A June 28 letter from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Hatch Act Unit, clears Councilman Dennis Power of any violation of the Hatch Act when he ran on the Democratic Party ticket for White Plains Common Council during the November 2006 partisan election.

The letter, signed by Hatch Act Unit Attorney, Erica Stern Hamrick, acknowledges that Councilman Power was employed by Westchester County as the Assistant to the county executive for the Office of Economic Development (OED) when he ran for office in 2006.

The letter further states that in that position, Power was responsible for retaining businesses and attracting new business to Westchester County by marketing and promoting the benefits of doing business in the county and that the grant revenues funding OED came from a combination of private, state, and county grants and not from any federal funding source.

The letter also negates allegations made by Chairman of the White Plains Republican Committee, Brian Maloney—who initiated the Hatch Act investigation against Power—that Power’s salary, while it may be funded in whole or part with fees generated by the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency (IDA), is therefore financed through direct federal subsidies. “We understand that the IDA was created for economic development purposes … The IDA generates its funding through fees it earns on bonds issued and tax exemptions granted. We have confirmed that the IDA does not receive any federal funding,” the letter concludes.

In a similar decision on April 9, the city of White Plains Board of Ethics dismissed the Oct. 17, 2006 complaint brought against Councilman Power by Eleanor McDonald, chair of the White Plains Conservative Party, when it determined after a thorough inquiry that Councilman Power’s then-employment with the Westchester County Office of Economic Development “did not, as a general matter, present a conflict under Section 2-5-109(g) of the White Plains Code,” which bars conflict in private employment. That decision determined there was no inherent inconsistency in Councilman Power’s employment with the county and his ability to serve effectively and without conflict on the White Plains Common Council.