<< Back 8/7/02 Hatch Act sinks Scott’s candidacy By Beth Seay Capt. Bob Scott of the Macon County Sheriff’s Department was forced to give up his candidacy for Macon County commissioner by the enforcement of a decades-old law he called largely “not applicable today.” Other candidates in Macon County may be affected as well as the investigation by the United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) continues. Scott announced in a press conference on Wednesday, July 31, that he would be giving up his campaign and returning all contributions. The Hatch Act was passed by Congress in 1939 and limits state employees and local government employees who are connected with programs financed in whole or part by federal loans or grants from running in partisan political elections. Scott stated that the OSC, “based on an anonymous complaint,” ruled that his candidacy violated the Hatch Act and that he would have to withdraw or resign from his job. Scott’s work for the Macon County Sheriff’s department includes grant writing, and he is project director for at least one program that is funded by a federal grant. “I wish this could have been handled at a local level, but I hope some good will come out of this by a change in the law,” said Scott. Scott received notice from the OSC in a letter dated July 29. The letter presented him with the options of resigning from the sheriff’s department or withdrawing from the commissioner’s race. He had checked with county and state officials regarding his eligibility before he filed and was told that he was “not in violation.” Should Scott have pursued his candidacy, he could have been fined two years salary and been barred from working in public office for two years. He urged citizens to contact federal officials to get the law changed. Several candidates for sheriff are employed as deputies as well, including Robbie Holland, Richard Davis and Pat Taylor. Taylor said she had no official comment on the situation and Davis was unable to be reached for comment. Holland said he couldn’t comment on his status in the investigation, but said he would “do what it takes to comply with the law” and that he was “100 percent positive” he would stay in the race for sheriff of Macon County. Holland also said that before he filed he contacted local and state officials to make sure there “wasn’t any trouble with my candidacy.” He also had the personnel manager for the county contact the Institute of Government in Chapel Hill. Ana Galindo-Marone of the OSC in Washington, D.C., said it is policy not to comment on specific investigations, even to confirm that they are taking place. She said the Hatch Act doesn’t make any distinction between local, state or federal elections. All candidates are included in the law, including those in “small, local elections.” Neither Scott, Taylor nor Holland would comment on the source of the investigation by the OSC. Scott said the OSC refused to tell him, saying simply it was an “anonymous tip.”