Editorial: Political rules are sign of election times

No shirt, no shoes, no service.

No dogs allowed.

No smoking.

All simple signs. Easy to understand. Easy to obey.

Now Westmoreland County needs another sign for its hallways.

No politics on the premises. Workers, this means you.

It’s the kind of thing that probably shouldn’t need a sign. When you’re on the county clock, you should be doing county work. You shouldn’t be stumping for votes for your re-election campaign, or for your challenge to get the big office next door. You shouldn’t be raising money for your boss’s campaign or selling tickets for the barbecue for the campaign on which you are volunteering.

This stuff should be self-­explanatory.

But the county has realized “should be” isn’t good enough. Some people need things spelled out in black and white.

“This is to ensure that county employees, including us, are comporting ourselves correctly,” Commissioner Ted Kopas said.

And just in time, given that 2019 is a county election year.

The commissioners said the move is not in response to allegations of campaign-­related impropriety by Sheriff Jonathan Held.

The sheriff was prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General last year, accused of having office staff and his deputies work on his campaign on the clock. Held has denied these claims, but in a trial in December, employees testified to the allegations. That ended in a mistrial, and a planned retrial has not been scheduled.

In addition to common sense, there are other rules regarding political activities on the books — ones that are stronger than a county policy.

The federal Hatch Act, for example, prevents political activity by executive branch federal employees (other than a few, like the president and vice president) and other state or local employees whose salaries come at least in part from federal dollars.

That law was passed in 1939. Apparently, we have known that work and politics don’t mix for a while.

Don’t worry, county employees. Election years don’t last forever. The primary is just seven weeks away, and the general election is in seven months.

And it all starts over again with the presidential election next year.

We will definitely need another sign.