According to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, there is a good chance Interim Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen would have been in violation of the Hatch Act had he stayed in the Lowndes County sheriff’s race.
The counsel stated in a letter to The Dispatch, because McQueen withdrew from the race and is no longer a candidate in the partisan election, the investigation ended without official determination.
However, the office stated, “It appears that Mr. McQueen may be covered by the Hatch Act in light of the Justice Assistance Grant the (Columbus) Police Department received in September 2011 and Mr. McQueen’s position as the interim chief.”
The Hatch Act is a federal law that prohibits a person from running for a partisan office if he or she is a local government employee and works in connection with programs or activities funded by federal loans or grants. If a person is in violation of the Hatch Act, the employing agency must remove the person from employment or forfeit federal assistance equal to two years of that person’s salary. If the person is hired by a state or local agency within 18 months, then that agency or the previous employing agency may lose some federal funding.
McQueen withdrew the Lowndes County sheriff’s race Sept. 8 due to the potential Hatch Act violation. He submitted a signed affidavit to the Mississippi secretary of state’s office, stating he was withdrawing for the “best interest of the city.”
“I am very pleased to be serving as interim chief of police, but the reality is that the interim appointment is a full-time job and the race for sheriff was difficult enough without the allegations for impropriety against me, the mayor and the city, arising from the alleged violations,” McQueen wrote in his affidavit.
McQueen, former head of the Criminal Investigations Division, became Columbus’ interim police chief after the city council fired former-chief Joseph St. John in July.
The Office of Special Counsel also stated, “We make no determination as to whether Mr. McQueen was covered by the Hatch Act in his previous position with the Police Department as the commander of the criminal investigations division.”
McQueen defeated three other candidates with 54.8-percent of the vote to secure the Democratic nomination in the August primaries. He was set to face Republican Mike Arledge in the general election, Nov. 8. Arledge stepped down from his post as justice court judge to run for sheriff and defeated Bo Harris during the Aug. 23 primary runoff.
The Lowndes County Democratic Executive Committee tapped Anthony Nelson, Lowndes County Juvenile Detention Center administrator, as the replacement Democratic nominee on Sept. 12. Nelson’s employment has been called into question regarding whether he too is in violation of the Hatch Act. The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors voted last week to request an opinion from the Office of Special Counsel regarding Nelson’s participation in the election.
Similar accusations of a Hatch-Act violation were fielded against Rudy Johnson, who is running as the Republican candidate for Oktibbeha County sheriff. He also is director of the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District. The Hatch Act Unit of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel ruled that Johnson was not in violation of the Hatch Act since the GTPDD is “a private, nonprofit, non-share, civic-improvement corporation.”
Johnson faces Democratic candidate Steve Gladney, a retired state trooper who ousted 35-year incumbent Dolph Bryan in the Democratic primary runoff.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
