APP:
Puharic said his duties as GOP chairman are being altered due to a career change. Puharic began work this week as a public affairs officer at the Newark office of the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His salary is $91,700.
Because of the federal Hatch Act — which spells out permitted and prohibited political activity of executive branch employees of the federal government — Puharic said he is no longer directly participating in fundraising for the party.
"I'm becoming a delegator and chief. The bureau attorneys and I have created firewalls between me and the fundraising aspect of the party," said Puharic, who left Monmouth Medical Center for his new position. "I was always a hands-on person with the party, the kind who put up signs himself, licked the envelopes and raised the money himself. But it's really the message that raises the money, and this change also allows new people to take on new responsibilities. We have a lot of excellent fund-raisers working for the party."
A loyal reader of this blog pointed out that Puharic has apparently started out at Step 4 of the GS-13 pay scale.
When Puharic was running for chairman, he promised to unite the party and to be a great fundraiser.
When Fred Neimann announced that he wouldn't seek a second term as chairman he said, "If fund raising is going to become all consuming in order to be competitive I chose not to run for re-election.'' Hands On Puharic better become a good delegator very quickly. Does the federal "firewall" permit him to manage those he has delegated fundraising tasks to?
Who is served by this new arrangement? Puharic is now in his third job since becoming chair. Would the screening committee approve a candidate with that kind of instablitity for a job that the candidate must recuse himself from one of the primary responsiblites of the post? Has Puharic united the party?
This is NUTS.
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9 comments:
But it's really the message that raises the money
Does that mean Adam can no longer be the spokesman for the party?
What else can't he do?
He is safe according to this from the OSC web site regarding prohibitted activity:
solicit or receive political contributions (may be done in certain limited situations by federal labor or other employee organizations)
He can not solicit or receive the money, there is no prohibition suoervsing those who do. I would think his name cannot be on any document that seeks to raise funds (like the Lincoln Day Dinner).
So now the county has a chairman who can't perform one of the primary duties of the office. He can't help to raise funds for the party. I would guess that to mean that he also can't have his name attached to any fundraisers, and can't be advertised concerning any fundraisers either. Hence, if people were going to a fundraiser with the intent of reaching out to him because he is slated to attend.
I was once told by a planning board attorney that if there is the appearance of a conflict, then there is a conflict.
And people wonder why the republican party is falling apart here. You have to know that the dems are salivating and can't wait for campaign season to begin.
See this from the FAQs re the Hatch Act
Question: If I'm going to speak at a political fundraiser, what information about me can be printed on the invitations?
Answer: An employee's name can be shown as a guest speaker. However, the reference should not in any way suggest that the employee solicits or encourages contributions. Invitations to the fundraiser may not include the employee's official title; although an employee who is ordinarily addressed with a general term of address such as "The Honorable" may use, or permit the use of, that term of address on the invitation.
I guess this would be the first violation of that law concerning fundraising.
http://www.monmouthrepublican.org/
news/02272007.htm
Anonymous said...
I guess this would be the first violation of that law concerning fundraising.
http://www.monmouthrepublican.org/
news/02272007.htm
Good catch. I would say there is a basis for a complaint. Erica Sterns will be hearing from me on Monday.
Don't you just hate typo's? When Adam wrote that he would unite the party, what he meant was that he would untie the party. Silly us.
If you don't like the job Adam has this week, wait awhile.
William H Seward said...
Anonymous said...
I guess this would be the first violation of that law concerning fundraising.
http://www.monmouthrepublican.org/
news/02272007.htm
Good catch. I would say there is a basis for a complaint. Erica Sterns will be hearing from me on Monday.
Oh my! That link is gone! Why would Adam have that link removed?!
Is this a cover up? Sure doesn't look good.
Not to worry. I saved a copy of the website and I have a copy of the email blast, along with the dhs.gov and treas.gov visits to this blog from PDA's.
Time for you to go Adam, and take your muscle men with you.
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