Embattled Clayton County Auditor serving his 39th year plans to retire

ELKADER - Embattled Clayton County Auditor Dennis Freitag said Wednesday he plans to retire May 22 on his 62nd birthday.

'That isn't the way I wanted to go out, but that is the way I am going out,” said Freitag, who has been under investigation over assertions of unsatisfactory performance - stemming, he says, from his preoccupation with caring for his terminally ill wife, Pamela, who died Feb. 23.

'My fervor for the job isn't there anymore. Grieving has been hard on me. I don't feel like getting out of bed in the morning,” said Freitag, who is midway through his 39th year in office.

Freitag has been under duress since last June, when his wife's struggle with terminal lupus began to distract him from the duties of his office.

In October, the Clayton County supervisors asked the Iowa Attorney General's Office to investigate removing him from office under Iowa Code Chapter 66, which lists, among reasons for removal, 'willful or habitual neglect or refusal to perform the duties of the office.”

The supervisors' list of grievances included failure to meet deadlines, lack of timely reports, lack of completed reports and lack of progress in improving performance.

In December, Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown declined to file a petition seeking Freitag's removal from office but advised that a petition would be filed unless Freitag's performance improved.

Whether it has likely will become a moot issue in light of Freitag's impending retirement.

Informed Wednesday of Freitag's retirement plans, Board of Supervisors Chairman Ron McCartney said he had no comment.

As of the deadline at 5 p.m. Wednesday, three candidates had filed nomination papers for the auditor's office, according to Deputy Auditor Jennifer Garms: herself and Elizabeth Jaster, both Democrats, and Republican Deborah Scott.

Garms and Jaster will face each other in the June 7 primary election.

Chapter 69 of the Iowa Code states that the Board of Supervisors has the authority to fill the position, either by calling for a special election or appointing someone to serve until the next general election, in this case Nov. 8.

If the board chooses to appoint, Clayton County residents can demand a special election by filing a petition signed by eligible county electors equal to at least 10 percent of the votes cast in the county for president or governor at the last general election. Clayton County residents cast 7,084 votes for governor in 2014.

Freitag was elected to the office in November 1976 and was re-elected nine times. Of Iowa's 99 county auditors, only Jon Finney, of Van Buren County, has served longer.