John Greiner - Officially Back in the Senate 18 Hunt

The Standard-Examiner reports that Republican candidate Jon Greiner has now formally re-entered the Senate 18 race, as we've been predicting here for almost a week.

OGDEN — Police Chief Jon Greiner resumed his state Senate campaign Tuesday following a formal request from his attorneys that asks the U.S. Office of Special Counsel to reconsider

its decision to force him out of the race for a purported Hatch Act violation.

"After consulting my attorneys, family and Ogden City, it is my decision to remain in the race for Senate District 18," Greiner said in a written statement. "The voters of my district should not be denied the opportunity to choose the candidate whom they feel will best represent their views.

“After a thorough legal analysis, my attorneys concluded that the Hatch Act does not apply to my situation. Today they requested that the Office of Special Counsel reconsider their actions. They brought forward additional facts that should clarify the lack of my involvement with federal grants that are used by my department. I will continue my campaign while the Office of Special Counsel is reviewing the request. I started this race and because I am not a quitter, I choose to fight on for this seat.”

Jim Bradshaw, a Salt Lake City attorney representing Greiner, stated in a five-page letter e-mailed to the Office of Special Counsel that the Hatch Act doesn’t apply to Greiner because he has no involvement in four federal grants at the root of the purported violation.

“The Hatch Act was created to protect the integrity of the political process,” Bradshaw wrote in the letter. “The unmistakable and powerful irony presented by this situation is that the law that was created to protect the political process is now being used as a sword to improperly influence an election. The obviously choreographed timing in regards to the Hatch Act being identified for the first time in two weeks prior to the election raises serious questions about the motive of those raising the issue.”

The Std-Ex has also uploaded Jon's above-referenced "letter-brief," which we make available for viewing here.

The "usual suspects" (the ones who tossed the last-minute Hatch Act stink-bomb) are absolutely apoplectic about this latest development, and lash out with the predictable anger and angst:

Utah Democratic Party Executive Director Todd Taylor, who initiated the Hatch Act investigation involving Greiner, said the chief’s decision to remain in the Senate race demonstrates a “lack of respect for the law.”

"For a police officer to show callous disregard for his employer and the citizens of Ogden and hide behind some legalism is surprising," he said. "It shows how he handles the current public office he holds."

Mr. Taylor obviously hasn't studied Mr. Bradshaw's well-researched and legally-accurate letter brief.

Stuart Reid, Jon's Big-Government DemoCRAT opponent, who's been silent as a church-mouse throughout this whole affair, reportedly "could not be reached for comment," of course. Mr. Reid hasn't really said anything important at all that we can recall during this campaign; so it come as no surpise at all that he's stealthy on this issue too.

Jon suffered considerable political damage during the last week, as the Std-Ex essentially wrote his campaign off as DOA. Jon's a fighter, though, and we expect him to emerge during the next week with a fighter's resolve.

We urge all good Republicans with a little spare time on their hands to contact Jon through his campaign contact link, and offer any special help that they may be willing to provide.

If we play this right, Mr. Reid's desparate last minute "dirty trick" could easliy come back to bite him.