Republicans challenge Holmes’ eligbility for office

The Mercer County Republicans are requesting the U.S. Attorney’s Office Attorney’s Office to investigate the Housing Authority of East Orange and its executive director, Lawrence Township Councilman Mark Holmes,a Democrat, to determine whether Mr. Holmes and the housing agency have violated federal law.

By:Lea Kahn
   The Mercer County Republican Committee has asked the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate the Housing Authority of East Orange and its executive director, Lawrence Township Councilman Mark Holmes, to determine whether Mr. Holmes and the housing agency have violated federal law.
   Mr. Holmes is a Democrat seeking re-election to his Township Council seat in today’s election. He denied violating the Hatch Act, a federal law designed to restrict the political activity of public employees who work with federally funded programs, and decried the county Republican Committee’s tactics.
   "It’s a last-minute thing," Mr. Holmes said Tuesday. "They can do what they want to do. They know it’s going nowhere. It’s just words in the paper. It’s totally ridiculous."
   Mr. Holmes said it’s a shame the Mercer GOP is attacking him and his family with the complaint about his federal job.
   Mercer County Republican Committee Chairman John Hansbury said Monday that he also filed a complaint — alleging a violation of federal law — with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The OSC investigates possible violations of the federal Hatch Act and, where warranted, prosecutes cases before the Merit Systems Protection Board, according to a documents on the OSC’s Web site.
   The Hatch Act prohibits employees of agencies that receive federal funds from seeking public office in elections where candidates run as Democrats or Republicans. If an elected official takes a job in an agency that receives federal funds, the law allows the elected official to complete his or her term of office — but that person may not seek re-election in a partisan election.
   Mr. Holmes started his job with the East Orange housing authority in 2003. He was re-elected to the Township Council in 2001 as a Republican. He switched to the Democratic party in 2002.
   Calls to the OSC’s Hatch Act Unit seeking comment on Mr. Holmes’ case were not returned Friday and Monday.
   Mr. Holmes is seeking his third term on Township Council on the Democratic ticket. Mr. Holmes and his running mate, Michael Horan, are squaring off against Republican Township Councilman Rick Miller and his running mate, Robert Brackett, in today’s election.
   Mr. Holmes denied that he had violated the Hatch Act and also vowed to continue his re-election bid. He said he would not withdraw from the race and he would not quit his job.
   In a Nov. 6 letter to U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, Mr. Hansbury wrote that Mr. Holmes is "directly responsible" for disbursing funds for 910 Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers and 244 senior citizen public housing units and for the general administration of the Housing Authority of East Orange. The housing vouchers and the public housing units fall under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
   Mr. Hansbury wrote that it is his understanding that the Hatch Act allows for sanctions to be imposed against the employer. One possible sanction is to require the employer to forfeit a portion of the federal assistance equal to two years’ salary of the employee, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel’s Web site.
   Mr. Holmes is "on record" as refusing to withdraw from the election or to quit his job and that is the reason for asking the U.S. Attorney’s Office to launch an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, Mr. Hansbury wrote.
   In a Monday afternoon interview, Mr. Hansbury said Mr. Holmes’ actions are "really irresponsible." It could cost Lawrence Township taxpayers money to hold a special election if Mr. Holmes is re-elected and then forced to resign, he said. A special election would need to be held because Mr. Holmes was not supposed to be on the ballot, he added.
   Mercer County and Lawrence Township Republican officials said it occurred to them to look into whether Mr. Holmes had violated the Hatch Act last week after reading newspaper articles about two Burlington County candidates who withdrew because of Hatch Act violations.
   "I had no idea where Mr. Holmes worked until it was brought to my attention," Mr. Hansbury said. "It is the responsibility of the (candidate) to disclose (possible Hatch Act violations). There could have been disclosure five or six months ago, and it could have saved all of this aggravation."
   Mr. Holmes said he never felt the need to ask for legal advice on whether his position as executive director of the housing authority — which falls under HUD — would be in conflict with his political activities.
   Mr. Holmes also said he had never received anything in writing from HUD that called for him to choose between work and politics. HUD officials knew he was serving on Township Council when he was hired for the East Orange job in 2003, he said.
   Most people who run into a conflict-of-interest situation are those who hold public office in the same town in which they work, he said. He noted that he works in East Orange, which is located in Essex County, and holds political office in Lawrence Township, which is in Mercer County.
   Pete Waldron, who is the campaign chairman for the Republican candidates, said he does not know whether the Hatch Act applies to Mr. Holmes’ situation. He said he expects it to be a moot point because he believes Mr. Miller and Mr. Brackett will be swept into office by a wide margin.