Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner is looking to appeal a decision from federal investigators that he is not eligible to run for a state Senate seat.

On Friday, Greiner received a letter from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which said that under the Hatch Act, he must either stop campaigning for the Senate District 18 seat or resign his job as police chief, Jeff Hartley, executive director of the Utah Republican Party, said Monday.

The Hatch Act is a federal law that forbids state or local government employees from running for elected office if they "work in connection with programs financed in whole or in part by federal loans or grants," according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The state Democratic Party requested the investigation into Greiner's candidacy. As police chief, he administers some federal grants.

Hartley said the Democrats were resorting to "guerrilla tactics" to push Greiner out of a race against Democrat Stuart Reid and that the decision by the office of special counsel was a "knee-jerk" reaction. As of Monday, the state Republican Party was unsure whether Greiner could continue running if he filed an appeal.

Greiner did not return a call for comment Monday. In an e-mail to the media on Friday, he said he would not comment until he had consulted with an attorney.

"This is nasty political maneuvering, " Hartley said. "But desperate times call for desperate measures. I guess if they had a stronger candidate, they wouldn't have resorted to guerrilla tactics to stop a good law enforcement officer from seeking public office."

Hartley said that attorneys for the Republican Party were researching whether Greiner could be replaced on the ballot if he had to drop out of the race. The law generally allows candidates to be replaced only if they die or have an illness that makes them unable to run.

Todd Taylor, executive director of the state Democratic Party, said Monday he was disappointed in the Republican Party's response to Greiner's letter. "It is reprehensible of Hartley to not be concerned about upholding the law," he said. "After all the rhetoric during the Clinton impeachment scandal, I think the Republican Party ought to stand for law and order a little better."

Hartley said that the Republican Party will now be looking into whether all Democrats running for office are qualified under the Hatch Act. "Because the Democrats opened the door, we're now reviewing all the Democratic candidates to see who else qualifies under this archaic law. If it applies to some sitting members, we'll make sure everyone knows about it."

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