Tulsa mayor says firefighters & other city workers can't campaign in local elections. Read the executive order.
Read the executive order
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Mayor Dewy Bartlett has issued an executive order that apparently prohibits city workers from campaigning in local elections on duty or off. This comes after a 2009 campaign where off-duty firefighters going door to door apparently had a great impact on city council elections. IAFF Local 176 and the police union say they are now researching options. Both unions are holding off on any detailed comments at the moment.
“It states very specifically that city employees are not to be involved with campaigning,” said Mayor Bartlett.
Before the order, city employees could campaign as long as they did not do so on the clock or in city attire. The mayor, along with city councilors, says this was an oversight by a previous city attorney.
“In this case, state law says city charter position is superior to state law, if they were to conflict,” Bartlett said.
“Let me say I don’t have any disrespect for the firefighters who campaigned years ago,” said councilor Rick Westcott. “They were acting in compliance with what then city attorney Deirdre Dexter said. But I think that she was clearly wrong, and therefore their activities were wrong.”
“There are also federal laws that are at issue. The federal Hatch Act comes into play if city employees receive federal grants and federal funding, and ours do,” he said.
The Hatch Act states government employees can campaign on their own time. Councilors say when a union takes a stance, it crosses that line.
“Anytime you receive federal dollars there are strings attached,” said former city councilor Eric Gomez. “It should’ve been the policy of the city of Tulsa all along.”
Some city councilors agree with the executive order, but they believe it goes too far. They fear the order can be easily misconstrued.
