Jim Fulton, the executive assistant to Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle, has worked for his boss since Carlisle was city prosecutor.

Fulton has also helped Carlisle with his successful campaigns for office.

Sometimes, keeping the two duties separate can be tricky.

“Let me give you an example,” he told Civil Beat. “Let’s say I get a call from a media person on my office phone, and it’s not clear whether they have a mayor question versus a campaign question. If they are calling about the candidate, I tell them they need to call me on my personal phone — which is the one we are talking on right now. And, if I take that call at Honolulu Hale, the rules are that you need to physically get outside the office.”

This election season, a number of public employees are also working to help their boss get re-elected, raising the question of whether it’s fair for people who are collecting a public paycheck to also work for a political candidate who has opponents.

Fulton may sign-wave for Carlisle, but you won’t catch him wearing a “Carlisle for Mayor” T-shirt to the office.

Fulton is a volunteer for Carlisle’s re-election this year, and he made clear that the campaign has its own paid staff to handle media inquiries.

But Richard Rapoza handles both office and campaign duties for U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa. He is director of communications for the campaign and communications director for Hanabusa’s office.

“I really try to keep it separate, but of course the same issues come up on both sides,” he said. “But I don’t talk to the same reporter about congressional stuff and campaign stuff in the same conversation.”

Like Fulton, Rapoza will physically leave the office — or use different emails — to talk about campaign matters. He also uses just one cell phone for both jobs — his own, rather than the one issued by Hanabusa’s office.

“It works out, and reporters respect that distinction,” he said. “We are careful about this stuff.”

One other example to underscore the division of government and politics: In 2010, when Hanabusa was state Senate president and running for Congress and Rapoza ran Senate Communications, he took a leave of absence and went off the public payroll to focus on the campaign full time in the weeks leading up to election.

Fulton and Rapoza are not unique; staff for other members of Hawaii’s congressional delegation, state and county and offices also help out during campaign season.

There is also a small pool of people like Fulton and Rapoza who are deemed qualified for their jobs and trusted by their boss.

It’s a sometimes fine line working and campaigning for the same official, but there are rules and guidelines that apply.

At the federal level, they’re pretty detailed, less so in the state of Hawaii. The City and County of Honolulu rules are more detailed, however.

Civil Beat walks you through the rules.

At the Federal Level

The dos and dont’s for political activity for congressional staff are carefully spelled out.

The Senate Ethics Manual, for example, states that campaign or other non-official activities “should not take place on Senate time, using Senate equipment or facilities.”

But the Senate Ethics Committee has ruled that it is not improper for a Senate employee “to engage in campaign activity on his or her own time” so long as the activity complies with Senate rules prohibiting fundraising by Senate employees.

That work can be volunteer or paid on their own time, which includes time beyond regular working hours, accrued annual leave or non-government hours of a part-time employee. Senate employees can also take a cut in pay or be temporarily taken off payroll to work on a campaign.

The courts have recognized that some legitimate representative duties, like services and communications to constituents, “might yield some political benefits.” But these duties are generally recognized as “distinguishable” political activities like canvassing and fundraising.

It’s sometimes a gray area. Senate Ethics quotes one court opinion: “To state the obvious, it is simply impossible to draw and enforce a perfect line between the official and political business of Members of Congress.”

The Senate allows for possible exceptions, however — for example, when congressional staffers may need to address questions that relate to a member’s political campaign. Staff spokesperson and schedulers are allowed a little leeway.

Here are two hypotheticals:

Example 1. A reporter calls Senator A’s congressional press secretary to obtain information on some legislation A is sponsoring. In the course of the interview on the legislation, the reporter asks how A perceives the bill will affect his upcoming reelection campaign. The press secretary may answer the question.

Example 5. Various employees on Senator E’s official staff have volunteered to help E’s campaign run a telephone fund drive. The employees may not stay late at the Senate office and make the calls from there.

Rules for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ethics are very similar to Senate Ethics rules.

“With the approval of their employing Member, House employees generally may engage in campaign activity outside congressional offices or facilities, on personal time, and not using House resources,” according to House Ethics. “Campaign activity by House staff is, however, subject to a number of restrictions which should be carefully reviewed by any House employee wishing to engage in campaign activity.”

Those restrictions are spelled out in the House Ethics Manual.

As with the Senate, some House rules are very specific:

Example 6. A Member’s campaign wishes to purchase some souvenirs from the House gift store to give as gifts to the Member’s supporters. An employee of the Member’s congressional office may not purchase the items with her own money or a personal credit card, even if the campaign makes arrangements to reimburse her promptly. However, the Member may purchase the souvenirs with his personal funds and receive reimbursement from the campaign.

