BELLAIRE -- Antrim County Sheriff Terry Johnson fired Undersheriff Dan Bean just a week after Bean informed his boss he will challenge Johnson for the sheriff's post.
Bean, a 22-year veteran of the department who served 14 years as undersheriff, told Johnson Feb. 1 he plans to run against the two-term incumbent in the Aug. 5 primary election. Johnson fired Bean Friday morning.
The move didn't surprise Bean, who said Johnson asked him to resign after Bean said he would run.
"I figured it was going to happen eventually," Bean said.
Johnson said he fired Bean to avoid a violation of the Hatch Act, a federal law which places limits on the partisan political activity of federal employees and some state and local public workers who work for programs or departments that receive federal money.
The sheriff's department could lose about $80,000 in federal funding if Bean ran as an employee of the department, Johnson said. He checked with the county's legal counsel before firing Bean and they agreed with the decision, he said.
"We could lose all of our federal funding," Johnson said. "Quite frankly I'm not going to put this county in jeopardy of a violation."
Johnson gave Bean a copy of the Hatch Act prior to his termination and told him he should resign if he intends to run, Johnson said.
Bean plans to do more research on the federal law.
"To me it goes against my right to be able to run for elected office," Bean said.
Bean recently picked up paperwork for his candidacy from the Antrim County Clerk's office and said he plans to run on the Republican ticket. Johnson also is a Republican.
Bean said he decided to run because he thinks he can "bring a lot of good change within the department."
Johnson said he expects to name Bean's replacement in the near future.
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