Groveland Twp.- A federal attorney has reportedly exonerated Township Trustee David Ax following charges he violated the Hatch Act as a candidate for township treasurer in the primary election on Aug. 5.
Ax, 59, a township trustee since 1992 and a probationary interim federal mine safety inspector since 2007, was accused of breaking the act, which does not allow him to be a candidate for public office in a partisan election.
The 1939 Hatch Act is a United States federal law aimed to prohibit federal employees (civil servants) from engaging in partisan political activity. Named after Senator Carl Hatch of New Mexico, the law was officially known as An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities.
Ax received the most votes of four candidates who vied for the six-term township treasurer seat held by Shirley Scramlin, who is retiring.
Ax received 260 votes, Robert Renchick earned 176 votes, Pam Que garnered 145 votes and Deputy Treasurer Laura Lawrence got 110 votes. The Oakland County Board of Canvassers will certify the election on Aug. 19, at which time the candidates will be announced.
If certified, Ax will be the Republican candidate on the November ballot.
Nicole Eldredge, Attorney, Hatch Act Unit for the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Washington D.C., said Wednesday that after investigation, David Ax is now in compliance with the Hatch Act and no disciplinary action will be necessary.
The issue was made public at Monday’s board meeting when Township Supervisor Bob DePalma reported that on Aug. 5, after the polls closed, he was advised by Ax that his campaign was illegal. The next morning, Aug. 6, a federal attorney contacted the township and informed officials Ax was in violation of the Hatch Act for federal employees. The attorney advised that Ax had 14 days to come into compliance.
DePalma added that while no state or local election laws have been broken, neither he nor other board members knew of this violation of the Hatch Act.
Ax responded during the meeting that after Pam Mazich, township clerk, announced the results of the election, he contacted Joe Rozell, director of elections for Oakland County. In his conversation, Rozell said that the election would not be certified until Aug. 19, at which time the winning candidates would be announced.
On Aug. 11, upon returning from vacation, Ax said he resigned his position with the federal government, thereby eliminating the need to be in compliance with the Hatch Act. The act is only applicable between the U.S. government and its employees, reported Ax.
‘Had I known when I filed my nomination for the treasurer’s position last spring there was any problem, I would have resigned my position with the federal government back then,? said Ax. ‘There’s lots of federal laws and you can be a local official, but I could not run for reelection. No one told me I could not run. I suspected there might be something, but they did not say it was a problem. I did not find this out until Aug. 6 when I got the phone call from the U.S. office of special counsel.?
‘The government has a disclosure notice that all sources of income, and any position that you hold are recorded. They want to know everything about you through a series of background checks. This information is updated every February. That’s why Pam Mazich received a phone call just after I did on Aug. 6.’the feds wanted to know if I had run for office.?
‘My office knew I was going to be running for a position,? said Ax. Their comment was local offices are OK, but not national or ‘big ones,? as they put it. I did not take the time to look at the Hatch Act, it was just not a priority for them or me.?
‘I never told DePalma it was an illegal campaign; rather, I did not know what the Hatch Act requirements were,? said Ax.
‘I’m going to pursue this. It has not caused me to give up. This hurts, but I will continue to serve the community as I have for the past 16 years.?