Like Senate staff, House staff are not allowed to contribute to their employer.

State, City and County Rules

The Hawaii State Ethics Code is vague on campaign activities of elected officials and their employees.

The code makes clear that members of the Ethics Commission and its staff are prohibited from taking an “active part in political management or in political campaigns during the term of office or employment.”

It also states that legislators and their employees may not use state time, equipment or other facilities “for private business purposes.”

But the State Ethics Code does not detail the kinds of restrictions that are found in the U.S. House and Senate rules noted above.

In the Hawaii Legislature, both chambers have their own governing rules — the Rules of the Senate and the Rules of the House of Representatives.

While there are some rules that pertain to political activity — for example, the House does not allow members to solicit campaign contributions from staff — neither chamber has rules governing staff that are comparable to congressional rules that cover when or how to separate campaign activity from taxpayer business?

By contrast, the Honolulu Ethics Commission has a number of guidelines.

The charter for the City and County of Honolulu states the following: “Elected or appointed officers or employees shall not use their official positions to secure or grant special consideration, treatment, advantage, privilege or exemption to themselves or any person beyond that which is available to every other person.”

Regarding political activities, the charter says this:

(a) No person in the civil service shall (1) use official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the result thereof; (2) use official authority or influence to coerce the political action of any person or party; (3) be obliged to contribute to any political fund or to render any political service, nor shall such person be removed or otherwise prejudiced for refusing to do so; (4) solicit or receive any political contribution from any officer or employee or from any person in any city building or from any person receiving any benefit under any law of the State appropriating funds for relief or public assistance; or (5) discriminate in favor of or against any officer or employee on account of any political contribution.

(b) The foregoing prohibited activities shall not be deemed to preclude the right of any person in the civil service to vote and to express opinions as such person chooses on all political subjects and candidates or to be a member of any political party, organization or club. Any person in the civil service may make voluntary contributions to a political organization for its general expenditures. “Contribution” includes a gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of money or anything of value and includes a contract, promise or agreement, whether or not legally enforceable, to make a contribution.

The charter outlines other prohibited activities such as soliciting money using offices and office equipment.

City employees like Jim Fulton, who is not civil service, are covered under this section city ethics. Among the provisions are prohibitions against the firing of employees who refuse to make campaign contributions or who volunteer services as a member of a political party, campaign committee or other political organization.

Guidelines on campaign activities are covered in this section of the Honolulu Ethics Commission website. Among the no-nos for city employees:

• Using the city seal on campaign stationery or on campaign literature, materials, or advertisements.
• Using an official title or position to give a special advantage to a political candidate or campaign.
• Using city time, equipment, material, or premises for campaign activities or purposes.

“City time” means “the actual time during which a City officer or employee is supposed to be performing City duties,” excluding lunch or vacation.

Fulton, for instance, has been responsible for purchasing TV spots for Carlisle’s campaign, according to TV station records.

When asked about how he fits in campaign duties during work hours, Fulton said he fills out leave forms.

National Trends

Other states, chambers and legislative offices have taken different approaches as they set provisions to govern staff political activity. Most states have a relevant statute, according to Natalie O’Donnell Wood, who works in the ethics center of the National Conference of State Legislators.

In answer to Civil Beat’s inquiry, Wood sent us a 2012 briefing paper on guidelines for staff political activity.

Wood offers several arguments for enacting comprehensive guidelines, including this one:

“For elected officials, campaign work is an essential part of the journey into public service. For staff, it can be a potential road block that requires careful navigation,” she writes. “Although one’s internal moral compass often provides good guidance, states have sought to more formally address staff and political activity to offer direction amid sometimes confusing territory.”

Wood also quotes from Alaska’s preface to statutory prohibitions on political activity for legislators and legislative employees:

“High moral and ethical standards among public servants in the legislative branch of government are essential to assure the trust, respect, and confidence of the people of this state; legislators and legislative employees [must] conduct the public’s business in a manner that preserves the integrity of the legislative process and avoids conflicts of interest … thus all who serve the legislature have a solemn responsibility to avoid improper conduct and prevent improper behavior.”

In all, statutes in 42 states address public employees and political activity, according to Wood, with most of them prohibiting political work on state time or with state resources. “Restricting solicitation of campaign contributions on state property also is common,” Wood explains.

According to the NCSL’s guidelines, Hawaii is not one of the 42 states.

But the NCSL does recognize that Hawaii’s Senate has a single rule regarding solicitation and contributions.

That puts Hawaii in the company of 24 other states whose chambers provide some political activity guidelines.