The race for the GOP nomination in the first congressional district has seen plenty of aggressive campaigning from Republican Sean Mahoney. His camp is now charging that John Stephen, who now serves as assistant commissioner of safety is in violation of the Hatch act. That federal law forbids executive branch employees from seeking office if their duties have any connection to federal monies. John Stephen disputes the allegations.
According to David Carney, campaign advisor to Sean Mahoney, John Stephens� political activities are running afoul of the hatch act�.
"Anybody can run for office�..You just can�t do it while having relationships with an agency that gets federal grants that manages federal programs. It�s black and white, it�s clear, there�s not a question about it. ��I mean this is very simple, a no brainer."
Not surprisingly, perhaps, assistant commissioner Stephen has a different take on the subject.
"It�s a non issue�So I don�t want to talk about this issue. I�m not going to get negative�..I�m going to hit the high road�.So the only statement I�m going to make is that there is no Hatch act violation�.period�"
But if a 1995 advisory opinion issued by the US office of special counsel -- the federal agency charged with policing the hatch act, US office of special is any thing to go by�..the appropriateness of Stephen�s action is far from clear�. According to the advisory �individuals principally employed by state, county or municipal executive agencies in connection with programs even partially funded by federal loans or grants may not be a candidate in any partisan election.���The opinion also states that prohibits what the special counsel calls �any action which can reasonably be construed as evidence that the individual is seeking support for or undertaking an initial campaign to secure nomination��As Stephen for congress spokesman Tim Buckley happily admits Stephen�s campaign activities are in full swing�
"He�s raising money like crazy. His cell phone my cell phone ring off the hook with constantly with people who are a, looking to send their check somewhere or volunteer their time. It seems to be going spectacularly well�.Hitting on all cylinders."
Us office of special counsel attorney Karen Dalheim says such boasts raise serious questions. But Dalheim says the real question that needs answering is the exact scope of Stephen�s professional duties.
"Is responsible for certain programs in the state police�.Does he have administrative oversight for programs that are federally funded�..Specifically what are his job duties, and are any of the program that he�s involved with federally funded?"
According to John Stephen such inquires would raise no flags�.
"Assistant shall perform duties assigned by commissioner�..Assistant shall be responsible for division of hearings and bureau of fire safety�.�.I�m not responsible for running federal programs�.And my salary is paid for by the state highway fund."
And furthermore, says Stephen, the hatch act doesn�t even apply to him, because as a commissioner, he is an �unclassified� state employee.
"There�s an exemption, and the exemption is for unclassified employees�.It�s in the federal law.
Stephen says as much was made clear to his campaign by an official from the department of justice. But Karen Dalheim of the office of special counsel says violators are not prosecuted by justice, but by her agency. Dalheim also says in her eight years policing the Hatch act, she�s never heard of the so-called �unclassified exemption."
"Unclassified?��That just doesn�t mean anything�..You�re either employed by the county or the state or your not."
For his part, John Stephen, whose term as assistant safety commissioner expires in March 2003, says he will likely cease working at safety in June. But he says it�s unclear whether or not he will resign or take a leave of absence. Much of that he says depends upon the inclinations of his boss, Commissioner Richard Flynn.
"The Commissioner of safety would like me to take a leave of absence instead of a resignation�.And we�re still discussing that today."
Stephen says if he does take a leave of absence�..he will forgo his salary, his family�s coverage in the state health plan, and drop out of the state�s deferred compensation program. If Stephen were to be found guilty of violating the hatch act, office of special counsel officials say the department of safety would likely be lose about 150,000 dollars in federal funding�.an amount roughly equal to twice Stephens' annual salary�..
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