Rockford: Incumbent Mayor Tom McNamara and his campaign have advertised endorsements from Rockford’s Fire Chief and Police Chief. Since both departments receive Federal tax dollars the leadership at those departments are prohibited under the Hatch Act from getting involved in “partisan” elections. Since Rockford’s elections are partisan, a violation has occurred.

The Hatch Act was enacted in 1939 and whose purpose was to “Prevent Pernicious Political Activities”. The law reaches beyond Federal employees and includes leadership within entities that receive Federal funding, like the police and fire departments in Rockford.

“I talked to a number of elected officials and people who would know some history here in the city and none of them could recall when a police or fire chief has endorsed a Mayor in Rockford. That is likely because it is a prohibited activity for those respective leaders and Tom should have known that and he should never have put them in that position,” said Independent Candidate for Mayor Derrick Kunz.

“The endorsements of Tom included pictures of both chiefs in uniform. It could be interpreted as a departmental endorsement from the leaders of those departments. Tom seems to make it a habit of using city employees for his campaigns, said Kunz.

“Former Rockford City legal director, and now Judge, Nicholas Meyer served as Chairman of Tom McNamara’s political campaign from July of 2016 through just recently when he resigned March 20th according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. Meyer was sworn in as a judge in December and was prohibited at that moment he was sworn in from serving on a political committee, but the McNamara campaign did nothing about it for over three months. The issue is a subject for the Judicial Inquiry Board who oversee the activities of judges in the political arena,” said Kunz.

“By using the endorsements of the police and fire chief in uniform and title Tom McNamara is giving the impression that the police and fire departments are supporting him. Tom needs to take down these endorsements, apologize to the two chiefs for putting them in a bad position, and apologize to voters for misleading them by suggesting that such endorsements are possible and legal,” said Kunz.

Attachments:
1) Screenshot of Illinois State Board of Elections website regarding the McNamara Campaign.
2) Facebook posts of Police Chief Carla Redd and Fire Chief Michele Pankow.

Derrick Kunz is a lifelong resident of Rockford and a Real Estate professional. He is married with two young children. Learn more about Derrick Kunz.

1) Screenshot of Illinois State Board of Elections website regarding the McNamara Campaign.