Line Between Government Employee And Political Activist Sometimes Gets Fuzzy

The division of duties between acting as a state government employee and acting as a partisan for a publicly-elected official running for political office can seem to blur at times. Case in point: long-time Secretary of State Spokesman Spence Jackson who is also working for the Matt Blunt for Governor campaign. Jackson says he’s working both jobs part-time. And, Jackson says he keeps the two functions separate by not acting as a campaign spokesman… so there’s less confusion for the media who deal with him. Mary Still works only as Governor Bob Holden’s spokesperson. She says what Jackson is doing seems okay as long as it’s not on the taxpayers’ dime. Still doesn’t believe what Jackson is doing is necessarily a violation of that public trust, but she says it could get into a gray area. Glenn Campbell, who is on a full-time leave of absence from the State Auditor’s office so he can work for the Claire McCaskill for Governor campaign, believes it’s hard to divorce yourself from the political work.