The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has launched an investigation of the two-term Republican councilman for possible violations of the Hatch Act, which forbids public employees from pursuing a partisan office if their positions are connected to federal loans or grants.

Jensen, a Magna resident seeking a third term representing the west side's District 2, is a professional firefighter who serves as a deputy chief for the Unified Fire Authority. The agency received $400,000 last year in federal grants.

The councilman says the allegations against him are all smoke and no flames.

"I have no direct authority over any federal funds [at work]," Jensen said. "I don't even go to meetings where there are issues involving federal funding. It seems to me that someone is trying to make a political issue."

The Office of Special Counsel provided few details about its inquiry, but confirmed that officials opened the case in late March in response to a complaint.

"It is corruption the law intends to prevent," spokesman Jim Mitchell said. "Government employees need to put a firewall between their political [interests] and what they are doing for a living."

The probe provides ammunition for Democratic challenger Paul Pugmire, who sees Jensen's leadership roles within UFA and the county as an obvious conflict.

"Either one is honorable," Pugmire said. "But the two are problematic."

While the Democrat saluted Jensen's "expertise and service" as a firefighter, he said it "doesn't change the conflict of interest. The UFA is an arm of the county - no matter how you cut it. It is inappropriate for people who have contracts with the county to oversee those contracts."

Jensen's dual role has sparked questions before. But the Republican, who has served on the council since its inception in 2001, insists he has separated those duties.

"I don't make it a secret that I am a firefighter," he said.

While Jensen frequently advocates public-safety issues and oversees an annual budget that includes UFA spending, he routinely declares his conflicts in public meetings. He has recused himself as recently as November from voting on specific fire-related financial issues. And he has filed a form with the council clerk's office disclosing his UFA loyalties.

As deputy fire chief, Jensen said he also worked with UFA's legal officer to stay "arm's length" from federal-funding decisions that might run afoul of the Hatch Act.

The act was written decades ago to prevent federal employees from taking office and handing out political favors. Since then, the law has expanded to include state and local employees who benefit from federal money.

The measure made Utah headlines last year when federal investigators found that Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner had violated the Hatch Act by campaigning for, and ultimately winning, a seat in the Utah Senate.

Although the Office of Special Counsel threatened to take action against the police chief - potentially yanking federal funds from Ogden's Police Department equivalent to two years' worth of Greiner's pay - the agency has taken no action.

Yet the law recently forced Eagle Mountain Democrat William LeJeune out of the House District 56 race. The candidate withdrew days after the filing deadline when he discovered that his Utah Army National Guard career wasn't compatible with a partisan office.

If federal investigators find that Jensen, too, has violated the Hatch Act, the deputy chief could lose his job or have federal funding equivalent to two years' pay pulled from his department.

jstettler@sltrib.com