are better than this, and Don Kleine doesn’t need this resolution.”

Sources:



Guest User