ELLSWORTH, Maine — A Hancock man elected last month to the Hancock County Commission may have violated federal law by running for partisan office at the same time he was working as a federal employee, according to a complaint filed with federal officials.
Antonio Blasi, who works part-time for the postal service, on Thursday called the complaint “ridiculous” and “tomfoolery.” Blasi is scheduled to begin serving his four-year term on the commission after the end of the year.
“I don’t understand the basis for this [law],” Blasi said. “This complaint is a politically motivated act.”
Blasi, a Democrat, said he believed that the Republican Party is behind the complaint.
The Hancock resident defeated Republican Fred Ehrlenbach of Trenton in the Nov. 6 general election, receiving 5,153 votes to Ehrlenbach’s 4,485. Blasi is replacing Commissioner Fay Lawson, also a Democrat, who decided not to seek re-election.
Rich Malabay, a Republican who represents District 34 in the Maine House of Representatives, said recently that he filed a complaint with the U.S Office of Special Counsel, which investigates Hatch Act complaints. Malaby said had never heard of the Hatch Act until some of his constituents brought it to his attention after the election. He said his constituents, whom he did not identify, pointed out Blasi may have violated the federal law. He decided on his own to look into it further, he said, and was not encouraged to do it by Republican party officials.
“If it’s against the law for him to do it, he shouldn’t do it,” Malaby said.
According to Ann O’Hanlon, spokeswoman for the federal agency, there is nothing in federal law that prevents federal employees from holding elective office. She declined on Thursday to comment specifically on or even to confirm the existence of the complaint about Blasi, but did say the act applies to postal workers.
O’Hanlon said the law stems from the 1930s and is aimed at preventing federal employees from participating in partisan politics. In any Hatch Act violation that the office decides should be addressed, the employee faces the loss of his or her federal job, not a prohibition on serving in the position to which he or she was elected.
“The violation is in the campaigning, not in the holding of the office,” she said.
O’Hanlon said that, in election years, the office can be “inundated” with Hatch Act complaints, so it can take some time to resolve any particular case. In addition to a loss of federal employment, such complaints can result in a simple warning to the offender or in the case being closed without any action being taken.
Blasi said he was unaware of the Hatch Act before the election and that, in his campaign materials, he publicized the fact that he works for the post office. He said he cannot think of any possible conflict between him running for county commissioner and delivering mail for a couple of hours each day. He also owns and operates a small kayak guiding business.
If Republicans had a concern about his running, he said, they should have brought it up during the campaign, not after he was elected.
Malaby said he has spoken with another person in Hancock County, whom he also did not identify, who told Malaby that he also filed an identical complaint about Blasi with the federal agency. Malaby said he has not spoken to anyone in the Special Counsel’s office about the matter.
Malaby said he is not concerned that Blasi is an elected member of Hancock’s planning board, because that position is nonpartisan. He said that the possible violation most likely was an innocent “mistake” on Blasi’s part.
Malaby said that he will leave the matter in the hands of federal officials as to whether or not Blasi will be made to choose between his postal service job and his elected position. He does not intend to pursue it further, he said.
“I feel like the whole thing has become kind of vague,” Malaby said, though he added: “It probably would preclude him from running a second time.”
Blasi said that he has sent copies of a petition to members of Maine’s congressional delegation, asking that they support a proposal to loosen restrictions of the Hatch Act so it would, among other things, allow postal service employees to run for partisan political office.
Blasi added that, if he still is employed by the postal service by the time his term expires at the end of 2016, he will be careful not to run the risk of violating the law. He said, given the economic challenges the postal service is facing, his job easily could be eliminated by then.
“My job will be one of the first to go,” he said.
But if he does have to choose, he added, “I’d rather be a county commissioner.”
Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter on Twitter at @billtrotter.
For goodness sake! Why wasn’t this brought up during the campaign! Mr. Blasi should have been informed of the law before he ran. He won the race…let him serve the people! The sore loser should have kept quiet!
Rich Malaby wasn’t running against Mr Blasi, so you “sore loser” argument is out the window. As for why it wasn’t brought up before the election, it wasn’t until after the election that it was brought to Representative Malaby’s attention. At that point, knowing that a law may have been broken, he has a RESPONSIBILITY to report it.
Do I think that a postal carrier should not be allowed to run for office? No,I don’t think that at all. Do I think that Representative Malaby should have reported it? Absolutely! I wouldn’t want a State Representative who turned their back on it. Perhaps the law should be written so that not all Federal employees are excluded.
I’m far to old and not urban enough for this saying, but it fits so I’m going to use it – don’t hate the player, hate the game!
I disagree. As a Federal employee it is Blasi’s responsibility to know about the Hatch Act. How would you feel if you went into the Post Office in your town and the clerk behind the counter was passing out campaign literature with stamps! Or wearing a big button saying, “I LIKE BOZO FOR PRESIDENT”? Being a candidate for a partisan office has been illegal for Federal employees for almost 75 years. It’s a good law and Blasi has no excuse.
Every federal Employee is told of the Hatch act. Whether they remember it is another thing, but they are all told about it.
