Politics or public good?

Here are a couple of questions to ponder, one open-ended and the others more to the point.

First, is any aspect of government completely free of politics?

In this case, I'm not necessarily speaking of "politics" in the nefarious sense of the word, though certainly you could provide many examples to support that connotation. Rather I'm talking about the day-to-day business of getting things done in government. Political play seems to be written into the DNA of democracy.

This brings me to my more specific questions, which relate to the often strange beast known as the political appointment.

This press release was disseminated by Michael Kelsey, assistant to Dutchess Legislature Chairman Gary Cooper, R-Pine Plains. Some Democrats cried foul because it was the work of a county employee. Clearly the points made in the press release are political, at least in the general sense, but was the press release inappropriate?

For starters, here are a few things to consider.

Kelsey is on the county payroll. He was appointed by Cooper, who was chosen as chairman by the Republican majority in the Legislature. You can argue that Kelsey is being paid partly to push a Republican agenda, but isn't that to be expected?

The Democrats, if they were in the majority, surely would rely on an appointed chairman's assistant to push their own agenda? Or would they?

Regardless of who is in power, is such a position serving the public good? You might agree that the chairman needs an assistant to fulfill the administrative responsibilities that come with the top job in the Legislature. But when does public service cross the line into political campaigning, which isn't supposed to be done on the public's dime?

My guess is that Republicans and Democrats have differing takes on this scenario, but the underlying questions shouldn't be partisan. What do you think?