PUBLIC EMPLOYEES AND POLITICAL OFFICE - A Tennessee Primer

For whatever reason, an extraordinary number of city and county employees want to run for elected office. Other than the pain and agony of attending endless meetings and the joy of listening to neighbors complaining about high taxes and no services, elective office generally provides little reward. In Tennessee, the law prohibits some local employees from running for elective office – they may be the lucky ones!

Here is a primer on some of the hurdles public employees face when running for political office:

· The federal Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. § 1501) prohibits an employee whose position or duties are financed by federal funds from running for office unless the election is “nonpartisan.”

· The “Little Hatch” Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-201) limits the political activities of state employees – it does not apply to local government employees.

· Article II, Section 26 of the Tennessee Constitution prohibits a person from "holding more than one lucrative office at the same time." But, the term "office" is limited to "state office." Local offices (e.g., county school board member, city council member, and city school board member) are not state offices so a county commissioner may also be a city council member or a state representative.

· Tennessee Code Annotated section 7-51-1501 overrules any city ordinance or county resolution that prohibits or limits employees from running for state or local office.

· City or metropolitan government employees cannot run for election to the local governing body.

· School board members cannot be employed by the same school system (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-203).

· County commissioners cannot also serve on the county school board (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-202(a)).

· A public officer cannot hold two “incompatible offices” at the same time. (Tenn. Op. Atty. Gen. No. 08-107). A city manager cannot also be a city commissioner.

· A public officer cannot be directly interested in a contract he or she has the duty to vote for, let out, or supervise. This prohibition includes any contract with the official personally or with any business in which the official is the sole proprietor, a partner, or the person having the controlling interest. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-101(a)(1)).

There are other prohibitions under the law, however, these are the highlights.