Seaway Hires DeLosh Again; Now Ineligible
MASSENA - Mayor Randy G. DeLosh has been rehired as a permanent employee with the St. Lawrence Seaway and will not be eligible to run for reelection when his term expires in November.
Both Mr. DeLosh and Seaway officials confirmed that, effective Tuesday, the mayor has been hired as a permanent relief pool linehandler with the Seaway.
According to Seaway spokeswoman Nancy Alcalde, Mr. DeLosh will serve as a linehandler at various locations throughout the Massena lock systems.
But because he is now a federal employee, provisions in the federal Hatch Act of 1939 prevent him from running for public office when his term as mayor expires in November.
Seaway workers are employees of the United States Department of Transportation and are subject to restrictions laid out in the Hatch Act, which puts limits on a federal employee's involvement in partisan politics and campaigning.
The act was designed to prevent federal employees from exercising undue influence over elections or political activities and prohibits workers like those at the Seaway from promoting a particular party or political candidate in the workplace, soliciting or receiving political contributions or running for office in a partisan election.
"Under the Hatch Act, I am not eligible to run for the village of Massena as mayor," Mr. DeLosh said Tuesday, in response to a question about his employment status from resident Mike Mayette.
"I'm sure there's a lot of people breathing a sigh of relief for that," Mr. Mayette said.
"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Mayette," Mr. DeLosh said.
In addition to his mayoral seat, Mr. DeLosh will also be prohibited from running for any other partisan political office, such as the village or school board, for the duration of his employment at the Seaway.
He was initially hired as a temporary linehandler for the Seaway last spring, but was laid off in late fall at the end of the shipping season along with all other temporary employees. The position offered to him this week is a permanent post, which is not subject to the same seasonal layoffs as temporary positions.
Before moving back to Massena more than a decade ago, Mr. DeLosh served in the Navy.
He served as a village trustee for two consecutive terms before he was elected village mayor in 2006, succeeding Mayor Ken MacDonnell.
Mr. DeLosh worked for the General Motors Powertrain Plant for approximately 10 years before agreeing to take a corporate buyout package and sever all ties with the auto company in the spring of 2009.
