Free Republic

SHAMOKIN — A longtime Shamokin police officer has come under fire because his candidacy for re-election to the Shamokin Area School Board may be in violation of a federal law. The Hatch Act is a federal statute that prohibits federal employees and some state and local government employees whose work involves federal funding from running for partisan elective office. ... The Hatch Act of 1939 applies to executive branch state and local employees who are principally employed in connection with programs financed in whole or in part by loans or grants made by the U.S. or a federal agency. ...

Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott may have more to worry about than just the court of public opinion. Federal investigators are now looking into whether Scott broke the law by campaigning for John McCain. Officials with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel say they have received so many phone calls from the public that they launched an investigation into Sheriff Scott on Tuesday. The question is - did he use his position as sheriff to influence an election? If so, he could be in violation of a federal election law called the Hatch Act....

Abstract: Indiana imposes certain eligibility qualifications on candidates for public office, and provides a statutory cause of action for losing candidates in an election to challenge the results based on the eligibility of the winner. Following the 2007 mayoral election in Terre Haute, Ind., the losing candidate argued that the winner fell afoul of the federal Hatch Act, which is an explicit disqualification under Indiana law. The trial court concluded that the winning candidate did violate the Hatch Act, but through an interesting feat of jurisprudential jujitsu held that the disqualification didn't matter because the election was over. The court...

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. (Applause.) Please be seated -- unless, of course, you don't have a chair. Thanks for having me. I'm honored to be here at the headquarters of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. I don't know whether you realize this, or not, but the government originally planned to open this center inside the Capital Beltway. No one looks very sad that they didn't open it inside the Capital Beltway. (Laughter.) It's a spectacular place to have this center. It is a glorious place to live. I'm honored to be in your presence. Thanks for...

Schumaker is allegedly violating the federal Hatch Act, limiting political activity by federal employees by running as a Democrat in a partisan election. A U.S. Postal employee can only run in a partisan election as an Independent in a designated community such as Prince William County and Manassas. Moreover, as an Independent, the candidate cannot solicit endorsements or contributions from either political party. Reference: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_05/5cfr733_05.html

Washington, DC, Apr. 26 (UPI) -- The National Treasury Employees Union Tuesday said it applauded the dismissal of complaints against two federal workers for sending political e-mails. The dismissal came from an administrative law judge of the Merit Systems Protection Board in the case of two federal employees charged with violations of the Hatch Act, which governs political activity by federal workers. The judge ruled that U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch had overreached in seeking the removal of the two federal workers because they each allegedly sent one electronic mail message from their office computers expressing personal views about candidates,...

The GOP’s MIAs George Bush’s national security team was absent in NYC,and might not make it to a second term either NEW YORK - Walking the streets of this city this week, what strikes a journalist as strange is not so much who is here, but rather who is not. One large group gone missing might be referred to as genus Manhattanis. New York’s central borough seems emptied of New Yorkers, along with its sub-group, genus Suburbius commutis. The former decamp at this time of year anyway for exotic locales like Quahog and Remsenburg out on Long Island, while the...

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican centrist who is popular with moderate voters, intends to skip the GOP convention in New York that will nominate President Bush for a second term. “The secretary does not plan to attend,” State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said Tuesday. He drew attention to Powell’s remarks last week at a convention of minority journalists that he was obliged as secretary not to take part in “parochial debate.” The Republicans gather for the four-day convention beginning Aug. 30. With Bush in a close race against Democratic nominee John Kerry, Powell’s stature with...

Powell Won't Attend Republican Convention WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican centrist who is popular with moderate voters, intends to skip the GOP convention in New York that will nominate President Bush for a second term. "The secretary does not plan to attend," State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said Tuesday. He drew attention to Powell's remarks last week at a convention of minority journalists that he was obliged as secretary not to take part in "parochial debate." The Republicans gather for the four-day convention beginning Aug. 30. With Bush in a close race against Democratic nominee...

29 July 2004: NASA Ordered to Pull Kerry Photos Offline Update: The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has told NASA to remove all images of Kerry's visit to KSC from all NASA web sites - immediately - due to Hatch Act concerns. These images have now been removed.

"Question: If I have a bumper sticker on my personal car, am I allowed to park the car in a government lot or garage, or in a private lot/garage if the government subsidizes my parking fees? Answer: Yes. An employee is allowed to park his or her privately owned vehicle with bumper sticker in a government lot or garage. An employee may also park the car with a bumper sticker in a private lot or garage for which the employee receives a subsidy from his or her agency."