Government employees allege mayor threatened them after Torres event flopped


Government employees in Rota say Mayor Efraim Atalig is threatening their livelihoods if they do not show their support for Gov. Ralph Torres and republican candidates. Some of the employees reportedly are paid using federal funds. Mr. Atalig has denied the accusations.

A message the mayor allegedly sent to government employees via WhatsApp appears to substantiate the claims.

“Just for information. All RDs. You are to report to my office at 8a tomorrow morning at 8am also you Sandy masga,” the message Mr. Atalig purportedly sent Sunday night reads. The message was sent after a campaign event for Mr. Torres in Rota flopped with dismal attendance. The message continues: “There should be no excuse. You all have been benefitting in this Administration, and now that l am asking for help you chose to ignore me. Read between the lines. Tomorrow is a defining day. See you tomorrow morning. I expect you all tomorrow morning. You all can inform OPA about this. This is a political office.”

Although Mr. Atalig runs a “political office,” he is bound by the laws of the Commonwealth. Division 8 of Title 1 of the Commonwealth Code, at §8534(b) states: “A public official or public employee shall not use public funds, time, personnel, or equipment for political or campaign activity unless the use is: (1) Authorized by law; or (2) Properly incidental to another activity required or authorized by law.”

This section of the law also entrusted the Public Auditor to “adopt rules specifying examples of political or campaign activity permissible or not permissible under this section.”

According to those rules the Office of the Public Auditor adopted and are in full force and effect, Mr. Atalig “shall not discharge, promote, demote, or change the status or compensation of any other official or employee or promise or threaten to do so:

  • for making or not making any contribution for a political objective,
  • because of the official’s or employee’s political actions or beliefs,
  • because of the official’s or employee’s failure to take any political action,
  • because of the official’s or employee’s support or non- support of a candidate seeking elective office, a political party, an initiative, or referendum.”

The rules also state public officials “shall not use their office or influence to: interfere with an election, or affect its results, or coerce the political action of any person or party.”

The rules provide for other prohibitions against political conduct, including campaigning during working hours. The meeting to discuss the Torres campaign matters was scheduled for 8 a.m. on a work day.

Federal law may also come into play, as some of the employees the mayor demanded attend his meeting are paid with federal funds. The U.S. Government’s Hatch Act prohibits certain federal, state, and local employees from partaking in certain political activities. According to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, “The Hatch Act, a federal law passed in 1939, limits certain political activities of federal employees, as well as some state, D.C., and local government employees who work in connection with federally funded programs. ​The law’s purposes are to ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation.​​​​”

While Mayor Atalig, as an elected official, is exempt from the provisions of the Hatch Act, his employees who are paid using federal funds may not be.

In response to a constituent’s criticism of his activities in this case on social media, Mayor Atalig said he did not threaten any employees. “Simply a personal question/meeting,” he wrote. “Ask them RDs. There was never a tone of threat.”


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