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Bean, who was going into his sixteenth year as undersheriff notified Johnson that he intended to run for sheriff on Feb. 1, but said he was not planning on resigning from his position as undersheriff.

When Bean didn't resign, Johnson sought legal counsel from county attorney John Racine in Traverse City and together they made the decision to terminate Bean's employment with the county.

The Hatch Act, enacted in 1939, disallows any employee of an agency receiving federal funding to run in a political election in which candidates represent a political party. The Act seeks to prevent federal employees from engaging in partisan political practices.

"You can't run for a partisan office while you're employed with a department that receives federal funding,"Johnson said.

Bean said he was not aware of the Hatch Act until Johnson gave him some information about it and still is seeking clarification.

"I'm going forward to see if I can find some kind of clarity and whether he (Johnson) was justified in firing me or not,"Bean said.

Johnson said keeping Bean on staff would put the Sheriff's Office at risk for losing funding in the future and possibly paying an additional fee. "He wasn't going to resign and I wasn't going to put the county in that position,"Johnson added.

The Hatch Act would have affected any employee of the Sheriff's department, according to Johnson. But he as the sheriff is exempt from the Hatch Act, because he is an elected official.

"I'm looking at getting some clarification on the decision,"Bean said. "If this has happened now what has happened in the past? Why hasn't it happened in the past when different people have run?

The Hatch Act has faced some appeals over the years, but its constitutionality was upheld twice in the Supreme Court.

Bean said he never considered resigning and still doesn't believe he has done anything wrong. He stills plan to run for Sheriff and is currently circulating petitions.

This year's Michigan primaries are Aug. 5 and the general election is Nov. 4.

Hadley Robinson can be reached at hrobinson@michigannewspapers.com or by calling 231-533-8523.