Hatch Act

WASHINGTON -- Jon Greiner's election to the Utah Senate caused his firing as Ogden police chief. Philadelphia transit cop Matthew Arlen was barred from a local school board race in Pennsylvania. And New York state port official Terrence Hurley was knocked out of a county race.

All were blindsided by a 1939 law that prohibits federal employees from running in partisan elections but also places the same restriction on state and local government workers whose jobs are connected to federal dollars.

Three committee chairmen in the Senate and one in the House say it's time to update the Hatch Act. Bills in both houses still would prohibit federal employees from participating in partisan political activities, while ending federal prohibitions on state and local government employees seeking elected office.

OGDEN — Police Chief Jon Greiner was fired Wednesday after 38 years with the city because of a federal Hatch Act violation.

City officials “regretfully” announced Greiner’s termination, effective Friday, in a prepared statement.

“Greiner’s termination was unwanted and involuntary on the part of the city, but was required by the Federal Merit Systems Protection Board, pursuant to the Hatch Act, as a prerequisite to receiving future federal grants and loans,” the statement says. “It is imperative to point out that Greiner’s campaign activities that triggered the Hatch Act do not constitute a crime or a violation of a legal duty on the part of the Chief; rather, they affect only the city’s ability to qualify for future federal funding.”

OGDEN -- The head of the federal agency prosecuting Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner for a Hatch Act violation says the 72-year-old law needs an overhaul.