U.S. Office of Special Counsel  1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218  Washington, D.C. 20036-4505

OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL SEEKS DISCIPLINARY ACTION IN HATCH ACT CASE AGAINST NEW YORK STATE EMPLOYEE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 7/22/04
CONTACT: CATHY DEEDS
(202) 254-3600                 

     WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has filed a complaint for disciplinary action against Bonnie Cannan, a state employee with the Finger Lakes Developmental Disabilities Service Office (FLDDSO) in Rochester, New York. The OSC’s complaint, filed July 13, 2004 with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), charges Ms. Cannan with violating the Hatch Act’s prohibition against being a candidate for elective office in a partisan election.

     Ms. Cannan is covered by the Hatch Act because her primary job duties at FLDDSO, which is part of the New York Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, are in connection with programs that are financed, in whole or in part, by loans or grants issued by the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services under the Medicaid program.

     The OSC’s petition alleges that in 2001, Ms. Cannan ran as the Green party candidate for Rochester City Council in a partisan election. According to OSC’s complaint, officials at FLDDSO notified Ms. Cannan that she was covered by the Hatch Act and warned her that her candidacy in a partisan election may be a violation of the Act prior to the 2001 election. Despite this warning, Ms. Cannan continued her candidacy in the 2001 election and then ran again as the Green party candidate in the partisan election for the New York State Senate, 56th District in 2002.

     The Hatch Act strictly prohibits state and local employees who have duties in connection with federally-funded programs from being candidates in partisan elections. The penalty for a proven violation of the Act by a state or local employee is removal of the employee from his/her position by the state/local agency and debarment from state/local employment for the following 18 months, or forfeiture of federal grant funds by the state/local agency in an amount equal to two years of the salary of the employee.