Every 2 years, just before the election cycle, both OPM and the OSC go into an almost frenzy by putting up and sending out numerous posters and handouts that VERY clearly explain the Hatch Act and all of it’s provision’s. OSC even has a poster put up that spells out what types of office’s are prohibited, and not prohibited, under the Hatch Act provision’s. As a former local AFL-CIO Chief Steward, Secretary and Vice President, I had to go go thru this on an almost annual basis. I also had to slap any number of local politician’s who made BS Hatch Act complaint’s just so there favorite Candidate could run in some local election for a non-partisan office unopposed by a Federal employee. Appointed and Independent position’s, not appointed or elected on a Party basis, are and can be run for by Federal employee’s. The OPM, the OSC and the local Federal local’s all know this. So do State Party Official’s if they bother to read the law, which is something that both side’s have a tendency to do.
Was Mr. Blasi following the letter of the law?
I believe he had no idea that as a postal worker he may be barred from running for an office AND nobody; not one person said anything until AFTER he won.
You speak of it as though it was some secret ploy by the Republicans when in fact it is a long standing law that the Democratic Party should have been equally aware of.
Gads, the other repliers dont see the pun.
here is a link to the hatch act: http://www.osc.gov/hatchact.htm
i think you will find the individual may actually be in violation. Also the federal government informs all it’s employees during election time of the Hatch Act so it is not something that is overlooked. It just may be an interpretation thing. Check the sight they give examples of who can and who can’t run for partisan type offices. Another item i forgot to comment on was the person contacted who receives multiple questions did not answer whether or not this case was a violation. If she is the expert why didn’t she answer the question. And the reporter should have insisted for a clear and concise answer before he wrote the article. And finally as observed by some of the comments here some others should read it before they comment. Just think if we were all educated in what we speak.
All this over a seat to serve on the Hancock County Commission? Just one more example of how desparate the GOP/Tea Party has become as they continue to grasp for power any way they can.
LOL, sure, because liberals have never, ever played fast and loose with the rules, never have used the system to attack their opponents. Sure.
Is he an actual employee of the USPS, or an independent contractor as some mail deliverers are?
If he were to step down as County Commissioner the newly appointed CC would still be a Democrat.
So how long has Blasi worked for the Post Office? If it’s more than a month I don’t know how he can say he’s never heard of the Hatch Act.
Way to go, Republicans. If the voters wisely choose someone from another party, do your best to get them fired from their place of employment. No one would dream of thinking you’re petty and vindictive, oh dear me, no.
It’s not a Republican thing or a Democratic thing it’s a violation of Federal law that protects all of us from the shenanigans of both parties.
*deleted* the posters that followed are on the wrong tangent.
Maybe the Democrats should have been as well versed on the law and let their candidate know that he was violating a federal law. Maybe the candidate himself should have paid attention at work and known that he was not allowed under the Hatch Act to run for this position. Maybe everyone should stop trying to blame the Republicans for the failure of a Democrat to know the law. Maybe it is Bush”s fault. Just saying.
I love how you right wingers bring up our criticisms of Bush and dismiss them with: “Bush is gone.” For people so stuck in the past, you TeaPubs sure don’t like to consider history when the results of history are so profound. Such hypocrites, as always. Say one thing, then say and do another. It is the TeaPub way and part of why your silly little pathetic party just got SMASHED TO PIECES in the election and why your party will continue to shrink into nothingness. You people do not come close to existing near reality. Bush, like all bad people in history who had a lot of power, is like a skunk. His body may be gone back to TX, but some of his STINK remains. He did so much utter damage to the nation and our economy that it is still taking time to clean it all up. Next, they have to look into this to see if there is in fact a Hatch Act violation. It is very much a non-partisan office with little or no party involvement in terms of running the campaign, etc., so in some of those cases federal employees CAN in fact hold office. Finally, this is OBVIOUSLY more about TeaPublican sour grapes than a sincere complaint which could have been made much earlier. It seems that maybe some additional tweaks need to be made to the Hatch Act, and it also appears he would remain in the office and end his part time postal service employment if it was discovered that there was an inadvertent violation. This really isn’t much of an issue under the circumstances.
I love how the liberal left always tries to cast blame upon the previous administration when the current administration continues to fail at accomplishing anything that they campaigned on. We need more time, it was worse than we thought, those shovel ready jobs were not as shovel ready as we thought. Why would you say that a county commisioners position is non-partison, he ran as a Democrat with Democratic ideals just as his opponent ran as a Republican with that parties ideals. I also love how when liberals break the law, such as in this case, it is no big deal. The left feels that they are above having to adhere to laws that they feel stand in the way of their agenda. If it is found that he violated the Hatch Act (which he will) than he can either give up the elected position or his job as a postal carrier. The violation could not have been inadvetent, as another person posted, OPM sends out a ton of information concerning the Hatch Act leading up to election season. Why would there need to be any tweaks made to the Hatch Act? just because they don’t fit the left’s agenda?
Malaby should change his name to Richard Cranium.
He didn’t know about the Hatch Act, does he know what a County Commissioner does??