Published: March 01, 2008 06:54 pm            

TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORAL: Hamilton Center quickly halts political activities

Policy changes will prevent a ‘next time’

TERRE HAUTE — It was a tough way to get educated about the federal Hatch Act and U.S. tax code, but Hamilton Center’s directors now know enough about those subjects, they could conduct seminars to help other non-profits avoid making some of the mistakes they did.

The board’s unanimous approval last week of a strict, unambiguous policy regarding employee and institutional political activism demonstrates that the mental health center has a clear picture of its responsibilities. As Hamilton CEO Galen Goode had signaled in January, running for office and working for the center no longer will be compatible. In addition, the center promises to follow the letter of the tax law for 501(c)(3) non-profit and charitable institutions.

As Hamilton and most of the Wabash Valley discovered over the last few months, non-profit entities that accept substantial amounts of federal funding are prohibited by the Hatch Act from employing people who run for elected office. That prohibition, meant to prevent potential conflicts of interest, was not clear to the center or to its former operations director, Duke Bennett.

After a narrow, upset victory in the Terre Haute mayor’s race, the validity of Bennett’s candidacy was challenged under state and federal laws by former mayor Kevin Burke. In the legal wrangle, Hamilton Center’s collective participation in Bennett’s, Burke’s and other candidates’ campaigns surfaced as a related issue.

What the center viewed as “marketing,” the Internal Revenue Service sees as political intervention and participation. Such activity, which in Hamilton’s case included monetary donations, fund-raisers and use of facilities, is prohibited for non-profits.

Now, everybody knows the rules, and Hamilton’s board wants to make them as simple as possible. Except for employees appointed to such partisan positions as school board member, precinct committee member or party delegate, no one who works at Hamilton Center can enter a race for elected office and keep his or her job.

If a person is compelled to seek office, she or he must resign within 30 days of announcing or filing. Any questions about either policy are to be taken to the center’s compliance officer — before a decision or donation could jeopardize the organization’s non-profit status.

The board’s action, like Superior Court Judge David Bolk’s ruling on the case, reinforces Burke’s contention that Bennett was in violation of the Hatch Act when he tossed his hat into the mayoral ring. But Bolk also concluded that the violation was unintentional and therefore not grounds to overturn the election. An Indiana appellate court will take that part of the matter from here.

Hamilton Center deserves credit for being a quick study, for taking care of its own end of business and for ensuring that there will never be a “next time” in the organization for candidate confusion, courts or conflict.

        

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