By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Current St. John Director of Emergency Preparedness Mike Tregre, who has expressed his intentions to run for Sheriff in the fall, may soon have to decide whether a run for the office is worth losing his job over.

According to an opinion secured from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Tregre is not eligible to be an active candidate for any political office while he is director of emergency preparedness. Any such activity would be in violation of the Hatch Act, a law that involves prohibiting individuals employed by state, county or municipal agencies that manage federal funds from campaigning for public office.

St. John District Attorney Tom Daley, who had requested the opinion last month, said OSC Hatch Act Unit attorneys in Washington D.C. got back with him Monday afternoon.

The legality issue concerns Tregre’s public assertion to parish leaders that he plans to run for sheriff as well as a campaign website — miketregre.com — that was live for at least one day expressing Tregre’s intent to run this fall. The website has since been taken down.

As director of emergency preparedness, a job Tregre has held for just over a month, Tregre manages federal funds awarded to the parish. Parish President Natalie Robottom also said that about one-third of Tregre’s $70,000 annual salary comes from federal funding.

Robottom, who supported Daley in asking for the Hatch Act opinion, has said her main concern is making sure the parish does not lose any federal funding from a possible Hatch Act violation. Robottom would not comment further for this story.

Tregre took the job in Robottom’s administration after a two-year stint as investigator and spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office. Prior to that position, Tregre spent nearly 25 years working in several positions within the St. John Sheriff’s Office. Tregre has remained at his position while the matter was being resolved, but in a limited capacity. Some functions of the department are now being handled by Assistant Director Kathy Gilmore.

The OSC opinion indicates that although Tregre has done nothing to formally violate the Hatch Act, any further activity by him as a potential candidate for Sheriff could be construed as a violation.

Tregre said in a statement that he believes he is not the first person to be employed by St. John Parish and run for political office at the same time, but said the Hatch Act Unit advised him that they do not “police” the country for violators.

“They simply investigate complaints filed,” Tregre said. “I am just the lucky recipient of the first ever complaint filed from St. John.”

Tregre said he would not do anything to jeopardize federal funding to St. John Parish and said he could not comment further.

“I have to be careful,” Tregre said. “The opinion is very thorough.”