IS GISH IN VIOLATION OF THE HATCH ACT:YOU READ: YOU DECIDE

At the Oldham County Fiscal Court meeting conducted on March 2nd, 2010 I brought up the issue of the Hatch Act. The reason for doing so is that there are two Oldham County employees who are running for partisan office. Oldham County Deputy Judge/Executive Paula Gish is seeking the Republican nomination for Oldham County judge . Meanwhile, Stuart Ulferts is seeking the Democratic nomination for County Attorney.

The report that I furnished to the Oldham County Fiscal Court was prepared by the personnel department of Delaware County NY. To view that report click here. I have obtained the position description pertaining to Gish. You may view that description by clicking here. You can view the alleged position description of Stewart Ulferts by clicking here. I use the term “alleged” because what I received is the poorest excuse for a position description that I have ever seen. I believe that any reader looking at that description will agree if he/she has any experience with position descriptions. I have made this material available for my readers in order that each individual can reach an independent conclusin regarding this matter.

Without going into detail I will simply state that Oldham County has received many federal grants and a lot of federal funds. A review of Gish's position description reflects that she supervises 10 other supervisors in the County. I am only aware of 10 supervisors in the County; therefore, it follows that Gish has supervisory authority for everything that goes on in the County. Further, Gish acts in behalf of Judge/Executive Murner in his absence. Obviously I am not the final authority on this issue. However, it appears to me that Gish is in violation of the Hatch Act.

At yesterday's court meeting Judge Murner indicated that he had asked the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) for an opinion on the matter. Statements that he made during the meeting left me with the impression that if he is not happy with the decision of the OSC, he intends to litigate the issue. As has been indicated in the past by Murner's actions if he is not happy with the opinion of a non-judicial entity, he will not abide by the decision. Therefore, it is very likely that a final decision on this issue will not be forthcoming immediately. For the record, let me state that I have also asked the OSC for an opinion on the issue.

If the OSC finds that Gish is in violation of the Hatch Act, Gish should either resign from her position as Deputy County Judge/Executive or she should withdraw from the race for the Republican nomination for County Judge/Executive.